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WOMB CITY imagines a dark and deadly future Botswana, rich with culture and true folklore, which begs the question: how far must one go to destroy the structures of inequality upon which a society was founded? How far must a mother go to save the life of her child? Nelah seems to have it all: wealth, fame, a husband, and a child on the way. But in a body her husband controls via microchip and the tailspin of a loveless marriage, her hopes and dreams come to a devastating halt. A drug-fueled night of celebration ends in a hit-and-run. To dodge a sentencing in a society that favors men, Nelah and her side-piece, Janith Koshal, finish the victim off and bury the body. But the secret claws its way into Nelah's life from the grave. As her victim's vengeful ghost begins exacting a bloody revenge on everyone Nelah holds dear, she'll have to unravel her society's terrible secrets to stop those in power, and become a monster unlike any other to quench the ghost's violent thirst.
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so what i got out of this is society is awful and utopia is a lie. the cover alone sold me on reading this, sadly i thought the art didn’t really match the story (but it’s still visually stunning!!). regardless this was an interesting read with developed characters (keeping in mind i think this is this author’s first full novel). i’m still confused with some aspects but the body-hopping concept always interests me (and reminds me of altered carbon which i love). the world building was good and the mix of technology/supernatural was promising but i don’t think it was executed to my liking. part of this may have been that i was confused about the intricacies of the technology and ghosty stuff but i think also the premise shifted a few times then it all got squashed together. the last 100 pages were really promising but the ending (although cool) felt like an out of place guillermo del toro fever dream (and i don’t care for jan). the action bits are quite good but they get diluted by a ton of dialog/monologue/introspection/exposition, some of which is injected into the action and it’s so long that it interrupts the flow of the plot points and occasionally i lost track of what was going on. it’s cyclical and quite manicured, people don’t really talk like this (also these ding dongs shouldn’t be yappin so much when they’re against the clock!). alot of important heavy topics were brought up and fit well within the story but i think the cadence could’ve been improved. i was going to give this 2 stars (i really struggled with the flow and length) but ultimately landed on 3 stars since the plot is so unique and involved. this was definitely an ambitious novel (and i respect and recognize that!!) and although it wasn’t a slam dunk for me, i’m glad i gave it a shot.
0I have mixed feelings about this book; it's definitely a unique story. While it falls into the sci-fi/horror/dystopia genre, which isn't typically my go-to, I found it intriguing nonetheless. Despite feeling confused, half of the time, I was still invested in the story. It also delves into important topics like feminism, patriarchy, race, gender, identity, and motherhood.
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