Nnedi Okorafor Archives

#SciFi Worth Reading: Noor #scifibooks #booklovers

Noor by Nnedi Okorafor was a fabulous treat. With each turn of the page, the story unfolds, revealing layers of mystery and intrigue.

“Noor” introduces us to a world where technology and magic coexist in an uneasy balance. Set in a futuristic African city, the story revolves around the life of the titular character, AO, a young woman with a special ability to see and manipulate the threads of fate. From the very beginning, Okorafor skillfully draws us into AO’s world, a place where ancient traditions intertwine with modernity and where the line between reality and the supernatural blurs.

It begins with AO nursing a broken heart. Her man left her, and she drives to the market to get what she needs to make herself a feast, a feast to forget him. The story starts so ordinary, but it doesn’t stay that way. There was surprise after surprise as the story skillfully unfolds.

I absolutely loved this story and highly recommend it.

Here’s the blurb:

Anwuli Okwudili prefers to be called AO. To her, these initials have always stood for Artificial Organism. AO has never really felt…natural, and that’s putting it lightly. Her parents spent most of the days before she was born praying for her peaceful passing because even in-utero she was “wrong”. But she lived. Then came the car accident years later that disabled her even further. Yet instead of viewing her strange body the way the world views it, as freakish, unnatural, even the work of the devil, AO embraces all that she is: A woman with a ton of major and necessary body augmentations. And then one day she goes to her local market and everything goes wrong.

Once on the run, she meets a Fulani herdsman named DNA and the race against time across the deserts of Northern Nigeria begins. In a world where all things are streamed, everyone is watching the “reckoning of the murderess and the terrorist” and the “saga of the wicked woman and mad man” unfold. This fast-paced, relentless journey of tribe, destiny, body, and the wonderland of technology revels in the fact that the future sometimes isn’t so predictable. Expect the unaccepted.

The Best #SciFi and #Fantasy Books I read in 2021

These books weren’t published in 2021, but I read them this year, and I enjoyed every word. I read others but if I don’t like a book, I don’t review it.

The Empress of Forever by Max Gladstone. What an imaginative, creative, marvelous read. If you’re looking for original space opera, this novel certainly fits. Full Review

2. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor. I read this Hugo and Nebula winner cover to cover in one sitting. It deserves the awards. Full Review

3. The Salvage Crew by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne. What started as a simple mission to recover ship parts became more and more immersed in problems and complexity. Full Review

4. The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley. From a realistic start, the story evolves into the more mystical and magical. The town of Bedlam is quite fantastic: glass cliffs; pollen that is bioluminescent; trees that can float on air; and stone statues that move. Full Review

5. A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine. The galaxy it’s set in is awe-inspiring and full of novelty, yet it is also very familiar, which makes it an easy read. Full Review

6. Flex by Ferrett Steinmetz. Most of us love to get lost in the beauty of our daydreams, which is very much like how the magic works in this book. It’s a great adventure with a great dose of self-discovery. Full Review

7. Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse. The plot twists were fun and the action exciting. The character journey was as pivotal as the mystery of finding the witch creating the monsters. Full Review

8. Tentacles and Teeth by Ariele Sieling. Starts off at a gripping, intense pace and doesn’t let up. Full Review

#SciFi Worth Reading: Binti #BookReview

Book Review, Science Fiction Books, Space Opera / By M Pax / August 27, 2021

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor is a beautiful read. It’s a novella, so it’s easily devoured in a day. I read this Hugo and Nebula winner cover to cover in one sitting. It deserves the awards. I’ll definitely check out the author’s other work since this one was such a treat.

It was easy to identify with Binti. She’s a 16-year-old girl who wins a scholarship to the finest university in the galaxy. Of the Himba people, her family and friends aren’t happy about her leaving. Himbas don’t leave their land or their traditions. If she leaves, they won’t welcome her back.

The story opens with Binti running off in the night to catch the starship. It was easy to feel the burning hope of a bright future and the loss of home as Binti sets off. Her people wear red clay and she really sticks out at the spaceport and on the ship.

Despite being such a misfit, Binti doesn’t give up her customs or her people’s traditions. How can we shed what we are? We can’t completely. Customs and traditions are the foundation of self.

For a short work, this book explores a lot about self and the beauty of not conforming. The words are froth with meaning and wisdom. The story definitely has a lot of delicious layers.

On the way to the university, the love of mathematics brings Binti friendships and a budding romance. I was enjoying her growth and learning about the galaxy as Binti learns about it. Then it all dramatically changes.

I won’t ruin the surprising twists for you. This tale was gripping and gorgeous and amazing. The writing is impeccable and I sopped up every word. Definitely worth reading. I couldn’t put this book down and am excited there are two more books in this series. Don’t miss this gem!

Here’s the official blurb:

Winner of the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award for Best Novella!

Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs.

Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti’s stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach.

If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself — but first she has to make it there, alive.