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Caged Ocean Dub
There are dragons in Lagos and witches who wear their sons’ skins, while an alliance of otherworldly beings are collecting intelligent life forms in the depths of the universe.
Falowo’s poetically precise language and spine-tingling plot twists are reminiscent of both Poe and Kafka as they tackle themes of belonging, abusive maternal relationships, and tragic love in an unforgettable literary adventure.
This collection features some of Falowo’s most notable previously published stories alongside new tales of magic and terror. Ngozi Ugegbe Nwa was longlisted for the 2021 NOMMO for short stories and Vain Knife was longlisted for the 2020 NOMMO for short stories. Convergence in Chorus Architecture appeared on the 2020 Locus Recommended reading list and was longlisted for the BFSA short fiction award, the 2021 NOMMO for novellas, and the 2021 SCKA award for short fiction.
Falowo’s poetically precise language and spine-tingling plot twists are reminiscent of both Poe and Kafka as they tackle themes of belonging, abusive maternal relationships, and tragic love in an unforgettable literary adventure.
This collection features some of Falowo’s most notable previously published stories alongside new tales of magic and terror. Ngozi Ugegbe Nwa was longlisted for the 2021 NOMMO for short stories and Vain Knife was longlisted for the 2020 NOMMO for short stories. Convergence in Chorus Architecture appeared on the 2020 Locus Recommended reading list and was longlisted for the BFSA short fiction award, the 2021 NOMMO for novellas, and the 2021 SCKA award for short fiction.
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First published June 20, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 19, 2023
read last month.
Absolutely beautiful (and I do mean beautiful!) writing from a Nigerian author. Full post is here:
http://www.oddlyweirdfiction.com/2023...
When I began reading Caged Ocean Dub, in the first section of the book labeled "Hungers," I got through "Akara Oyinbo," thinking "wow, that's pretty macabre," then it was "Busola Orange Juice," which was strange but awesome at the same time. Next up was the hallucinatory "Oases," which moved into dark and haunting territory, but it was when I got to "Eating Kaolin" that Falowo's writing just exploded and took my mind and the rest of me along with it. I didn't realize it at the time, but I can say now that it was that particular story that tuned me into the author's "extraordinary imagination" (as noted in the dustjacket blurb) and provided the first insights into the sheer genius in storytelling Falowo has to offer throughout the remainder of Caged Ocean Dub.
In an interview I found after finishing this collection, the author notes that "over a foundation of mundane realism" they "like to play with multi-tonality and tropes, to blend and blur." What they do not say specifically but is readily discoverable in Caged Ocean Dub from the get-go is that that "mundane realism" includes a relationship with what we might consider "supernatural" forces/beings who share the human world -- all a matter of course for the people in these stories. Another item worth mentioning is that each and every story incorporates human issues that are very much locally based, yet surprisingly universal at the same time.
The dustjacket blurb quotes Falowo as saying about these tales that they
"were mostly inspired by real events and/or emotional states, and were also fuelled by my love of indigenous cosmologies and pop culture symbolism. They were written in various caged spaces, wehre the pulse and ambient sounds of the world outside became, after a while, like arrhythmic waves crashing on the shores of my listening."
Tartarus has simply outdone itself with this collection and I'm just over the moon that they've chosen to highlight the work of this Nigerian author, which is, simply stated, superlative. Falowo's writing meshes together surrealism, the speculative, the weird and the strange as well as folklore, mythology and tradition, all of which put together mark something new and exciting on the literary weird scene, although to try to pigeonhole this book into the "weird" category simply doesn't do it justice. It is Falowo's stunning writing that impressed me the most, pushing his work so deeply into the literary zone to the point where readers who wouldn't normally dabble in the weird or in darkness in general would soon be rejoicing at the beauty and power found in the artistry of the author's prose.
Very times infinity highly recommended.
Absolutely beautiful (and I do mean beautiful!) writing from a Nigerian author. Full post is here:
http://www.oddlyweirdfiction.com/2023...
