REVIEW: “To Say Nothing of Lost Figurines” by Rafeeat Aliyu

Review of Rafeeat Aliyu, “To Say Nothing of Lost Figurines”, in Zelda Knight and Ekpeki Oghenechovwe Donald, ed., Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction From Africa and the African Diaspora, (Aurelia Leo, 2020) — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology).

The esteemed mage Odun is creating portals across the universe in search of his missing ngunja, one of the five sources of his magical abilities. His travels bring him to Kur, where an exception is made to the laws barring the entry of humans — but only so long as he remains under the supervision of Aule, a Kurian official.

I thoroughly enjoyed Odun and Aule’s adventure through Kur to find and restore Odun’s lost ngunja. This story was full of humor and amusement and a lightness of tone that contrasted with some of the more portentous stories in the anthology. Lots of fun!