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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Could have done so much more with what it had. I appreciate all the narrative opportunities that it set up, but I got perpetually annoyed by how many off them were missed, in favor of much more prosaic, clumsy, obvious decisions
Full review on Nerds of a Feather: http://www.nerds-feather.com/2024/09/review-shigidi-and-brass-head-of.html
Full review on Nerds of a Feather: http://www.nerds-feather.com/2024/09/review-shigidi-and-brass-head-of.html
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Clever remix of old and new standby stories with a rich and ruthless heart
Finally, beginning my journey into African mythology with this book, which I'm sure is going to be long & diverse. Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon is as interesting as its title, premise and the cover. Despite its shortcomings, it kept me hooked.
TITLE & THE COVER:
The reasons why I picked this up and flew threw it were the eye catching first appearances. I love the detail of the cover.
Mythology and Fantasy:
As a fantasy fiction enthusiast, nothing gets me going like a good mythology-fantasy blend. In that, the author does a fabulous job of introducing you to an ex nightmare god and a succubus. The unlikeliness of this pair already sucks you in, then the author goes above and beyond to add multiple locations, timelines, iconic elements like heists & much more. This book is almost ready for a TV adaptation.
The World:
The plot takes us around the globe and in different time periods while keeping a fantastical backbone to the worldbuilding. The corporatisation of the Orisha pantheon was hilarious to read, while the notes on colonialism were appreciated. Cameos of gods from other pantheons like Murugan in an epic action scene were quite engaging. The world overall is a colorful, blasting, detailed chaotic environment. Don't believe me? Just read this:
Down on the ground, four bronze horses with flames for eyes were galloping madly behind them, leaving a trail of broken asphalt, sparks, and fire in their wake. A large angry figure rode behind the horses, driving them forward with vicious purpose. A bronze rope that extended all the way to the horses’ strained throats was wound tightly around the imposing figure’s forearm as it rode the back half of a crudely bisected gray sedan, giving chase in a makeshift chariot.
Wole Talabi. Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon (Kindle Locations 66-69). Kindle Edition.
I mean that's a gifted writer, right there.
The Characters:
One of the weakest elements to this story for me were the characters. I did not feel invested in any of them and the main characters got bland to read after a point. In this regard, it felt like the author had too much to fit into one little book. This had too much content fighting for a breathing space. A duology or trilogy might've helped the character arcs more, especially Shigidi's low self confidence regarding his looks.
The Story:
An attractive aspect to the book is its premise of Nigerian gods planning a heist as their freelancing project. However, the excessive packing of too much writing left very less time for the actual heist to happen. Plus by the time it happens, I was already bored. Further, the uneven pacing of the book really put me off. The plot gets extremely slow when Shigidi and Succubus are having a moment or we're in the flashback, but the actually interesting parts are flown through. I think the initial few chapters raise your expectations of the book so much, that it crashes and burn in the end.
Overall, SATBHOO was an entertaining read & Wole Talabi is an author I'm gonna look out for, Despite some bumps, the potential his imagination and creativity holds in this piece, is quite promising to me.
TITLE & THE COVER:
The reasons why I picked this up and flew threw it were the eye catching first appearances. I love the detail of the cover.
Mythology and Fantasy:
As a fantasy fiction enthusiast, nothing gets me going like a good mythology-fantasy blend. In that, the author does a fabulous job of introducing you to an ex nightmare god and a succubus. The unlikeliness of this pair already sucks you in, then the author goes above and beyond to add multiple locations, timelines, iconic elements like heists & much more. This book is almost ready for a TV adaptation.
The World:
The plot takes us around the globe and in different time periods while keeping a fantastical backbone to the worldbuilding. The corporatisation of the Orisha pantheon was hilarious to read, while the notes on colonialism were appreciated. Cameos of gods from other pantheons like Murugan in an epic action scene were quite engaging. The world overall is a colorful, blasting, detailed chaotic environment. Don't believe me? Just read this:
Down on the ground, four bronze horses with flames for eyes were galloping madly behind them, leaving a trail of broken asphalt, sparks, and fire in their wake. A large angry figure rode behind the horses, driving them forward with vicious purpose. A bronze rope that extended all the way to the horses’ strained throats was wound tightly around the imposing figure’s forearm as it rode the back half of a crudely bisected gray sedan, giving chase in a makeshift chariot.
Wole Talabi. Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon (Kindle Locations 66-69). Kindle Edition.
I mean that's a gifted writer, right there.
The Characters:
One of the weakest elements to this story for me were the characters. I did not feel invested in any of them and the main characters got bland to read after a point. In this regard, it felt like the author had too much to fit into one little book. This had too much content fighting for a breathing space. A duology or trilogy might've helped the character arcs more, especially Shigidi's low self confidence regarding his looks.
The Story:
An attractive aspect to the book is its premise of Nigerian gods planning a heist as their freelancing project. However, the excessive packing of too much writing left very less time for the actual heist to happen. Plus by the time it happens, I was already bored. Further, the uneven pacing of the book really put me off. The plot gets extremely slow when Shigidi and Succubus are having a moment or we're in the flashback, but the actually interesting parts are flown through. I think the initial few chapters raise your expectations of the book so much, that it crashes and burn in the end.
Overall, SATBHOO was an entertaining read & Wole Talabi is an author I'm gonna look out for, Despite some bumps, the potential his imagination and creativity holds in this piece, is quite promising to me.
adventurous
medium-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
I really enjoyed the Nigerian mythology aspect of this book, and the really creative worldbuilding and exploration of characters’ backstories - from The Fall to the 1000s to the modern day. I was hoping for more art heist and less time skipping, and the romance storyline didn’t really get me that much. I thought they’d been together for decades, and then it turns out they’d only been together for a year?? When they’re both centuries old? That seemed a bit strange to me, and I didn’t see a lot of what made their relationship so strong besides them being willing to protect each other. But the idea of spirit companies, in all different cultures? The different orisha and their relationships, the talk of changing religious dynamics? I’m not sure I love the idea of it being so corporate, but it was well done!
I also didn’t love some of the succubus aspects of this story - there were scenes that felt strongly non-consensual, but didn’t necessarily seem to be treated that way or for Nmeona to understand that.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
And I peace out at that graphic sexual assault which was completely unnecessary. It was already a mediocre book to begin with. The first chapter opened the book with a bang with so much action, it gave me so much hope for the rest of the book. But alas, the rest of the book was just meh. Too much disjointed flashbacks. I pushed through because that first chapter really made me believe that it was going to pay off. And then that graphic SA happened at 50+% which is just a hard pass for me. I don't think there's any justification for it to be in any book. Being introduced to African myth gods was pretty cool though. Unfortunately, they were wasted on this book.
update: I really should start reading the content warnings.
update: I really should start reading the content warnings.