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The Voices of Martyrs
We are a collection of voices, the assembled history of the many voices that have
spoken into our lives and shaped us. Voices of the past, voices of the present, and voices of the
future. There is an African proverb, “Se wo were fi na wosankofa a yenkyi,” which translates as
“It is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten.” This is why we continue to
remember the tales of struggle and tales of perseverance, even as we look to tales of hope. What
a people choose to remember about its past, the stories they pass down, informs who they are and
sets the boundaries of their identity. We remember the pain of our past to mourn, to heal, and to
learn. Only in that way can we ensure the same mistakes are not repeated. The voices make up
our stories. The stories make up who we are. A collected voice.
spoken into our lives and shaped us. Voices of the past, voices of the present, and voices of the
future. There is an African proverb, “Se wo were fi na wosankofa a yenkyi,” which translates as
“It is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten.” This is why we continue to
remember the tales of struggle and tales of perseverance, even as we look to tales of hope. What
a people choose to remember about its past, the stories they pass down, informs who they are and
sets the boundaries of their identity. We remember the pain of our past to mourn, to heal, and to
learn. Only in that way can we ensure the same mistakes are not repeated. The voices make up
our stories. The stories make up who we are. A collected voice.
168 pages, Paperback
First published February 7, 2017
13 people are currently reading
326 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 23, 2017
This is an interesting but uneven collection of this author's speculative fiction stories centering Africans and people of African descent. It's separated into three parts titled "Past", "Present" and "Future". That's a choice that works well for the "Past" section with what I feel are some of the most powerful stories of the whole book and feel thematically linked as they march forwards in time. I don't think it works as well for "Present" where there's a mix of thematic elements including a couple of duppy stories. I guess they're a form of speculative fiction that is uniquely Caribbean so fits the overall theme quite well. I enjoyed the "Future" section as well, but the stories are all over the place.
Of particular note for me were "Rite of Passage" told from the point of view of a ship owner transporting slaves from Africa to the US, "A Soldier's Story" which tells the story of a lynch mob from a unique perspective and the titular "Voices of the Martyrs" with an interesting science fiction theme which addresses colonialism in a couple of ways. I also enjoyed the other stories in the "Future" section, but they didn't quite get to the heights of the others I highlighted here.
The book deals mostly in dark fantasy and horror with some science fiction stories. I found "Shadow Boxing" and "Cerulean Memories" to be particularly creepy horror stories, but I have a low threshold for horror in general.
I picked this for the shallowest of reasons (the amazing cover art), but I'm very glad I read it and would recommend it.
Of particular note for me were "Rite of Passage" told from the point of view of a ship owner transporting slaves from Africa to the US, "A Soldier's Story" which tells the story of a lynch mob from a unique perspective and the titular "Voices of the Martyrs" with an interesting science fiction theme which addresses colonialism in a couple of ways. I also enjoyed the other stories in the "Future" section, but they didn't quite get to the heights of the others I highlighted here.
The book deals mostly in dark fantasy and horror with some science fiction stories. I found "Shadow Boxing" and "Cerulean Memories" to be particularly creepy horror stories, but I have a low threshold for horror in general.
I picked this for the shallowest of reasons (the amazing cover art), but I'm very glad I read it and would recommend it.
December 14, 2016
One of the fun things about reviewing books is that you can be offered a book for review that you might never have noticed on your own. For me, this is one such book.
It's a collection of short stories with settings ranging from ancient Africa to the slave trade, to the Jim Crow era in the US to alternate histories and the far future. Some are clearly science fiction or fantasy, while others have the barest possible fantastic content. Even those with little to no fantastic content, though, are written from s background and viewpoint that is outside my cultural background or usual reading experience. It's as challenging as any "unknown world" in science fiction, the more so because of the knowledge that it reflects the experience and cultural background of someone really living in the same world I do, and living that alien life here.
The protagonists here are men and women, young and old. There's even one white viewpoint character--the captain of a slave ship, who expects to make his fortune on his one distasteful journey, and go back home to his wife and child. There's a woman cast out from her tribe, but determined to right one terrible wrong. A woman becomes a soldier in the service of a new imperialism, and a young man who thinks he's just out for his weekly night on the town, who discovers he's destined for something much more momentous, and so is the music he loves. The settings feel real and palpable, and if the characters are not people I know, they certainly feel like characters Broaddus knows.
