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nolalee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Chronic illness, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Animal death, Medical content, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical trauma
Minor: Body horror and Blood
laurareads87's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Hate crime, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, Death, Medical content, Blood, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Car accident
albernikolauras's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Out of the 3 works I have read by Nnedi Okorafor, this is my favorite. The world was captivating and the all-seeing, all-controlling company and the way power was generated in this book brought forth a lot of themes on capitalism, whose land can you take to provide power for the masses, personhood, the value of life, and your privacy (or lack of it) within the tech you own. The characters were very interesting to follow - AO and DNA were such interesting characters to follow.
The issue for me came from Okorafor's writing. I can say for a fact I probably won't try any of her longer form fiction because it takes me so long to decipher her sentences and leaves me a little disconnected from the story. I am not deadset against her shorter fiction though, because her ideas are always fascinating.
Moderate: Violence, Chronic illness, Animal death, Ableism, and Car accident
bluejayreads's review against another edition
Graphic: Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Medical content, Death, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, and Body horror
Minor: Car accident and Sexual content
pvbobrien's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Ableism and Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Murder
Minor: Pregnancy, Car accident, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts
casitafeliz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Abandonment, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, and Hate crime
deedireads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
TL;DR REVIEW:
Noor is a quick but exciting, hard sci-fi novel that offers some really great commentary on ableism, privacy, and environmentalism. Not my favorite Okorafor, but a good one!
For you if: You are looking for more disability rep in sci-fi.
FULL REVIEW:
Thank you, DAW Books, for the electronic advanced copy of this book. I am a huge fan of Nnedi Okorafor — her novel Who Fears Death is a true standout — so I am always excited to read her new work. While this one wasn’t my favorite of hers, I definitely liked it, and I think it does some really great stuff.
The story is set in a future Africa, where a giant, ongoing storm (like the red eye on Jupiter) feeds the planet’s energy sources, making it the most commercially coveted area in the world. It’s about a girl named AO, which she likes to say stands for Artificial Organism. Born disabled, AO has chosen to embrace technological augmentations seen as unnatural by the rest of society in order to live a fuller life. A cataclysmic event in the beginning of the book sends her on the run from the Corporation and toward the heart of the storm.
This book is short and reads fast at 224 pages, but it manages to offer a ton of commentary on privacy, environmentalism, and ableism. I love Okorafor’s storytelling style, which is unapologetically rooted in Nigerian traditions, even if it leads some Westernized readers to say this or that thing (pacing, dialogue, etc) “just felt off.” This one is no exception. I think it’s more than worth the couple of hours it will take you to read.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, and Violence