Sweep of Stars

October 1, 2021

Afrofuturist author Broaddus (the "Breton Court" trilogy) rides into space with the Muungano empire, a utopia ranging from Earth to Mars and beyond that was built on the wisdom of ancestors as a means of escaping oppression. But old enemies are set to destroy the empire, and beating them down will take the combined efforts of young leader Amachi Adisa, Fela Buhari and her elite fighting unit, and Stacia Chikeke, captain of the starship Cypher. With a 125,000-copy first printing.

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Starred review from November 29, 2021
Broaddus (Buffalo Soldier) opens his Astra Black trilogy with this powerful, sweeping Afrofuturist space opera that introduces Muungano, a cooperative society of pan-African people stretching through the solar system and founded after seceding from the oppressive governments of Earth in 2050. Now in 2121, shadowy forces threaten to destabilize Muungano’s leadership, and Wachiru and Amachi, son and adopted daughter of one of the seven founding families, along with security officer Maulana Buhari, must choose between preserving Muungano’s founding values, or meeting violence with violence. Meanwhile, on the other side of the galaxy, a unit of supersoldiers led by Maulana’s sister Fela stumbles into an alien conflict, with far-reaching consequences. Broaddus brings to bear his experience as an educator and community organizer as the principle characters struggle to build and maintain a Black utopia even as the legacies of colonialism and the Maafa—the trans-Atlantic slave trade—still lurk in the background. He draws a direct line in global Black history from the kingdoms of precolonial Africa, through the American civil rights movement and into an imagined future, making this a hugely ambitious and notable work of postcolonial science fiction. This takes the genre in an exciting and challenging direction. Agent: Jennifer Udden, New Leaf Literary.

February 15, 2022
Muungano, the interplanetary community established by the African diaspora, faces a crisis after there is an explosion at the Muungano Embassy on Original Earth. Maulana Buhari, civilian head of the Niyabinghi, reports to the full Ijo that he believes Original Earth leaders are behind this terrorist attack. In the meantime, Captain Stacia Chikeke, commander of the Cypher, is on her way back to Titan when her son Beke is struck down by a uncurable virus. Meanwhile, Fela Buhari has led a HOVA Brigade to explore the other side of the Orun Gate wormhole. They land on Eshu and find themselves in the middle of a conflict between two alien species, the Mziosh and the Lei'den of the Interstellar Alliance. Richly detailed and intricately plotted, with descriptions of advanced biotechnology, a close investigation into African diasporic culture, and complicated lead characters, Broaddus' first novel in the Astra Black series will draw in readers of epic science fiction.

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Starred review from February 1, 2022

Broaddus (Pimp My Airship) here creates a broad political space opera with strong roots in themes of racial history, familial lines, and the desire for individual identity in a collective community. The Muungano empire formed by leaving O.E. (Old Earth) and creating a range of city-states from their original home to Mars and then Titan. Focused on a better future, they relied on their ancestors, their elders, and the power of science to escape the oppression and limits their people had existed under for centuries. Yet the powers of old, and the impetuous new leaders, will set new plots and paths that could destroy everything that has been created. A multi-point-of-view novel provides intimate voices, showcasing character narratives including a young leader striving for power, a top fighting unit facing threats far from home, and a starship captain dealing with growing sabotage that affects not only her ship but her family. VERDICT The first of this Afrofuturist trilogy takes off with an epic array of characters and plotlines that will enmesh readers in the politics and power struggles set across the stars.--Kristi Chadwick

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.