This isn't a collection to be rushed through; it's best savored more slowly and thoughtfully. But read it you definitely should.
Highly recommended.
I received a free electronic galley of this book and am reviewing it voluntarily.
It's a collection of short stories with settings ranging from ancient Africa to the slave trade, to the Jim Crow era in the US to alternate histories and the far future. Some are clearly science fiction or fantasy, while others have the barest possible fantastic content. Even those with little to no fantastic content, though, are written from s background and viewpoint that is outside my cultural background or usual reading experience. It's as challenging as any "unknown world" in science fiction, the more so because of the knowledge that it reflects the experience and cultural background of someone really living in the same world I do, and living that alien life here.
The protagonists here are men and women, young and old. There's even one white viewpoint character--the captain of a slave ship, who expects to make his fortune on his one distasteful journey, and go back home to his wife and child. There's a woman cast out from her tribe, but determined to right one terrible wrong. A woman becomes a soldier in the service of a new imperialism, and a young man who thinks he's just out for his weekly night on the town, who discovers he's destined for something much more momentous, and so is the music he loves. The settings feel real and palpable, and if the characters are not people I know, they certainly feel like characters Broaddus knows.
This isn't a collection to be rushed through; it's best savored more slowly and thoughtfully. But read it you definitely should.
Highly recommended.
I received a free electronic galley of this book and am reviewing it voluntarily.
April 11, 2017
https://ravenandbeez.wordpress.com/20...
I received this book from Netgalley
PROS: BEAUTIFUL AND RICH BLACK HISTORY! Like oh man… wow. This book had three settings, the past, the present and the future and in all three of them you have black POV’s and you get to learn about their culture and their history and their ways and it blew my mind away because the media is usually filled with western ways and their culture and this was like a whole new world to me.
CONS: There isn’t really much to dislike in this book. It was breathtaking in every way BUT it’s pretty heavy and I don’t mean the number of pages. Maybe it’s the writing style or just the intake of this new information but this book is something that you CANNOT read in one sitting. It has to be read over a period of time. Needless to say, that just improves the experience.
Final declaration: Must Read.
I received this book from Netgalley
PROS: BEAUTIFUL AND RICH BLACK HISTORY! Like oh man… wow. This book had three settings, the past, the present and the future and in all three of them you have black POV’s and you get to learn about their culture and their history and their ways and it blew my mind away because the media is usually filled with western ways and their culture and this was like a whole new world to me.
CONS: There isn’t really much to dislike in this book. It was breathtaking in every way BUT it’s pretty heavy and I don’t mean the number of pages. Maybe it’s the writing style or just the intake of this new information but this book is something that you CANNOT read in one sitting. It has to be read over a period of time. Needless to say, that just improves the experience.
Final declaration: Must Read.
March 23, 2017
I absolutely adored this book when I started it. All the short stories in the "Past" and "Present" sub section of the book were haunting and beautiful BUT when I read Pimp My Airship which is the first short story under "Future" I came across a character named Knowledge Allah...
Needless to say, as a Muslim I feel like it was a very depreciating way to have used a name of a God that has no form, for a character. Wouldn't have had an issue if they used any Muslim name but, really??
I didn't go on after that. Loved the African culture and history that I got to learn from this book though.
P.S: I did end up reading the other two future set stories and absolutely loved those too.
Needless to say, as a Muslim I feel like it was a very depreciating way to have used a name of a God that has no form, for a character. Wouldn't have had an issue if they used any Muslim name but, really??
I didn't go on after that. Loved the African culture and history that I got to learn from this book though.
P.S: I did end up reading the other two future set stories and absolutely loved those too.
April 19, 2019
This was a tough one to rate. It's a collection of short stories from a local author, whom I met at a friend's party. I thought I'd check out his writing & I'm glad I did. There are some stories in here that I would rate a 5, whereas there were others that I really struggled to understand at all what was happening (He had short stories grouped into Past, Present, and Futures. It was mostly the Future ones I didn't enjoy).