When I began reading Caged Ocean Dub, in the first section of the book labeled "Hungers," I got through "Akara Oyinbo," thinking "wow, that's pretty macabre," then it was "Busola Orange Juice," which was strange but awesome at the same time. Next up was the hallucinatory "Oases," which moved into dark and haunting territory, but it was when I got to "Eating Kaolin" that Falowo's writing just exploded and took my mind and the rest of me along with it. I didn't realize it at the time, but I can say now that it was that particular story that tuned me into the author's "extraordinary imagination" (as noted in the dustjacket blurb) and provided the first insights into the sheer genius in storytelling Falowo has to offer throughout the remainder of Caged Ocean Dub.
In an interview I found after finishing this collection, the author notes that "over a foundation of mundane realism" they "like to play with multi-tonality and tropes, to blend and blur." What they do not say specifically but is readily discoverable in Caged Ocean Dub from the get-go is that that "mundane realism" includes a relationship with what we might consider "supernatural" forces/beings who share the human world -- all a matter of course for the people in these stories. Another item worth mentioning is that each and every story incorporates human issues that are very much locally based, yet surprisingly universal at the same time.
The dustjacket blurb quotes Falowo as saying about these tales that they
"were mostly inspired by real events and/or emotional states, and were also fuelled by my love of indigenous cosmologies and pop culture symbolism. They were written in various caged spaces, wehre the pulse and ambient sounds of the world outside became, after a while, like arrhythmic waves crashing on the shores of my listening."
Tartarus has simply outdone itself with this collection and I'm just over the moon that they've chosen to highlight the work of this Nigerian author, which is, simply stated, superlative. Falowo's writing meshes together surrealism, the speculative, the weird and the strange as well as folklore, mythology and tradition, all of which put together mark something new and exciting on the literary weird scene, although to try to pigeonhole this book into the "weird" category simply doesn't do it justice. It is Falowo's stunning writing that impressed me the most, pushing his work so deeply into the literary zone to the point where readers who wouldn't normally dabble in the weird or in darkness in general would soon be rejoicing at the beauty and power found in the artistry of the author's prose.
Very times infinity highly recommended.
September 26, 2024
Titulo: Caged Ocean Dub
Autor: Dare Segun Falowo
Motivo de lectura: #PSM2024
Lectura / Relectura: Lectura
Fisico / Electronico: Electronico
Mi edicion: -
Puntuacion: 3/5
Este libro es una antología con 20 cuentos.
Esta antología se ahonda en el folklore Nigeriano, adentrándose en el terror y las historias fantásticas de esa tierra.
Akara Oyinbo: una madre devota de tres niños, y amante de hornear pasteles. Un desenlace macabro, en la forma de un trozo de pastel. 4/5.
Busola orange juice: Busola vende un jugo muy especial, su líquido es testigo del dolor. El origen de su jugo me dejó boquiabierta. 5/5.
Oases: el éxodo de una familia, en la búsqueda del bienestar, y la fatalidad de la sed. 3/5.
Eating Kaolin: la lucha por la tierra, por los derechos, por lo que corresponde. Una lucha femenina, animal, espiritual. Un relato fantástico. 5/5.
October in Eran Riro: cocinas, recetas especiales, banquetes magníficos. Me dió la impresión de ser un cuento demasiado extenso, aburrido. 2/5.
The fields of Abete, Iwaya: un relato muy corto, con un párrafo final que hiela la sangre. 3/5.
Vain knife: un cuchillo, una presencia demoníaca, un niño..un cóctel macabro. 3/5.
Sonskins: un relato bizarro que involucra la piel de familiares. 2.5/5.
Ngozi Ugegbe Nwa: un relato sobre un objeto entre maldito y mágico, un relato macabro, donde las apariencias engañan. 4/5.
The visions of Aranda Ekun: un relato onírico, febril. Hay cosas que no terminaron de gustarme. 3/5.
Kikelomo Ultrasheen: la creencia de que el cabello tiene un poder especial, la complejidad de la relación madre-hija. 4/5.
LSD-1842: un amante desesperado ante la fatalidad. Cuantas veces viajarias para cambiar un desenlace? 4/5.
