The siafu is a species of ant, found in Central, East and South Afrika, that exemplifies the essence of teamwork. There is a soldier class among the workers, which is larger, with a very large head and pincer-like mandibles. They are capable of stinging, but very rarely do so, relying instead on their powerful shearing jaws. Individually each is small, but as a team they can strip a water buffalo down to the bone in less than an hour.
The idea behind Siafu Saves the World, the first book in the Black Power: The Superhero Gamebook series, is that Black youth, much like the siafu ant, may be small in size, but they are powerful beyond measure.
So powerful, in fact, that when they read Siafu Saves the World, THEY decide what powers they will have in the book; THEY decide how the story unfolds; and THEY decide how the story ends.
Siafu Saves the World is written for youth 8-14 years old, but can be enjoyed by all. If you want your 5 year old to experience this Blacktastic gamebook, read it with them, but let him or her make the decisions. It will be fun for both of you.
I’ll end this now, so you can run and grab a copy of Siafu Saves the World for every young person you love. And for yourself… you’re never too old to save the world!
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Posted by Balogun on May 30, 2017 in Adventure, Afrofuturism, atlanta, Fantasy, Role Playing Games, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Urban Fantasy and tagged Black Power, gamebook, Siafu Saves the World, Superheroes.
About Balogun
Balogun is the author of the bestselling Afrikan Martial Arts: Discovering the Warrior Within and screenwriter / producer / director of the films, A Single Link, Rite of Passage: Initiation and Rite of Passage: The Dentist of Westminster.
He is one of the leading authorities on Steamfunk – a philosophy or style of writing that combines the African and / or African American culture and approach to life with that of the steampunk philosophy and / or steampunk fiction – and writes about it, the craft of writing, Sword & Soul and Steampunk in general, at https://chroniclesofharriet.com/.
He is author of eight novels – the Steamfunk bestseller, MOSES: The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman (Books 1 & 2); the Urban Science Fiction saga, Redeemer; the Sword & Soul epic, Once Upon A Time In Afrika; a Fight Fiction, New Pulp novella, Fist of Afrika; the gritty, Urban Superhero series, A Single Link and Wrath of the Siafu; the two-fisted Dieselfunk tale, The Scythe and the “Choose-Your-Own-Destiny”-style Young Adult novel, The Keys. Balogun is also contributing co-editor of two anthologies: Ki: Khanga: The Anthology and Steamfunk.
Finally, Balogun is the Director and Fight Choreographer of the Steamfunk feature film, Rite of Passage, which he wrote based on the short story, Rite of Passage, by author Milton Davis and co-author of the award winning screenplay, Ngolo.
You can reach him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Afrikan.Martial.Arts; on Twitter @Baba_Balogun and on Tumblr at www.tumblr.com/blog/blackspeculativefiction.
[…] Siafu Saves the World – a gamebook in which YOU are a superhero who must save Atlanta – and the world – from a curse brought on by police brutality; Jagunjagun Lewa – a Cyberfunk/Rococoa hybrid based on the manga I wrote about a warrior who travels with his brother, the mandrill Papio, seeking to make the African martial arts respected and revered around the world; and Siafu vs. The Horde – book 2 in the Black Power: The Superhero Gamebook series. […]
[…] wits, your imagination, the help of your 1st cousin, Big ‘Lo, your superpowers, a few cameos from Siafu Saves the World (Black Power: The Superhero Gamebook, Book 1) and maybe even a new superhero or […]