Having become accustomed to stories told mostly by white males, I've been trying to consciously add more women & people of color to the list of authors I read. There were some very moving stories that highlighted the suffering of slaves and even free blacks, at the hands of white people. As I glance back over them, I realize that they were based much more in actual history than I realized. One in particular, where a town of white folk slaughter blacks indiscriminately, has historical precedent:
"The Tulsa Race Riot" (which should be renamed "Massacre"), where white people attacked a black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma by looting, burning buildings, and *dropping fire from planes.*
I highly recommend learning about it.
Another example that I recently learned about was another massacre *which doesn't even have a name.* Around 200 black men, women, and children were killed in Louisiana to suppress blacks from voting. (Guess what; it worked)
Go here to read about this shocking event.
Readers should expand the kinds of voices they listen to, and there were many very excellent stories in here. I definitely recommend this.
A short excerpt
"A wealthy culture sending out well-intentioned missionaries using the gospel to impose themselves on indigenous cultures to create satellites of themselves."
"You make us sound like..cultural bullies."
"It's a push or be pushed universe, sir."
Having become accustomed to stories told mostly by white males, I've been trying to consciously add more women & people of color to the list of authors I read. There were some very moving stories that highlighted the suffering of slaves and even free blacks, at the hands of white people. As I glance back over them, I realize that they were based much more in actual history than I realized. One in particular, where a town of white folk slaughter blacks indiscriminately, has historical precedent:
"The Tulsa Race Riot" (which should be renamed "Massacre"), where white people attacked a black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma by looting, burning buildings, and *dropping fire from planes.*
I highly recommend learning about it.
Another example that I recently learned about was another massacre *which doesn't even have a name.* Around 200 black men, women, and children were killed in Louisiana to suppress blacks from voting. (Guess what; it worked)
Go here to read about this shocking event.
Readers should expand the kinds of voices they listen to, and there were many very excellent stories in here. I definitely recommend this.
A short excerpt
"A wealthy culture sending out well-intentioned missionaries using the gospel to impose themselves on indigenous cultures to create satellites of themselves."
"You make us sound like..cultural bullies."
"It's a push or be pushed universe, sir."
July 14, 2017
Amazing collection from a Hoosier author.
February 15, 2017
See the original review here: https://gamingforjustice.com/2017/02/...
I received an ARC e-copy of this book in exchange for an open and honest review.
The title of Maurice Broaddus' collection of short stories and brief description hooked me immediately. The idea that each story carries a voice of a martyr, an important voice that was silenced by those in power, was very intriguing to me as a reader. I did not know what to expect besides a journey with a multitude of voices, each with their own important story. Out of all the short story collection I have read in the past couple of months, The Voices of Martyrs is proving to be the most difficult one for me to review. This is not a collection to rush through as each story feels drastically different. This is a collection to savor - both the characters and their experiences. While each story has fantastical elements in them, some stories are clearly in the fantasy genre, while others have bits and pieces of magical realism. The stories take place throughout time, ranging from alternate histories, to the present times, to way in the future, spilling into the science fiction genre. Needless to say, this collection is not one to miss. I want to say upfront that this collection does include stories that involve slavery, subjugation through religion, and incarceration.
One short story, Rite of Passage, was written in dairy form. The diary was the personal writings of a ship captain, William Sparke, tasked with bringing slaves to the 'New World.' Being the collection, The Voice of Martyrs, I was first shocked at the bluntness of this story told from the perspective of the slaver. Throughout the story, the captain of the ship, along with slaver Mr. Hawkins, tries to rationalize away the idea of transporting slaves. I kept pausing to say to myself... "No! The slaver does not have a right to tell his story." But the story is not about him even though it is from his perspective. This story is about Njinga, future Ozo of the Igbo, and others on the ship who lead a resistance against the Captain and Mr. Hawkins. The entries are brutal and violent. The entries depict suffering and strength. I have not read a short story as gut-wrenchingly powerful as this one.
Probably my favorite story in the collection is The Electric Spanking of War Babies. In this story, George, aka Shakes Humphries, is "the bandiest mofo on eight wheels." Roller skates that is. George goes out one night with a warning from his mother about a war and arrives at the Sugar Shack with his roller skates. Suddenly spacemen are at the Sugar Shack throwing everything in chaos. George meets Malia in the midst of the confusion and she tells him to come with her if he wants to funk. Shakes is thrown into a war between the Afronauts and the Funkateers. The Funkateers are all about groove and peace, while the Afronauts think that love is weak. This is a wild story about music and groove and love and fantastic sci fi moments. A refreshing story to read in a sea of contemporary science fiction.
