Return to the startlingly original dystopian world of The Record Keeper in this stunning sequel. For readers of Octavia Butler, Kim Stanley Robinson, Nnedi Okorafor and Tade Thompson comes this Afrofuturist tour de force.
General Arika Cobane, beloved leader of the worker rebellion, makes a bold—but illegal—move to ensure the people’s freedom. When her scheme fails and her co-conspirator hangs for treason, Arika—overworked and overwrought—blacks out.
When she awakens, everything has changed. She’s been stripped of her rank and power and the new leader of the Kongo, Kira Swan, is a charismatic traitor bent on consigning the Kongo under the guise of peace.
Desperate, Arika reunites with Hosea Kahn and seeks treatment for her blackouts at the Compound, deep in the deadly Obi Forest. Arika is determined to regain her influence, stop Kira Swan, and continue leading the Kongo to freedom, but time is running out and she’s still unwell. Control is slipping from her fingers. When a new source of strength presents itself, an ancient authority reserved for the One destined to save the Kongo, Arika gives up everything, including Hosea Khan, to grasp the power, but—all alone, and sick and tired—can she muster the will to hold it?
PRAISE FOR THE RECORD KEEPER:
"A spellbinding, hypnotic read. Highly imaginative, The Record Keeper is an absolute triumph." – Irenosen Okojie, award-winning author of Butterfly Fish
"A fierce and absorbing tale of a heroine finding her own power, set in an exquisitely crafted world...The Record Keeper deserves a place on your must-read list." – Christina Henry, author of Alice
"The Record Keeper is a dazzling book, with prose that stuns and a story that captivates from start to finish. Readers of speculative and non-speculative alike will appreciate the intricate world-building and expert eye for language. Dystopian is well-trod territory, but Gomillion's take is as refreshing as it is powerful and Arika's voice is deeply compelling. This is an important and exquisitely rendered novel. Both timely and timeless, The Record Keeper is one you won't want to miss." – Rivers Solomon, author of An Unkindness of Ghosts
"To read The Record Keeper is to embark on a journey of hard truths and revelation. You will grieve and rage as Gomillion unravels the secrets of past and future." – Olivia Cole, author of A Conspiracy of Stars
"Grips you from the first page, this moving story… challenges us to begin the fight for freedom in our community and in ourselves." – L. Penelope, author of Song of Blood & Stone
"This intellectually rich, emotional, and ruthlessly honest confrontation of racism proves Gomillion is a critically important new voice." - Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"Gomillion writes with the elegance and insight that pervades Octavia E. Butler’s work... Here is a writer whose work will survive genre fads and shifting cultural attention to reveal persistent, crucial truths." - New York Journal Review of Books
"This is a rousing, red-blooded tale of revolution, topically savage in its demolition of the false, unsustainable ideology of apartheid." - The Morning Star
"In a sea of dystopian, post-apocalyptic future tales, The Record Keeper stands out." - Booklist
Return to the startlingly original dystopian world of The Record Keeper in this stunning sequel. For readers of Octavia Butler, Kim Stanley Robinson, Nnedi Okorafor and Tade Thompson comes this Afrofuturist tour de force.
General Arika Cobane, beloved leader of the worker rebellion, makes a bold—but illegal—move to ensure the people’s freedom. When her scheme fails and her co-conspirator hangs for treason, Arika—overworked and overwrought—blacks out.
When she awakens, everything has changed. She’s been stripped of her rank and power and the new leader of the Kongo, Kira Swan, is a charismatic traitor bent on consigning the Kongo under the guise of peace.
Desperate, Arika reunites with Hosea Kahn and seeks treatment for her blackouts at the Compound, deep in the deadly Obi Forest. Arika is determined to regain her influence, stop Kira Swan, and continue leading the Kongo to freedom, but time is running out and she’s still unwell. Control is slipping from her fingers. When a new source of strength presents itself, an ancient authority reserved for the One destined to save the Kongo, Arika gives up everything, including Hosea Khan, to grasp the power, but—all alone, and sick and tired—can she muster the will to hold it?
Praise
PRAISE FOR THE RECORD KEEPER:
"A spellbinding, hypnotic read. Highly imaginative, The Record Keeper is an absolute triumph." – Irenosen Okojie, award-winning author of Butterfly Fish
"A fierce and absorbing tale of a heroine finding her own power, set in an exquisitely crafted world...The Record Keeper deserves a place on your must-read list." – Christina Henry, author of Alice
"The Record Keeper is a dazzling book, with prose that stuns and a story that captivates from start to finish. Readers of speculative and non-speculative alike will appreciate the intricate world-building and expert eye for language. Dystopian is well-trod territory, but Gomillion's take is as refreshing as it is powerful and Arika's voice is deeply compelling. This is an important and exquisitely rendered novel. Both timely and timeless, The Record Keeper is one you won't want to miss." – Rivers Solomon, author of An Unkindness of Ghosts
"To read The Record Keeper is to embark on a journey of hard truths and revelation. You will grieve and rage as Gomillion unravels the secrets of past and future." – Olivia Cole, author of A Conspiracy of Stars
"Grips you from the first page, this moving story… challenges us to begin the fight for freedom in our community and in ourselves." – L. Penelope, author of Song of Blood & Stone
"This intellectually rich, emotional, and ruthlessly honest confrontation of racism proves Gomillion is a critically important new voice." - Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"Gomillion writes with the elegance and insight that pervades Octavia E. Butler’s work... Here is a writer whose work will survive genre fads and shifting cultural attention to reveal persistent, crucial truths." - New York Journal Review of Books
"This is a rousing, red-blooded tale of revolution, topically savage in its demolition of the false, unsustainable ideology of apartheid." - The Morning Star
"In a sea of dystopian, post-apocalyptic future tales, The Record Keeper stands out." - Booklist
