Reviews

i am able to recognize on some level that this is a transformative work in the genre, but i spent most of my time with this story just so bored. the beginning was great, but it really lost me in the second half.

danandsaurus's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

mary_soon_lee's review against another edition

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3.0

Mild spoilers ahead....

Spoiler

This book collects together three science fiction novellas, plus a new short story, all centered on the character of Binti, a Himba girl who leaves Earth to study at a renowned university. The first novella won the Nebula and Hugo awards, and the third novella is currently a Hugo Award nominee. Binti is sixteen years old at the start, and these stories have a correspondingly youthful energy, a bright palette, despite containing moments of brutally upsetting violence. I like Binti: how she combines both a love of her home and a desire for more, her courage, how she befriends those very different from her. I like the multiplicity of cultures shown in the book, both those of science-fictional aliens and those of humans that were new to me (the Himba) or invented (the Enyi Zinariya). I note that, while I was entertained by the first two novellas, it was the third one that held my interest best, that made me eager to return and finish the story. I also note that I anticipated several of the plot developments, but this is an observation not a complaint, I was glad that the story took the turns it did. Recommended.

sereyn's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

2.75

katnortonwriter's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

There is a line toward the end of this series about “pushing tradition to grow,” and that’s what will stick with me most about this series… not just the phrasing, but the idea that Binti ‘defies’ the traditions of her community, becoming many this intersectional being on a genetic level while still clinging to the parts of her identity and culture that empower her. She outgrows what is expected of her, but she wants her community to grow with her. When she feels limited by her community’s expectations, she urges their expectations to change, rather than walking away from them entirely.

There’s something a bit clinical about Okarfor’s descriptions that took me a minute to appreciate, but by the end of the series, I was all in. There’s something sparse about the prose that allows some of the more metaphysical concepts to work without over-explaining. In book 3, we also get some narrative outside of Binti’s POV and I loved how that allowed the reader to see more of what was going on without Binti as a filter.

Tl;dr, everyone was right, this series is amazing. I recently struggled with The Shadow Speaker, which I know is some of her earlier work, but this took my back to reading Zarah The Windseeker for the first time and falling in love with her world-building style. Makes me remember what I love about scifi in the first place. 🤩🥰

henderwonder's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring fast-paced

4.0

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