The Fist of Memory by Wole Talabi is an action-packed, sci-fi thriller that follows a cast of complex, multifaceted characters. Their stories collide as they try to move forward with their lives and struggle to escape the bonds created by past traumas while the world readies for impending first contact.
Itumeleng, a scientist at the South African Astronomical Observatory, identifies an object traveling at impossible speed toward Earth. Moreover, it appears to be decelerating. As events progress, he is forced into a reckoning between his life of science and the belief he left behind. Tope presents herself as a callous and deadly assassin, but she bears acute scars from the loss of her mother to violence. Ahanna is also caught in the world of murder for hire, and his singular focus on revenge puts him on a dangerous trajectory.
Talabi has created a fascinating and detailed world. Set in a near-future Africa and centered around Nigeria, the novel combines techno-thriller elements such as digital brain augmentation with more supernatural aspects, including healing potions and ancestral spirits. All the pieces come to life in striking, contemplative prose, such as the bland meeting room described as if "someone was trying to translate the desolation of being in outer space into interior décor, without preserving any of the wonder."
As Earth reckons with the mysterious object hurtling toward it, the storylines of the characters converge. The Fist of Memory is both a stay-up-all-night read full of peril and an insightful exploration of faith, science, and the nature of human interconnection. --Carol Caley, writer