quippe | Entries tagged with nnedi okorafor

The Blurb On The Back:

They call her many things – a research project, a test-subject, a specimen. An abomination.

But she calls herself Phoenix, an ‘accelerated woman’ – a genetic experiment grown and raised in Manhattan’s famous Tower 7, the only home she has ever known. Although she’s only two years old, Phoenix has the body and mind of an adult – and powers beyond imagining. Phoenix is an innocent, happy to live quietly in Tower 7, reading voraciously and basking in the love of Saeed, another biologically altered human.

Until the night that Saeed witnesses something so terrible that he takes his own life. Devastated, Phoenix begins to search for answers – only to discover everything she that she has ever known is a lie.

Tower 7 isn’t a haven. It’s a prison. And it’s time for Phoenix to spread her wings and rise.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Nnedi Okorafor’s SF superpower thriller (which started life as a short story and ended up being shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award) is a searing novel about lost innocence, revenge, white privilege, colonialism and racism and although I found the ending a little rushed and the romance elements under-developed, it’s nevertheless a powerful read that’s definitely worth a look. Phoenix is a fascinating character – chronologically she’s only two year’s old but she has the body of a 40-year-old and has been allowed to read widely so that intellectually she’s incredibly smart but emotionally she’s incredibly innocent, seen through her sweet budding romance with Saeed (who I found slightly underdeveloped and it feels like something’s missing from his story at the end). Okorafor makes her points about colonial attitudes towards Africa and Africans in a damning and shocking way and her depiction of the attitude of white men in a Ghanaian town, while broad, also rings true. It’s great to read a book with non-white protagonists, but I wanted more of Bumi (a black scientist who’s the closest thing Phoenix has to a mother) who disappears in the final quarter. For all this though, this is a strong read and one that’s definitely worth a few hours of your time.

The 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.