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Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor
Jun. 11th, 2014 11:26 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
A star falls from the sky. A woman rises from the sea. The world will never be the same.
Three strangers, each isolated by their own problems: Adaora, the marine biologist, Anthony, the world-famous rapper, Agu, the troubled soldier. Wandering the beach outside Lagos, Nigeria’s capital city, they’re more alone than they’ve ever been before.
But when a meteorite hits the ocean and a tidal wave overcomes them, these three people will find themselves bound together in ways they’ve never imagined. Together with Ayodele, a visitor from beyond the stars, they must race through Lados and against time itself in order to save the city, the world … and themselves.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Nnedi Okorafor’s novel marries fantasy with science fiction in a vividly imagined (if slim) novel that was written partly as a response to DISTRICT 9. I thoroughly enjoyed the way it marries the old SF trope of alien’s arriving on Earth with Nigerian mythology and the way Okorafor depicts the complicated mix of poverty, greed, superstition, religion, crime and corruption that drives modern-day Lagos together with the effect that’s had on the country’s environment. There’s some great writing here – my favourite chapters being where Okorafor writes from the perspectives of different sea creatures, all of which are being transformed by the aliens – and while there’s a lot of dialogue in Pidgin English, it’s pretty obvious what’s being said from the context and there’s a glossary at the back to deal with any unclear words. However the story itself is very slim and there’s a large cast with the result that some (particularly Anthony) remain underdeveloped, while the novel stops just when things are really starting to build up and I’m not sure if this is a set up for a sequel (which I would definitely read).
LAGOON was released in the United Kingdom on 10th April 2014. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
Three strangers, each isolated by their own problems: Adaora, the marine biologist, Anthony, the world-famous rapper, Agu, the troubled soldier. Wandering the beach outside Lagos, Nigeria’s capital city, they’re more alone than they’ve ever been before.
But when a meteorite hits the ocean and a tidal wave overcomes them, these three people will find themselves bound together in ways they’ve never imagined. Together with Ayodele, a visitor from beyond the stars, they must race through Lados and against time itself in order to save the city, the world … and themselves.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Nnedi Okorafor’s novel marries fantasy with science fiction in a vividly imagined (if slim) novel that was written partly as a response to DISTRICT 9. I thoroughly enjoyed the way it marries the old SF trope of alien’s arriving on Earth with Nigerian mythology and the way Okorafor depicts the complicated mix of poverty, greed, superstition, religion, crime and corruption that drives modern-day Lagos together with the effect that’s had on the country’s environment. There’s some great writing here – my favourite chapters being where Okorafor writes from the perspectives of different sea creatures, all of which are being transformed by the aliens – and while there’s a lot of dialogue in Pidgin English, it’s pretty obvious what’s being said from the context and there’s a glossary at the back to deal with any unclear words. However the story itself is very slim and there’s a large cast with the result that some (particularly Anthony) remain underdeveloped, while the novel stops just when things are really starting to build up and I’m not sure if this is a set up for a sequel (which I would definitely read).
LAGOON was released in the United Kingdom on 10th April 2014. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