The Voices of Martyrs short story takes its name from the title of the entire collection. This is the last story in the collection and places us into the future. We find ourselves in the encampment Melancolia located on a gas giant planet. There, the main character along with a few others, are tasked with planting, which is a nice way of saying missionaries spreading the Gospel to indigenous beings on the planet.
"You make us sounds like... cultural bullies."
Exactly. This takes our own planet's story of using Christianity to subjugate non-Christian people into the science fiction realm. The first half of the story is about making contact with Species A, a 'primitive' species of the planet, in hopes they will take to the Gospel. It turns out that a group of Species A is much more intelligent than they anticipated. This group of Species A was infected by a virus and were being used as hosts. This brings up questions such as, what qualifies as "intelligent life"? Does a virus using another being as a host count as an intelligent species? With the myriad of moral and ethical questions that came popping into my head, the Voices of Martyrs was a fantastic story to close out the collection.
As challenging as this review was to write, my entire experience with the collection was very positive. I found myself reflecting on these stories following the weeks I finished the final story. Each story is dense and brings its own message and feeling. Each story made me stop and think. This is not a a short story collection to read in one sitting but one to string out and enjoy each individual story, each individual voice.
Final Rating: 4.4/5
April 8, 2017
Reviewed on the blog: https://paperwanderer.wordpress.com/2...
November 21, 2018
For this collection of stories, I’ll share a couple of thoughts on each.
Warrior of Sunrise
It plunged me into the world with a bevy of terms I didn’t know and left me to flounder my way to knowledge.
The quick scenes were cut to flashbacks (and then back again) in mid-sentence. It didn’t hit the mark with me but it didn’t miss by much.
Rite of Passage
The young captain’s first voyage is a slave ship. The foil he plays to his first mate’s inhuman treatment of his slaves makes me question if he gets any credit for having a conscience. The first mate tries to “help” his captain by urging his boss to think of the slaves as cargo and not people. The story doesn’t end well for anyone, which reveals Mr. Broaddus’ answer to my question.
Ah Been Buked
A slave’s story. He uses mid-sentence flashbacks again to compare Zias whipping with the narrator’s Poppa’s. Great quote:
“Just because some law said we weren’t a slave no more don’t mean everyone obeyed it.” p.43
A Soldier’s Story
One man is pure evil, killing Negros and inciting an entire town to help. The last image is of Holton stabbing a baby he just cut out of them mother to a tree. That makes the subtle hint at the narrator’s being a vampire much less frightening.
Shadow Boxing
I forgot to take a note at the time but I remember it being like the Battle Royal scene in Invisible Man.
The Ave
A prison story with bit of African Lore for good measure. The flashback tactic was used a little more lightly. The brutality of prison was highlighted and both bad guys were Irish. Not sure what to make of this one.
Family Business
The Jamaican patois was tough to follow at times. It was basically a story with magic or obeah.
Read Me Up
Features more Obeah, this time a prophecy, a woman visits her daughter and son-in-law with her new husband. The younger couple seem to be having problems and the prophecy hints that the curse that is on the family may end up with the daughter being divorced, just as her mother was.
Cerulean Memories
Ambiguous story wherein an old man buys things that people died on. It’s hinted that he may think that such items can give him a connection to the Afterlife. At the end, it’s revealed that he’s mummified his late wife, complete with organs in jars. The flashbacks are still there but a little less intrusive.
The Volunteer
The tossing in of the mention she’s a vampire and then continuing building the scene is a great hook. After a bit it they get into it, still not whole hog, though. At the end I like the expansion of the feet thing: the form into hooks to hang from trees. Though that scene really ends ambiguously, what was The Volunteer volunteering for? It’s not said outright. Great quote:
“Sometime silence is the greatest wisdom.” p. 103.
The Electric Spanking of the War Babies (with Kyle Johnson)
A Chosen One story. In the future he must tap into an energy called...Funk. It was a fun story and reminded me of all the blaxploitation movies in the 70s.
