Convergence Problems
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- $25.99
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- $25.99
Publisher Description
"A jaw-dropping collection....Beautiful, vibrant, and electrifying, this has the makings of a modern classic." —Publishers Weekly (starred review), and a Publishers Weekly Top Ten Spring 2024 Roundup pick
"For fans of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian works and P. Djèlí Clark’s speculative fiction, Convergence Problems provides an Afrocentric sf narrative that is sure to captivate." — Raychel Bennet, Booklist (starred review)
"Written with an emotional economy few storytellers can master....A fascinating and riveting exploration of what the future may hold—for better or worse." —Kirkus
From the Hugo, Nebula, Locus and Nommo award nominated author of Shigidi and The Brass Head Of Obalufon comes a stunning new collection of stories that investigate the rapidly changing role of technology and belief in our lives as we search for meaning, for knowledge, for justice; constantly converging on our future selves.
In “An Arc of Electric Skin,” a roadside mechanic seeking justice volunteers to undergo a procedure that will increase the electrical conductivity of his skin by orders of magnitude. In “Blowout,” a woman races against time and a previously undocumented geological phenomenon to save her brother on the surface of Mars. In “Ganger,” a young woman trapped in a city run by machines must transfer her consciousness into an artificial body and find a way to give her life
purpose. In “Debut,” Nairobi-based technical support engineer tries to understand what is happening when an AI art system begins malfunctioning in ways that could change the world.
The sixteen stories of Convergence Problems, which include work published for the first time in this collection, rare stories, and recently acclaimed work, showcase Talabi at his creative best: playful and profound, exciting and experimental, always interesting.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Talabi returns (after Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon) with a jaw-dropping collection of 16 afrofuturist stories uniquely blending mythology and technology in settings ranging from far-future Lagos ("Debut") to a Martian drilling rig ("Blowout"). Talabi's engineering background is evident in the level of detail he devotes to the technological workings of his imagined machines; equally impressive is his skill for drawing in even the most technologically illiterate of readers. Each section of "Ganger," one of the collection's longest entries, begins with a fragment of a Yoruban folktale that parallels the experience of teen protagonist Laide in the far-future, droid-powered enclosed dome of Legba-6. A similarly well-executed combination of folklore and technology animates the standout final story, "A Dream of Electric Mothers," in which politicians consult an ancestral consciousness to aid in their decision-making processes. For the most part, Talabi tackles such universal themes as freedom or grief in hyperspecific situations, though there are outliers; "Silence" is a brief love story between unnamed characters with no hints as to its setting. Beautiful, vibrant, and electrifying, this has the makings of a modern classic.
