Book Review: The Fist of Memory by Wole Talabi

 Wole Talabi is such an interesting author. 

  I first heard of him when I picked up Convergence Problems.  I am not a huge short story fan, but I enjoyed this collection - so I was pretty excited when I started to see full length novels coming out. 

I was fortunate to be gifted an advanced copy of The Fist of Memory- which fits in nicely with my reading theme for 2026 (outer space) Thank you so much to Astra Publishing for this advanced copy. 

Since we are talking cover art often, I am entirely NOT a FAN. 

The West African cover is so much more something I'd pick up if the author were unknown to me. 

That said, I think the US cover is going to appeal to a lot of people as it gives of a definite "Sci-Fi" vibe, and the West African one might make people think it was a story of trees- I think of it as neurons. It was created by a team at Masobe Books 

Regardless.

I really enjoyed this novel.  Talabi skillfully combines elements of afro-futurism with Generation ship Sci-fi, and a potential doomsday type situation- any of which would have made a substantial novel ,but putting the three together was masterful. 

Without Spoilers- This is a first contact thriller with true elements of hard sci-fi as well as well developed characters that readers can come to identify with, even if at first these characters seem less relatable. Our main characters are living un-related lives, and it does take a while for the connections between them to become apparent and for them to start to be aware of each other to get the story really going towards the conclusion, but I didn't really mind the slow start.  I could feel the environments where each of the characters started out, and I found the introductory chapters to be each like a complete short (very ) story on it's own.  

    I enjoyed the Sci- Fi elements but also really enjoyed this story of three persons all marred by grief, loss and anger, working within a situation that cannot be ignored. The looming spaceship and possible aliens among us brought an extra gravitas, and drama to the narrative and reminded me that indeed, we don't get to choose the times we live in and that work, relationships and life in general don't stop for anything, not even aliens. 

  The novel did demand my attention, it isn't one that a reader can casually engage with- and thus it took me a bit of time to finish it off, I did love the conclusion that says so much about humanity and life in general. 

Worth the time, worth the read.  Great one for a Hard Sci-Fi reader in your life! Coming out next week, this will be one you can be sure won't already be on their shelves. 

STATS

First Published: 10/27/2026

Pages: 416

Available as an Audio Book :  Hopefully! 

               Trigger Warnings: Death, death of parents, gun violence, alcohol, child death, emotional abuse, explosions, religion. 

(this is not a full list, read responsibly)