Pimp My Airship
America is a colony and blacks are relegate to the ghettos. A revolution starts with a mention of Star Child, who was mentioned in the previous story and The Ave from the story of the same name. I liked his tying his stories with something other than the oft repeated “wrinkles filigreed” a face.
The Valkyrie
The Church Rules the world and this story is set on the front lines of the battle to eradicate The Nil (atheists) and The Heaths (heathens). It touches upon genetic manipulation which I would have thought would be blasphemy; they’re meddling with god-given bodies.
Voices of the Martyrs
Like the last story The Church Rules. This time, though, the Ecumenical Army is space faring. The baddies are a virus that takes over species by infecting them.
Great Quotes:
“The seconds retreated, collapsing into the singularity of eternity.” p.149
“In my experience, the more a life form mirrors ours, the more nervous I became. Violence was our way no matter where we found ourselves in the universe.” p. 153
Warrior of Sunrise
It plunged me into the world with a bevy of terms I didn’t know and left me to flounder my way to knowledge.
The quick scenes were cut to flashbacks (and then back again) in mid-sentence. It didn’t hit the mark with me but it didn’t miss by much.
Rite of Passage
The young captain’s first voyage is a slave ship. The foil he plays to his first mate’s inhuman treatment of his slaves makes me question if he gets any credit for having a conscience. The first mate tries to “help” his captain by urging his boss to think of the slaves as cargo and not people. The story doesn’t end well for anyone, which reveals Mr. Broaddus’ answer to my question.
Ah Been Buked
A slave’s story. He uses mid-sentence flashbacks again to compare Zias whipping with the narrator’s Poppa’s. Great quote:
“Just because some law said we weren’t a slave no more don’t mean everyone obeyed it.” p.43
A Soldier’s Story
One man is pure evil, killing Negros and inciting an entire town to help. The last image is of Holton stabbing a baby he just cut out of them mother to a tree. That makes the subtle hint at the narrator’s being a vampire much less frightening.
Shadow Boxing
I forgot to take a note at the time but I remember it being like the Battle Royal scene in Invisible Man.
The Ave
A prison story with bit of African Lore for good measure. The flashback tactic was used a little more lightly. The brutality of prison was highlighted and both bad guys were Irish. Not sure what to make of this one.
Family Business
The Jamaican patois was tough to follow at times. It was basically a story with magic or obeah.
Read Me Up
Features more Obeah, this time a prophecy, a woman visits her daughter and son-in-law with her new husband. The younger couple seem to be having problems and the prophecy hints that the curse that is on the family may end up with the daughter being divorced, just as her mother was.
Cerulean Memories
Ambiguous story wherein an old man buys things that people died on. It’s hinted that he may think that such items can give him a connection to the Afterlife. At the end, it’s revealed that he’s mummified his late wife, complete with organs in jars. The flashbacks are still there but a little less intrusive.
The Volunteer
The tossing in of the mention she’s a vampire and then continuing building the scene is a great hook. After a bit it they get into it, still not whole hog, though. At the end I like the expansion of the feet thing: the form into hooks to hang from trees. Though that scene really ends ambiguously, what was The Volunteer volunteering for? It’s not said outright. Great quote:
“Sometime silence is the greatest wisdom.” p. 103.
The Electric Spanking of the War Babies (with Kyle Johnson)
A Chosen One story. In the future he must tap into an energy called...Funk. It was a fun story and reminded me of all the blaxploitation movies in the 70s.
Pimp My Airship
America is a colony and blacks are relegate to the ghettos. A revolution starts with a mention of Star Child, who was mentioned in the previous story and The Ave from the story of the same name. I liked his tying his stories with something other than the oft repeated “wrinkles filigreed” a face.
The Valkyrie
The Church Rules the world and this story is set on the front lines of the battle to eradicate The Nil (atheists) and The Heaths (heathens). It touches upon genetic manipulation which I would have thought would be blasphemy; they’re meddling with god-given bodies.
Voices of the Martyrs
Like the last story The Church Rules. This time, though, the Ecumenical Army is space faring. The baddies are a virus that takes over species by infecting them.
