Binti: Home (2.5 stars)

Less interesting than the first, with no interesting characters except for Binti. I think the novella format is very constraining. Okorafor is doing a large amount of world building, but doesn't have time to bring in any other realistic characters.

Binti is going through a coming-of-age, after her trip off-planet has changed her physically and spiritually. She finds the world she left is no longer the one she knew, and confronts prejudice in the form of traditional role beliefs held by her family and friends that don't allow for wild off-planet alien adventures.

She also confronts her own latent racism about the Desert People, and there's a moment of afrofuturism similar to Black Panther when their technology prowess is revealed.

I felt a sting of shame as I realized why I hadn’t understood something so obvious. My own prejudice.

Fairly disappointing follow-up to the first novel.

2.5 stars

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor (3.5 stars)

Since the other ones were so good I started on a full Okorafor binge. So the Binti series was next. The first is super short (98 pages) and won the Hugo and Nebula for best novella.

The strength of the novel is Binti and the desert culture she comes from. Especially her struggles with systemic racism on many fronts. It's written very simply, which I found a little annoying, but since it is YA I can't actually criticize for that.

Plot wise there's a literal deus ex machina, which was a bit of a cop out, and I also just didn't buy how easily this genocidal spaceship of jellyfish could be diverted from their original mission. Even more implausibly a young girl single-handedly negotiated a multi-planetary peace deal that ended happily ever after: real peace deals end with everyone at least slightly unhappy.

3.5 stars

Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor (5 stars)

I didn't realise this one took 6 years to follow the original Akata Witch. I'm glad I got to read them back to back, but now I'm worried about how long it will take for the next one :(

Okorafor continues to impress in this YA series. In this novel we learn some more about Nigerian culture, including the very real and dangerous secret societies/gangs ruling Nigerian universities. This sounds fairly ridiculous to the western ear, universities are about the furthest thing from gang territory possible, but I looked it up, it's no joke. I feel like I've been missing this from so much other fantasy: you mean I can get a kick out of exploring this new amazing world, but also learn something about other cultures at the same time?

Sunny struggles with loyalty to her family, and pushes the limits of how she can use magic against/for Lambs. There's also an extended dreamlike episodic sequence as our merry band of Leopard kids heads on a dangerous quest. I loved this bit: giant spiders, and grashcoatah who is now one of my favourite fantasy characters of all time. I loved the description of him/it getting birthed by Udide in a cave full of spiders:

The mass was undulating. The blue marble light only lit part of it. There was something inside. Unt, unt, unt, the thing inside grunted. It sounded like a giant pig.

Like the first book, the climax seems over too quickly and implausibly. I loved that she poked at bit of fun at the obvious Harry Potter similarities:

“You mean being doubled?” Sunny said. “Sheesh, it’s not like Voldemort’s name, you can say it aloud.”

Random questions/comments:

• What's up with Guinness? Is that seriously a popular drink in Nigeria? It's mentioned a lot in the book.
• Sunny, it's time to eat something other than fried plantain, you need some vegetables.
• I had no idea teeth sucking was a thing, I had to go look it up.

Favourite quote:

When Lambs don’t understand something or they forget the real story of things, they replace it with fear.

5 stars.