The Waterwidower: me pareció un poco confunso el cuento, sinceramente me pareció incompleto. 2/5.
We Are Born: una mujer escultora con un deseo profundo, sus manos moldean su destino. 4/5.
Take Wing: un relato de ciencia ficción, con sabor a ciberpunk. Ojalá hubiera sido más extenso y con más contexto. 3/5.
What Not To Do When Spelunking In Anambra: un descubriendo que podría cambiar el destino de las personas, entrelazados con el dolor de la perdida. 3.5/5.
Biscuit and Milk: un relato futurista de un viaje espacial. Realmente hay un enorme trabajo por parte del autor describiendo escenarios y situaciones. Sin lugar a dudas esto podría convertirse en una novela de ciencia ficción. 4/5.
Convergence in Chorus Architecture One: El relato (o mas bien novela corta) ahonda en las consecuencias de la guerra y como los sobrevivientes intentan reconstruir un futuro, establecer lazos desde la identificacion por el dolor. La historia tomara un giro onirico/metaforico, transformando por completo a la trama. 4/5.
Autor: Dare Segun Falowo
Motivo de lectura: #PSM2024
Lectura / Relectura: Lectura
Fisico / Electronico: Electronico
Mi edicion: -
Puntuacion: 3/5
Este libro es una antología con 20 cuentos.
Esta antología se ahonda en el folklore Nigeriano, adentrándose en el terror y las historias fantásticas de esa tierra.
Akara Oyinbo: una madre devota de tres niños, y amante de hornear pasteles. Un desenlace macabro, en la forma de un trozo de pastel. 4/5.
Busola orange juice: Busola vende un jugo muy especial, su líquido es testigo del dolor. El origen de su jugo me dejó boquiabierta. 5/5.
Oases: el éxodo de una familia, en la búsqueda del bienestar, y la fatalidad de la sed. 3/5.
Eating Kaolin: la lucha por la tierra, por los derechos, por lo que corresponde. Una lucha femenina, animal, espiritual. Un relato fantástico. 5/5.
October in Eran Riro: cocinas, recetas especiales, banquetes magníficos. Me dió la impresión de ser un cuento demasiado extenso, aburrido. 2/5.
The fields of Abete, Iwaya: un relato muy corto, con un párrafo final que hiela la sangre. 3/5.
Vain knife: un cuchillo, una presencia demoníaca, un niño..un cóctel macabro. 3/5.
Sonskins: un relato bizarro que involucra la piel de familiares. 2.5/5.
Ngozi Ugegbe Nwa: un relato sobre un objeto entre maldito y mágico, un relato macabro, donde las apariencias engañan. 4/5.
The visions of Aranda Ekun: un relato onírico, febril. Hay cosas que no terminaron de gustarme. 3/5.
Kikelomo Ultrasheen: la creencia de que el cabello tiene un poder especial, la complejidad de la relación madre-hija. 4/5.
LSD-1842: un amante desesperado ante la fatalidad. Cuantas veces viajarias para cambiar un desenlace? 4/5.
The Waterwidower: me pareció un poco confunso el cuento, sinceramente me pareció incompleto. 2/5.
We Are Born: una mujer escultora con un deseo profundo, sus manos moldean su destino. 4/5.
Take Wing: un relato de ciencia ficción, con sabor a ciberpunk. Ojalá hubiera sido más extenso y con más contexto. 3/5.
What Not To Do When Spelunking In Anambra: un descubriendo que podría cambiar el destino de las personas, entrelazados con el dolor de la perdida. 3.5/5.
Biscuit and Milk: un relato futurista de un viaje espacial. Realmente hay un enorme trabajo por parte del autor describiendo escenarios y situaciones. Sin lugar a dudas esto podría convertirse en una novela de ciencia ficción. 4/5.
Convergence in Chorus Architecture One: El relato (o mas bien novela corta) ahonda en las consecuencias de la guerra y como los sobrevivientes intentan reconstruir un futuro, establecer lazos desde la identificacion por el dolor. La historia tomara un giro onirico/metaforico, transformando por completo a la trama. 4/5.