Great Quotes:
“The seconds retreated, collapsing into the singularity of eternity.” p.149
“In my experience, the more a life form mirrors ours, the more nervous I became. Violence was our way no matter where we found ourselves in the universe.” p. 153
March 8, 2017
In these stories, Maurice Broaddus speaks with the voices of martyrs – past, present, and future. The anthology is divided accordingly into these sections. All or almost all of these stories involve some fantasy or science fiction element. Personally, I found I liked the future stories the best.
The collection begins with “Warrior of the Sunrise Rite of Passage,” the tale of a woman warrior in a long ago Africa, battling strange and ferocious monsters. From there, the collection moves to areas of the past that are more easily pinpointed in history books. “Rite of Passage” tells of the Atlantic Slave Trade. In “Ah Been Buked,” a young woman survives slavery in the American South. “A Solider’s Story” is narrated by a vampire who witnesses the unspeakable destruction of a town’s black community. And in “Shadow Boxing” an up and coming boxer fights against segregation. I’m not one hundred percent sure if “Rite of Passage” and “Shadow Boxing” had speculative elements, but they’re the outliers in that regard.
Some of the present stories also deal with racial justice, such as the prison industrial complex in “The Ave.” But this section also offers tales with many other focuses, such as a disintegrating marriage and a family curse in “Read Me Up.” “Cerulean Memories” deals with moving on from the deaths of loved ones. “The Volunteer” was perhaps the most confusing story in this collection – it’s clearly some form of alternate history but it took a while for me to understand the vampire elements. It didn’t help that part of it randomly appeared during another story, although this was likely a formatting error with my ARC. My favorite of this section was “Family Business,” where an American man travels to visit family in Jamaica and uncovers his own magical lineage.
As I’ve already said, the future section contained most of my favorite stories. “The Electric Spanking of War Babies” is perhaps the strangest story in the collection, and it’s delightful in its weirdness. I loved the creativity of the dystopic steampunk setting of “Pimp My Airship” and would definitely read any other stories set in this alternate history. I wish there were more! Likewise, I would totally read a novel set in the future of the last two stories, “The Valkyrie” and “The Voices of Martyrs.” These stories both center on The Order of Service, a cult like form of Christianity that is focused on dominating Earth and the planets beyond. “The Valkyrie” focuses on one of their soldiers, in the never ending battles waged on Earth’s surface. In “The Voices of Martyrs,” Broaddus explores colonialism and first contact stories.
The chronological ordering of the stories was interesting, but I think it led to the strongest stories coming near the end of the book instead of being more regularly spaced out. Oh, well. I’m just glad I stuck around for the end!
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
I received an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for a free and honest review.
The collection begins with “Warrior of the Sunrise Rite of Passage,” the tale of a woman warrior in a long ago Africa, battling strange and ferocious monsters. From there, the collection moves to areas of the past that are more easily pinpointed in history books. “Rite of Passage” tells of the Atlantic Slave Trade. In “Ah Been Buked,” a young woman survives slavery in the American South. “A Solider’s Story” is narrated by a vampire who witnesses the unspeakable destruction of a town’s black community. And in “Shadow Boxing” an up and coming boxer fights against segregation. I’m not one hundred percent sure if “Rite of Passage” and “Shadow Boxing” had speculative elements, but they’re the outliers in that regard.
Some of the present stories also deal with racial justice, such as the prison industrial complex in “The Ave.” But this section also offers tales with many other focuses, such as a disintegrating marriage and a family curse in “Read Me Up.” “Cerulean Memories” deals with moving on from the deaths of loved ones. “The Volunteer” was perhaps the most confusing story in this collection – it’s clearly some form of alternate history but it took a while for me to understand the vampire elements. It didn’t help that part of it randomly appeared during another story, although this was likely a formatting error with my ARC. My favorite of this section was “Family Business,” where an American man travels to visit family in Jamaica and uncovers his own magical lineage.
As I’ve already said, the future section contained most of my favorite stories. “The Electric Spanking of War Babies” is perhaps the strangest story in the collection, and it’s delightful in its weirdness. I loved the creativity of the dystopic steampunk setting of “Pimp My Airship” and would definitely read any other stories set in this alternate history. I wish there were more! Likewise, I would totally read a novel set in the future of the last two stories, “The Valkyrie” and “The Voices of Martyrs.” These stories both center on The Order of Service, a cult like form of Christianity that is focused on dominating Earth and the planets beyond. “The Valkyrie” focuses on one of their soldiers, in the never ending battles waged on Earth’s surface. In “The Voices of Martyrs,” Broaddus explores colonialism and first contact stories.
The chronological ordering of the stories was interesting, but I think it led to the strongest stories coming near the end of the book instead of being more regularly spaced out. Oh, well. I’m just glad I stuck around for the end!
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
I received an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for a free and honest review.
February 5, 2019
This is a truly amazing collection of short stories that span time, setting, and speculative subgenres: horror, dark fantasy, science fiction, afrofuturism, and steampunk. What sets this book apart from other short story collections I have read are three things Maurice Broaddus does extremely well: 1. His characters are believable and interesting. 2. His writing is brilliantly vivid. I'm talking close to Ray Bradbury imagery. 3. His messages are deep and inspiring. These stories have things to say, and they say them with pride and reverence for those that have fallen trying to say similar things. Most of the characters are of African descent, so some of the things being said revolve around race and culture, but that is only part of this book's magic. I am whiter than rice on a paper plate, and these stories moved me and made me think in profound ways. What the voices of the martyrs spoke to me is all about the awesome responsibility of humanity and the intense power of storytelling.
March 14, 2025
I started reading this a couple years ago, but didn't finish before it had to go back to the library. Then, as is my way, a million other books jumped in my path. When I finally went back to get it, it was only available in audiobook. So I got that. I'm glad I did. The readers were excellent.!
As it's a book about "Voices of Martyrs", there's no happy tales in here. It actually gets incredibly dark here and there. But, my god, the writing! Broadus is one of the best, hands down!
My favorite story in here was Family Business.
As it's a book about "Voices of Martyrs", there's no happy tales in here. It actually gets incredibly dark here and there. But, my god, the writing! Broadus is one of the best, hands down!
My favorite story in here was Family Business.
October 30, 2019
I rate books by feel and every time I read a story from this collection of stories, I felt something deep. If you are in search or awakening your imagination or kickstarting your creativity, then I highly recommend this book.
September 14, 2023
Maurice Broaddus is one of the leading voices in speculative fiction and this collection demonstrates why. The man is tremendously talented, funny, and unafraid to trod where lesser writers shy away.
March 27, 2017
It all came down to the story we lived by. If the metaphor of that story could be changed, the individual could be changed.
Announcement: The world needs to read this book immediately.
The Voices of Martyrs is an a collection of stories voiced by the "martyrs" of African culture. These impressive, yet brief, short stories span entire generations from the distant past in their home continent, to the vast reaches of outer space. Broaddus' ability to switch between different voices and genres is astounding. Every story was unique, real, and overwhelmingly heartbreaking. It tackled the many hardships undergone by the African people, and showcased their - and basically every other marginalized culture - eternal struggle to keep themselves afloat in the world and era they lived in while trying to remember their true selves. The prose is beautiful and real and sharp - it didn't shy away from the harsher aspects of the story but instead highlighted them. There is power in the words and in the stories, and even though they're fiction, it might as well be true. The Voices of Martyrs doesn't just shed light on the darkness, it battles it too.
That is all I can say about this book because I would like you guys to see for yourselves that there is a deep-rooted, ugly, and unrelenting problem in our society, from then until now, that needs to be solved. We can't just cure this by reading books of course, but by reading, I believe that we may be able to understand and change our perception of the world and heal what needs to be healed.
February 24, 2021
Know I read this but can't remember when
February 20, 2017
This anthology is a profound, emotionally charged anthology that left me breathless. The stories are portraits of Africans over time, from the time before slavery, through their experiences over the decades in the US to the present and beyond. Each voice is a message that reaches the heart. An entire race has been shaped by the ignorance, hate and greed of others. But despite this, there is still pride, a sense of connection with their origins. It takes strength and determination to persevere. At the same time, there is a tacit criticism of the selfishness that arises from a lack of human connection, a lack of place. There is also a criticism of those who force their religion on others, particularly through militant means. If we ignore our pasts, we are in danger of making the same mistakes.
