Excellent read. I think I missed a lot of political nuances and I definitely had some problems with the African words. But really good scifi. ( )

Plot:
In a South Africa where Apartheid is still in full swing, Martin is a white psychologist who developed a machine that can deeply connect two people with each other. He is ready to proceed to human testing wiht his Empathy Enhancer and finds an ideal subject in black Sibusiso who was traumatized at a political rally. Sibusiso agrees and when it turns out that the machine actually works, more than one party is interested in the machine, leading to both Martin and Sibusiso finding themselves thrown into politics much deeper than they ever thought possible.

Azanian Bridges has an interesting setting and set-up but in the end, the execution was very flawed and didn't manage to convince.

Read more on my blog: https://kalafudra.com/2018/10/15/azanian-bridges-nick-wood/ ( )

This is a difficult book to rate, as while I genuinely believe it's a good book (other than a pretty flimsy ending), it turned out to be *totally* not my thing. It's a scifi cum mystery-drama-action-fantasy novel, set in a present-day South Africa in which apartheid is still alive and kicking. The two protagonists are a young African man who somewhat accidentally (??) becomes part of the resistance movement, and an Afrikaaner psychologist who is treating him, but has on the side developed a mind-reading machine. So yes, there are a LOT of things going on.

I just don't know how I feel about this book. It took me a *long* time to read, but I really believe there are audiences who will enjoy it. 2 stars? 3 stars?? I don't know.

**I received this book for free via LibraryThing 'Early Reads'; obviously this has in no way affected my review, as usual.** ( )

This is a well written and engaging book based in an alternative South Africa still under apartheid.

With the invention of a box which potentially can read minds, the book's main narrator starts to attract unwanted attention from both the security services and those supporting armed struggle. By trying out the box himself with a black patient, who also becomes a narrator, we see a degree of empathy stirring and realise the box's potential.

My only slight concern is the number of South African words thrown into the text without translation. I would urge the author to amend this ebook to include footnoted English translations to smooth the international reader's pathway through this highly readable novel. ( )

This is a tough book to review. Let me be upfront: I know so very little about South Africa and its history that it's pretty damn embarrassing. So reading a science fiction-ish, thriller-ish novel set in an alternative South Africa where Apartheid is still in full swing - well, it was confusing, educational, interesting and...confusing. I consulted Wikipedia *heavily* while reading this - for history, for explanations of acronyms and the groups behind them, and Google translate for the many, many words in Afrikaans sprinkled throughout.

In a lot of ways, it felt like I decided to jump into reading a comic series midstream, having no idea about what happened in previous issues or story arcs. You can do it, but you *always* are going to feel like you're missing something really important.

For me, the story started slowly. It did pick up, and I was glad, because I was a little afraid that I was going to abandon this read. But the black box is very interesting - but I feel that somehow it was also a missed opportunity? I feel like there could have been so much more done with it. Instead it was literally a device for the story. Oh well. It is a really cool idea.

There were some extreme jumps in the story, with no indication what was happening. I'm not sure if this was deliberate or just bad formatting in the ebook. Many times I had to reread things because the jumps were so jarring and confusing.

The story is good. I didn't love it, but it was definitely an experience. And every book is not meant for every person, and I get that - this book was so not written with me as the audience in mind, and that is totally fine. I wish I connected a bit more with it, but it's definitely whet my appetite for finding out more about the real history of South Africa. ( )