Unquiet on the Eastern Front

by Wole Talabi, Manzi Jackson (Ilustrator)

It is 1940 and Kenneth Lockwood is a Lieutenant in the British colonial armed forces, stationed in Southern Nigeria. When World War II breaks out, he and his men are deployed as reinforcements to halt the Italian aggression in East Africa.

On the treacherous march to the Eastern front, Kenneth will come face to face with the horrors of colonization and war, examine the bitter fruit of his own family legacy, grapple with questions of his place and purpose, and confront a stalking, terrifying creature known by the locals as The Ngoloko.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, War, African Literature, Fiction

30 pages, ebook

First published October 27, 2024

About the author

Wole Talabi is an engineer, writer, and editor from Nigeria. He is the author of the acclaimed fantasy novel SHIGIDI AND THE BRASS HEAD OF OBALUFON, which was nominated for the Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy awards; and the sci-fi thriller THE FIST OF MEMORY. His short fiction has appeared in places like Asimov’s, Clarkesworld, and The Africa Risen anthology and is collected in CONVERGENCE PROBLEMS and INCOMPLETE SOLUTIONS. He has been a finalist for the Hugo, Nommo, BSFA, Sidewise, Ignyte and Crawford awards, as well as the Caine Prize for African Writing. He has edited five anthologies. He likes scuba diving, elegant equations, and oddly shaped things. He currently lives in Perth, Australia. Find him at wtalabi.wordpress.com and at @wtalabi online.

Reviews

[Netanella]

A freely available short story on Subterranean Press's website, by author Wole Talabi, whose Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon I greatly admired. As evidenced by its title, this is a war story, not the European eastern front in WWI, but the African eastern front in WW2, between the colonial English and the Italians, and their respective native allies. The story is told in epistolary format, which I typically am fond of, by an African-born British officer who struggles to come to terms with the war, colonialism, and his own identity as he marches through the bush with his men. I enjoyed this one a lot.

[Riju Ganguly]

A gentle, nuanced tale of identity crisis, colonialism, and war— told in epistolary format.

[Kam Yung Soh]

A story told in the form of letters, it tells the tale of an English soldier in Africa and is now there, preparing to lead his soldiers during World War II. But he is troubled with visions of a monster, known to the locals as Ngoloko, and with the way his local soldiers are being treated as 'less than human' by other Europeans he encounters during his march to battle.

During his first encounter with Italian forces, he discovers that the monster is real and wants to purge the country of colonials. But he believes being born in Africa may get him treated differently by the Ngoloko. We only discover his fate with the final letter in the story.

[Laura]

A very brief epistolary story set in 1940, following a soldier of English descent stationed in Nigeria. Talabi really manages a lot of nuance as the protagonist processes, in a deliberately quite restrained way (writing letters to his mother), his relationship to the African continent and his role in colonization. I do almost think this could've been drawn out to a novella. I really like Wole Talabi's work and will continue to pick up anything he has published.

Content warnings: colonization, racism, violence, war, death, murder, fire injury, injury detail

[Alex Sarll]

The title had me assuming this would be set in Africa during the Great War, and maybe either spur me to finally read that copy of Tip And Run I've had since the noughties, or at least absolve me of my failure to do so. But no, it's the letters of a young British officer commanding African troops during the sequel, and discovering that there are scarier things than Italians lurking in the forest. In places I wondered whether Kenneth's uneasiness with colonialism might be a little too much of a convenient back-projection of modern progressive attitudes, but the more we learn of his background, the better Talabi sold me on it. By the end, it's less a horror story, more a poignant meditation on the continent and who belongs there – and considerably less pat than that might sound.

[Mangrii]

3,25 / 5

Una historia epistolar ubicada en la 2ª Guerra Mundial con regusto africano donde leemos la correspondencia de un teniente de las fuerzas armadas coloniales británicas en Nigeria con su madre. Los horrores de la guerra, y de una bestia ancestral, el Ngoloko (o Oso Nandi), componen al final menos una historia de terror y más una conmovedora meditación sobre Nigeria y la conexión de las raíces de su protagonista.

Disponible para descargar gratuitamente en la web de Subterranean Press.

[Mayumi]

Já falei e acho que vou repetir pra sempre: gosto muito mais dos livros que são terror lovecraftiano do que os livros do próprio Lovecraft. Os lovecraftianos geralmente melhoram as coisas que funcionam e esquecem as coisas que não funcionam. Alguns dos contos não faziam muito sentido de existir -- alguém está sendo perseguido por monstros e escrevendo em um diário?, a pessoa perdendo a sanidade e consegue escrever cartas? -- e o tal do terror cósmico nunca me deu muito medo (eu sendo a pessoa mais assustada que eu conheço!), as coisas não faziam sentido pra mim e não quero dizer que é tão estranho que não consigo descrever, eu sempre achava só sem sentido. Esse conto faz todo o sentido de existir dentro do próprio conto, a forma epistolar de ser contada também faz sentido e o terror é explicado o suficiente pra ser satisfatório. Wole Talabi entrou na minha mente, consertou todas as besteirinhas que sempre me incomodaram em Lovecraft e fez certo. Esse monstro é muito real, os motivos pra pessoa ir atrás dele fazem todo sentido e a gente vê o final da história de uma maneira bastante acreditável. Adorei. Nunca tinha lido nada desse autor e com certeza vou pegar outros livros pra ler.

[Netty]

I was expecting this to be a more horror forward short story, instead it's a slow burn of internal turmoil over the land our mc was born in verses the land he was raised in. I found the sprits very interesting and really need to look into them to see more of their story. this is going to sound weird but I am happy that the mc died as well. not bloody and alongside his fellow British officers. but content and calm as if a question had finally been answered. very good, easy read. the letter format works well for its dreamy pacing.

[Colin Murtagh]

A short story told in the form of letters home. British soldier, in Africa during the 2nd world war. He is the son of a Soldier who was in Africa during the first world war. Born in Africa, brought up in England, but still with a connection to the land of his birth, but the question is does the land have a connection to him.

[Xan Rooyen]

Wish this could've been longer! A very poignant historical story told in epistolary format. Loved the subtle speculative aspect to this.

[Tomasz]

Promises much more than it delivers, but there is some merit to the story, and to the ambition. I think the decision to present it as a series of letters was a good one, too.

[James]

3.5

[Emmalyn Renato]

This short story was nominated for the British Science Fiction award in 2025.