Shaka II

by Mike Resnick

Brand New, Unread, and WONDEFUL!

Genres: Science Fiction

89 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Michael "Mike" Diamond Resnick, better known by his published name Mike Resnick, was a popular and prolific American science fiction author. He is, according to Locus, the all-time leading award winner, living or dead, for short science fiction. He was the winner of five Hugos, a Nebula, and other major awards in the United States, France, Spain, Japan, Croatia and Poland. and has been short-listed for major awards in England, Italy and Australia. He was the author of 68 novels, over 250 stories, and 2 screenplays, and was the editor of 41 anthologies. His work has been translated into 25 languages. He was the Guest of Honor at the 2012 Worldcon and can be found online as @ResnickMike on Twitter or at www.mikeresnick.com.

Reviews

[Stephen Theaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with Stephen Baxter's Starfall, it's thrilling to read a story that could have been stretched out over 800 pages compressed into 80.

This one is all about the damage that can be done by a determined, intelligent brutal person who doesn't care about the consequences of his actions.

A good book, but a bit like watching someone play a very efficient game of Civilization...

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is about Robert or Tchaka who rises from nothing to be the monarch of South Africa and the ruler of an empire that spans many planets. It follows his rise and the extremes he goes to and how monstrous he gets. I liked how this was a story about a growing empire but it was never about the people in it. It showed an extreme look at politics and colonisation. This story fit the medium really well and it was a very satisfying tale.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another excellent novella from Resnick. It's a fast-paced future-Africa tale, much like the Kirinyaga series. Resnick seems to have shifted most of his attention to humorous work in recent years, but when he returns to seriously examine the nature of man and the role that myths play in the development of the species he is still at the top of the game.

[Geoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shaka II is another tale set within the African culture by Resnick; this time it's the Zulu's and a man named Robert ole Buthelezi believes the Zulu nation need to reimerge and he's going to be the second coming of Shaka. Shaka was the only Zulu leader who helped the Zulu nation beat back the British and form their own empire.

A man named John who is the half-brother to Robert is the protagonist and one day Robert enters into his life and decides he is bring the Zulu's back into prominence, which he does. John watches as Robert becomes a small official and then the President of South Africa. After that he takes his Zulu nation to the stars and creates a new Zulu nation in space. John watches all of this and while he is impressed he does not agree with the tyrannical ways this comes about.

This is an interesting and fun sci-fi read, and I liked it.

[Todd Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent short novella from an author I've not read before. Will seek to remedy that with more of his work.