Some may be offended about the way Christianity is portrayed, but the reality is that slavers justified their actions because they saw themselves as superior. They felt they were “civilizing heathens” and that Africans were little better than animals. The short sightedness and lack of empathy that people have for those that look different and believe differently has had a horrific impact on our culture. American society hasn’t progressed, as we can easily see today.
The Voices of Martyrs is an incredible, eloquently written anthology and I highly recommend it.
5 / 5
I received a copy The Voices of Martyrs from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
--Crittermom
Some may be offended about the way Christianity is portrayed, but the reality is that slavers justified their actions because they saw themselves as superior. They felt they were “civilizing heathens” and that Africans were little better than animals. The short sightedness and lack of empathy that people have for those that look different and believe differently has had a horrific impact on our culture. American society hasn’t progressed, as we can easily see today.
The Voices of Martyrs is an incredible, eloquently written anthology and I highly recommend it.
5 / 5
I received a copy The Voices of Martyrs from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
--Crittermom
January 24, 2019
It took me far too long to read this book, mostly because short stories are just not my preferred format. I got drawn into this one anyway, because the cover is kind of hypnotizing, and because I'm wanting to read more from Rosarium Press.
My feelings remain mixed. The stories seem a bit uneven, the subject matter a bit dark (for my taste), and with lots of violence. They are arranged into Past, Present, and Future sections, and explore slavery, racism, lynching, murder, oppression, imprisonment. Of course, you wouldn't expect a happy book with a title like that, but it's part of why I didn't race through this collection.
It's hard to say which stories I liked best when most of the stories were so brutal. Maybe "Family Business," and "Warrior of the Sunrise." "Ah Been Buked" was difficult and tragic but particularly effecting.
I would probably be more likely to pick up a longer work by Broaddus in the future.
My feelings remain mixed. The stories seem a bit uneven, the subject matter a bit dark (for my taste), and with lots of violence. They are arranged into Past, Present, and Future sections, and explore slavery, racism, lynching, murder, oppression, imprisonment. Of course, you wouldn't expect a happy book with a title like that, but it's part of why I didn't race through this collection.
It's hard to say which stories I liked best when most of the stories were so brutal. Maybe "Family Business," and "Warrior of the Sunrise." "Ah Been Buked" was difficult and tragic but particularly effecting.
I would probably be more likely to pick up a longer work by Broaddus in the future.
October 4, 2019
Some interesting stories, interspersed with some real drivel written by someone who may like funk, but lacks the voice to describe it properly. I do like some of the ideas he explores regarding the Service of the Order. If those stories evolved into a book, I'd be all over it.
Read
July 28, 2017PW
Read
December 22, 2017This was not was I was expecting.
The first story was good, following an kickbutt woman warrior with tribe politics and dark rituals and experimental monsters. My copy has formatting issues where sentences have no spaces and sometimes the narrative as hard to follow, but interesting. Kept my attention.
The next two stories were white men telling tales about torturing and killing slaves. Lots of slurs involved and violence.
Then I skimmed over the a slave tale - this time from the slave’s POV, then a boxer, then a prisoner. None of which looped back into the genre I thought it was - sci-fi & fantasy. That’s how NetGalley has it listed. That’s where I got my copy. Disappointing. Maybe it'd be different if my expectations were accurate. It’s really too bad given all the praise. I really can’t stomach to go further. Guess it’s just not for me.
I'll leave the star rating blank. I can't hold formatting problems and Netgalley's erroneous classification against the books.
The first story was good, following an kickbutt woman warrior with tribe politics and dark rituals and experimental monsters. My copy has formatting issues where sentences have no spaces and sometimes the narrative as hard to follow, but interesting. Kept my attention.
The next two stories were white men telling tales about torturing and killing slaves. Lots of slurs involved and violence.
Then I skimmed over the a slave tale - this time from the slave’s POV, then a boxer, then a prisoner. None of which looped back into the genre I thought it was - sci-fi & fantasy. That’s how NetGalley has it listed. That’s where I got my copy. Disappointing. Maybe it'd be different if my expectations were accurate. It’s really too bad given all the praise. I really can’t stomach to go further. Guess it’s just not for me.
I'll leave the star rating blank. I can't hold formatting problems and Netgalley's erroneous classification against the books.
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