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C.T. Rwizi Books In Order

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Publication Order of Scarlet Odyssey Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Black Stars Books

The Visit (By: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie) (2021)Description / Buy at Amazon
These Alien Skies (2021)Description / Buy at Amazon
We Travel the Spaceways (By: Victor LaValle) (2021)Description / Buy at Amazon
2043...(A Merman I Should Turn to Be) (By: Nisi Shawl) (2021)Description / Buy at Amazon
The Black Pages (By: Nnedi Okorafor) (2021)Description / Buy at Amazon
Clap Back (By: Nalo Hopkinson) (2021)Description / Buy at Amazon

C.T. Rwizi is a Zimbabwean born author of fantasy/science fiction books best known for the Scarlet Odyssey book series. Born in Zimbabwe, Rwizi spent his childhood in Swaziland, attended high school in costa Rica and graduated from Dartmouth College with a bachelor of arts degree in government. He lives in South Africa with his family, and when not writing, you will find him playing video games, browsing Reddit, and taking long runs. In 2023, Rwizi published a standalone novel titled House of Gold. It’s a story about humans genetically engineered so that they and their siblings possess a superior DNA from ancient Earth, which will aid them whenever the time comes to reclaim their planet. Yet as their underwater world undergoes a total and irreversible transformation, they must determine who they are and who they want to be.

Scarlet Odyssey is the first book in C.T. Rwizi’s book series by the same name. Salo aspires to become one of his tribe’s young mystics, but there are some constraints in his way. Men aren’t born as mystics; rather, they are born warriors. Yet Salo isn’t good at meeting the demands of his tribe. He has since been in love with magic and books for as long as he can remember in a world where such interests are deemed unmanly. Salo has, however, been working discretely on his axiom, a magical computer-like device that performs spells. If he can overcome the Redhawk’s ordeal, he can pass as a mystic, a vital protector for his village. He only requires a little push to implement his objectives. When a ruthless sorceress attacks his community, and many of his villagers are slain, he is ultimately pushed over the edge.
Salo passes the Redhawk Trial, but this is the first of many steps on his way to the ultimate magical power. The queen of Salo’s tribe orders him on a journey to the nation’s capital as a requirement of his special position as a male mystic. There, he will perform a pilgrimage and discover more about the recent political turmoil about which the queen is curious. During the journey to the capital, he is accompanied by three other outcasts: an outcast female fighter, a strange nomad, and a lethal assassin. Yet, they are being pursued by the exact same Enchantress that assaulted Salo’s hamlet; will they survive the ordeal?

Scarlet Odyssey is a fantastic debut novel that promises something for everyone in the best way possible. In the classic epic fantasy style, Scarlet Odyssey is the first trilogy, a sweeping tale packed with characters who explore a complicated world while embarking on a dramatic, empire-spanning journey, wielding magic, swords, and spears, and at the same time-fighting legendary creatures. Rwizi has crafted a vibrant and immersive landscape reminiscent of Africa’s tropical rainforests, navigable lakes, and open plains. Rwizi transcends brilliantly beyond the medieval-European fantasy narrative norm that has been extensively explored in the decades since The Lord of the Rings.

Scarlet Odyssey is narrated from the points of view of five characters: Musalodi, the newbie mystic; the Maidservant, who hesitantly advances her master’s schemes for a bloody conquest; Isa, Ilapara, a mercenary, ruler of the Saire and the Enchantress who has her shadowy intentions for Umadiland. Salo reawakens his power against the will of his people as the Maidservant threatens his hamlet. His queen sets him on a mission throughout Umadiland, where he picks up Ilapara, previously serving as an unpaid guard, and Tuk, from the kingdoms over the sea, along the way. Rwizi’s language is as deep and rich as a tropical jungle. He delights in colorful imagery and long, flowing words that will please die-hard lovers of epic fantasy but may take some getting accustomed to for newbies.

Besides the Scarlet Odyssey, C.T. Rwizi contributed to the Black Stars series by writing These Alien Skies novella, the fourth book in the series. It’s a delightful story of about 25 pages but packed with themes that could have made it a longer piece. We are introduced to pilot Msizi and an engineer by the name of Tariro as they make a transit across a recently built Einstein Rosen bridge to an unexplored star system. The bridge is simply an artificially created wormhole that enables near-instantaneous transit between two incredibly distant locations — a similar bridge like to the ones found in the famous sci-fi series stargate. Msizi becomes the first person to test the new space travel bridge recently finished by an automated spacecraft slower-than-light-speed, known as the Architect, which traveled to the Malcolm-X system in advance. But things do not go as planned, and Msizi and Tariro find themselves abruptly stuck with little possibility of returning to anybody or anything they know.

Within its few pages, These Alien Skies packs themes such as history, diaspora, loss, and colonialism. In this world, the African Union has colonized other planets in a mirror of the late nineteenth-century European colonization of Africa. Native Indians assisted the early Mayflower immigrants during their first difficult winter via a feeling of common humanity. But this generosity served them little use in the face of later efforts to rule and dominate the American hinterland, much as Europeans did in Africa. Rwizi abandons his characters to the mercy of an alien race, even though he himself is the alien. With a communication gap analogous to that in the 2016 science fiction film Arrival, Rwizi addresses the age-old dilemma of whether or not the natives should provide aid to Msizi and Tariro, the hapless aliens.
The story showcases its alien technology in small incidental asides, Tariro’s cyborg nature, Msizi’s implant, and the judicious namedropping of scientists and science concepts. When disaster strikes, it gives it reminiscent of Apollo 13 to it as the author vividly captures the chaos and the need for both Msizi and Tariro to react instantly to the catastrophe. The two characters differ in their respective backgrounds- for instance, Tariro is a new African raised far from the cultural discrimination and prejudice that Msizi faced.

Book Series In Order » Authors » C.T. Rwizi

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