July 11, 2023
A beautiful collection of both haunting and educative tales relayed in exquisite prose; highly recommended to all.
January 25, 2024
Falowo, Dare Segun - Caged Ocean Dub
Imaginative and expansive collection of tales tinged with supernatural and folklore. Author Falowo draws from his Nigerian community, bringing stories steeped in war strife, daily struggles for existence, and what I can only term destiny.
One story weaves through the apprenticeship of hair braiding – a complicated art where mastery seems better attained by those who are called, over those who simply want a profession.
In a similar vein, a starving orphan is accepted into a hectic kitchen, popular with the wealthy and the elites. She is marked out, she has “the gift”. And while the meals, grand feasts, are sumptuous and unforgettable, they carry a heavy toll.
All of Falowo’s stories will expose the reader to new vistas. This is a collection for adventurers.
I do have an issue, however, and it is a sticky one. Every tale has several Nigerian words. I never read with a computer at hand. I am often lax about looking up words, especially when there are 2-3 unfamiliar, unguessable words per page. By the final section, the author seems to have realized this, and has begun to add brief definitions.
For the book, a glossary would have proved useful, although I can understand a publisher’s reluctance in adding one.
Imaginative and expansive collection of tales tinged with supernatural and folklore. Author Falowo draws from his Nigerian community, bringing stories steeped in war strife, daily struggles for existence, and what I can only term destiny.
One story weaves through the apprenticeship of hair braiding – a complicated art where mastery seems better attained by those who are called, over those who simply want a profession.
In a similar vein, a starving orphan is accepted into a hectic kitchen, popular with the wealthy and the elites. She is marked out, she has “the gift”. And while the meals, grand feasts, are sumptuous and unforgettable, they carry a heavy toll.
All of Falowo’s stories will expose the reader to new vistas. This is a collection for adventurers.
I do have an issue, however, and it is a sticky one. Every tale has several Nigerian words. I never read with a computer at hand. I am often lax about looking up words, especially when there are 2-3 unfamiliar, unguessable words per page. By the final section, the author seems to have realized this, and has begun to add brief definitions.
For the book, a glossary would have proved useful, although I can understand a publisher’s reluctance in adding one.
January 13, 2025
Falowo's Caged Ocean Dub is an astonishing collection. Both the writing and the exceptionally brilliant ideas stood out for me. When it comes to Sci-fi, horror, magical realism and other related sub-genres, it's often difficult to find contemporary writers who explore cool and unique concepts and at the same time execute them well. Falowo's prose is utterly mesmeric from start to finish. The collection is expertly put together and there's hardly anything to fault.
Eating Kaolin, October in Eran Riro, Ngozi Ugegbe Nwa, Kikelomo Ultrasheen, We Are Born, and the last two stories in the collection "Biscuit and Milk," and "Convergence in Chorus Architecture," are among my favourites. The author mixes the weird and the banal and even though the stories lean on sci-fi, magical realism and fantastical elements, they are expertly woven in a way that make them feel universal and relatable.
If you are a lover of sci-fi, fantasy, and magical realism, you will find this book very addictive from the get-go. Even if you aren't a fan, I totally recommend this collection for the sheer brilliance of the writing.
I'm looking forward to what this author will do next.
Eating Kaolin, October in Eran Riro, Ngozi Ugegbe Nwa, Kikelomo Ultrasheen, We Are Born, and the last two stories in the collection "Biscuit and Milk," and "Convergence in Chorus Architecture," are among my favourites. The author mixes the weird and the banal and even though the stories lean on sci-fi, magical realism and fantastical elements, they are expertly woven in a way that make them feel universal and relatable.
If you are a lover of sci-fi, fantasy, and magical realism, you will find this book very addictive from the get-go. Even if you aren't a fan, I totally recommend this collection for the sheer brilliance of the writing.
I'm looking forward to what this author will do next.
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August 13, 2023DNF! I may revisit because what I did get to read was beautiful (and emotionally taxing).
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews