“The Blossoming Of The Big Tree takes Dila’s incredibly compelling Yat Madit concept first introduced in Africanfuturism: An Anthology and extrapolates it to grander scale by giving the utopian ‘big tree’ decentralized society a challenge – invasion by something larger and more powerful. Dila uses his signature blend of seriousness and humor, an uniquely engaging protagonist and a series of syncretic techno-spiritual inventions to probe the limits of this political system based on pre-colonial power structures and philosophies. It’s fascinating.”

Wole Talabi, award-winning author of The Fist Of Memory and Shigidi And The Brass Head Of Obalufon

“This is a wonderful tale, firmly in the realm of optimistic future fiction. I look forward to more.”
Judy Backhouse, on Kobo. August 7, 2026

“This delightful short story, set in a future federation of villages that stretch south from present day Uganda into Tanzania, has as protagonist, a reclusive old woman, Adita, the village rwot. In this position she leads the village council which settles local disputes. She also chairs the national committee for defence, a body whose chief responsibility is disaster relief. That is, until Kenya declares war on the federation. The war is of course backed by the USA which wants the federation’s rather unique technology. The Kenyans just want food. Adita finds herself responsible for coordinating a response. The Federation, a thriving rural civilisation, is not designed to fight wars, and the radical transparency which is built into it’s governance makes it difficulty to plan a response without making it public knowledge. Adita thus has to make two plans—a public one and a secret one. In the process she makes herself very unpopular. It’s hard to image a delightful solar-punk war story, but the author pulls it off, starting with some of the most imaginative world-building I’ve read in years. From the description of the homesteads and villages, the technologies that make rural life more desirable than cities, to the governance structures and communication protocols that ensure transparency, this world is full of imaginative ideas for how a good society might function. The character of Adita is beautifully crafted and the story is well told. This is a wonderful tale, firmly in the realm of optimistic future fiction. I look forward to more.”

“I finished @dilmandila‘s Blossoming of the Big Tree, which is a fun and thoughtful steampunk sci-fi with high stakes and an unforgettable protagonist.”
LJ

“I really enjoyed reading this, so utopian and dystopian at the same time“
Lan

“I’ve started reading it and am thoroughly enjoying it so far. Your storytelling style is really fun and engaging, with such an interesting setting and great characters!.”
Jank Hambrams

“This is a brilliant.”
Honora Niwlcraft @NiwlCraft@mastodon.art

Writing a solarpunk novel set during the first days of an invasion is a bold choice. Some would disagree that it’s solarpunk at all. But the novel gave me a sense of hope & wonder that the “happy forever after” setting of most stories in the genre fail to deliver. The worldbuilding is set farther into the future where the whole world is not solarpunk yet. I think this is brilliant because it allows for contrasted stories.

“It’s a good book.”
Milly

I finished reading @dilmandila book The Blossoming of The Big Tree yesterday. It’s a good book. The most powerful thing with it is that it gives you a picture of a working alternative to todays centralised governing system. It gives you the tools to imagine something other, something better.

It’s also a bit scary in painting a future for the “global north” that I fear unless our clown show of governments get their shit together.

But regardless that, it’s a book I recommend. You should read it.