Book Review | Promised Land: The Encoding

Reviewed by Erica Ball

In a bleak dystopia, a series of otherworldly events trigger a racial reckoning in the American South.

Three exceptional women are thrust into the national spotlight when a series of bizarre events occur in the first of this planned series: Promised Land: The Encoding. 

Ida, Soweto, and Abeni share a lifelong unshakeable bond, and they exhibit a clear strength of character and intellect. But they all hail from different backgrounds, and each is in her way reflective of a personality honed by their own aspect of the experience of Black Americans. 

In this near future, learning the history of slavery in the US is outlawed, so the young women embark on a road trip to become better acquainted with what they’ve been denied. This coincides with the beginning of terrifying phenomena occurring, the cause of which only Black people can see. 

It is immediately obvious to the friends that what is happening is directly connected to specific historical events as well as larger-scale atrocities committed on Black people throughout US history. Through a series of scenes you could find in horror movies, they uncover more about themselves, their families, their communities, and their country. Their unpredictable path ends with them pushed into roles they never would have expected, but for which they are nevertheless well suited.

Captivating horror scenes mix with poignant reflections on the contradictions of racial history in the US in Promised Land. The plot is steeped in both American history and African spirituality; there is a consistent undercurrent of faith and religion throughout. This is perfectly in sync with the undercurrent of the same found throughout stories of those living through such conditions and such times. There is ever present the dream of a possible time and place of peace, even among inhumane and unjust suffering. 

Promised Land would be a great choice for those looking for compelling stories of the under-represented experiences of Black Muslim women. It is a good opportunity to spend more time in understanding intersectionality and the complexities within the many communities that identify as Black & African American. Each person is a mixture of their family’s unique story, their birthplace, their religion, and so much more—this novel a shining testament to that.

This story offers an unflinching look at how societies and governments react in times of uncertainty and fear and how such times bring festering issues into the light. Times like these make what’s unspoken spoken or, at the very least, much harder to ignore. It embraces parts of American history that some would prefer were overlooked and reaffirms that we can only hope to shape the future when we understand the past. 

The novel forces a reckoning with personal pasts that tie intrinsically to the larger stories of specific communities—a smart fictional blueprint for the reckoning of historic wrongs, seeking to answer the question: What might it take to trigger actual meaningful change for Black communities?

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