Breath of Oblivion by Maurice Broaddus is the second novel in his Astra Black series (following 2022’s Sweep of Stars) and moves the story of the Muungano world forward from multiple perspectives, each of which probes the internal struggles of a large cast of characters. While the novel shifts more to deepening our understanding of each character, there is still plenty of action that tests the values and commitment of these people to prepare them for major battles to come. Breath of Oblivion is deeply engaging on many levels and reinforces my sense that Muungano culture is one of the most interesting and original creations in recent science fiction.
I think one of the hardest things to pull off in fiction is telling a story from multiple points of view and have each character achieve their own arc while contributing to the larger story. Broaddus gives a masterclass in how to do this. He also uses 1st (both single and plural), 2nd and 3rd person narratives as appropriate to capture the changes unfolding around each character. This is complex drama that flows beautifully and repays close attention to the details of how each voice reveals more and more not only about individual characters but also about Muungano culture as a whole.
But to back up a bit, in case this is your introduction to the Astra Black series, the story takes place about a hundred years in the future after African and diaspora leaders fought a war to establish their own culture and world on the moon, Mars, Titan and in the asteroid belts. The Muungano culture is strongly communitarian, but what makes it especially interesting is that its leaders are constantly struggling to live up to its demanding values while resolving personal issues of their own. It’s also a culture in which art plays an enormous role. In this novel, we feel that through the internal bonding of several characters with musical expression.
Original Earth or O.E. has been devastated by multiple catastrophes, including a great flooding of the eastern seaboard of the U.S. The new capital is Indianapolis, and this damaged world is governed by a group of corporations calling itself the Liberation Investment Support Cooperative (LISC). Its nominal head is known as the Voice of the People (VOP), and he is trying to lure Muungano into an unequal alliance to oppose a potential threat from alien invasion. Life on O.E. is sharply segregated by privilege, and military force keeps people where they belong. Muungano regularly sends its agents to O.E. trying to get more of its people, the weusi, to gather at its Embassy so that they can be transported to the freedom of their own world.
While there is plenty of action in Breath of Oblivion, the emphasis is on the internal struggles of key characters that test their ability to live the community principles of Muungano. The story picks up where the first novel left off, but contextual background makes clear what’s going on, even if you haven’t read Sweep of Stars. Following the assassination of the leader, or Camara, of Muungano and the killing of another character captured by aliens, there is a heavy sense of grief hanging over many. Others face a turning point in their lives for different reasons and try to find a new sense of direction and purpose.
Epyc Ro Morgan finds herself captain of her ship after a first contact mission from Muungano fails, and their captain is brutally executed by the Mziso people they attempted to establish relations with. Worse still, the Orun Gate, through which they had travelled to their destination, is now destroyed. Feeling the elite group known as HOVA has failed and their return home cut off, they now call themselves the Reapers. They reaffirm their sisterhood through modest group ritual and music, but keep wondering how they can stay together and remain Muungano now that they are can’t return to their home culture.
Wachiru Adisa is the son of the assassinated Camara, Xola. Disappointed that the governing council chose someone else to succeed Xola as Camara, Wachiru feels lost. He begins a walkabout on O.E. trying to gather diaspora people (weusi) to go to the Muungano embassy and from there go to their new homeland. He is trying to reconnect with his own art of music (“Living into our music, going wherever the creative spirit took us.”) while finding himself spiritually and determining his longer term purpose. He narrates his story in the first person plural, as he naturally feels so bonded with his people that he sees himself through them more than as an individual. But that larger identity doesn’t prevent him from going through a testing of his values. In the midst of his work, he is arrested by LISC and send to the Panopticon prison.
The Panopticon, a real invention of an 18th century philosopher, is a huge circular prison arranged in such a way that every cell and prisoner is always under surveillance and subject to arbitrary punishment. It is the polar opposite of Muungano, as the structure prevents communal gatherings and inculcates a value of extreme individuality for survival. But even there Wachiru and others find ways to bond in a new form of community.
Amachi Adisa is Wachiru’s sister and has crash landed in the badlands of Mars. But this is an accident that turns into a quest to find her spiritual purpose after she is rescued. Her guide, Nehanda, puts her through many trials, while warning her that the cult of the Tigari, a group of warrior priests who see those who deal with spiritual powers as practicing evil magic, are coming to kill both of them. Under Nehanda’s guidance, she goes through three stages of painful growth as she works towards greater spiritual insight.
Stacia Chikeke is captain of a research spaceship that has also crossed the now destroyed Orun Gate and needs to find a way home to Muungano. The mission of the ship has been to find a cure for the progressive disease of her son Bekele. Also on board is a disruptive man who claims to know where to find the cure but makes impossible demands before sharing his knowledge. Another crew member, named Paki, is constantly repeating the Muungano gospel of community and starts to interfere with Stacia’s command because he thinks she has strayed into personal self-interest. Stacia’s values are tested at every turn until she faces a serious threat of mutiny.
These are just a few of the characters whose separate ordeals gradually combine into a powerful mosaic of strengthening purposes and community. Breath of Oblivion draws to a conclusion that points forward to even more difficult struggle in the next volume, but this novel is a fully satisfying story on its own terms. There is a lot of talk about world building these days, but this is a book that really shows how individuals live in and through the deepest values of a culture that is so different from what most of us experience.
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