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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This one didn't do it for me. I wanted to love it. But the plot was only okay for me, and none of the characters were well enough fleshed out for me to care about. Also the e book had multiple formatting and spelling errors that took me out of the story (I'm not talking about slang, I'm meaning actual spelling errors in the body of the texts. One letter being off or missing but still a real word spellcheck wouldn't catch. That type of thing.)
There’s not much African fantasy out there, and much less African Urban Fantasy. In fact, as far as I can tell, the bulk of it is from my Kat Drummond Series – set in a magical Cape Town. So, when I discovered David Mogo Godhunter, a Nigerian Urban Fantasy novel, while browsing a local bookshop, I got excited.
David Mogo Godhunter is set in Lagos, Nigeria, after a magical apocalypse infects the city with hordes of gods from regional mythology. David, with the support of his foster father, hunts these gods for a paycheck. Similarly, to the monster hunters in the Katverse.
The setting is very promising. It’s detailed, has interesting politics, and uses the real life location very lovingly and sincerely. Like all good urban fantasy, the city itself is a character just as much as the people. I have never been to Lagos but the books descriptions help be to visualise the setting and feel a part of it.
The book lives and breathes its setting. It is essentially Nigerian, with cultural references, and regional languages perforating the prose. Now, I appreciate this. I read because I want to learn about different places and people – real or fictitious. And this book goes a long way to expose the reader to many different terms, concepts and cultures. But it only exposes us. It never provides any explanation of what something is. Not even a hint. I’d often find myself reading an entire page and not knowing what was going on because all the essential words were in a language I do not understand.
The dialogue between David and Papa Udi is also incomprehensible. I know it’s a regional dialect and pidgin, and that it is realistic. But as a reader, I have no idea what’s going on. I could never grow attached to Papa Udi, as the book implied, I should have been, because I never understood him.
A glossary or lexicon would have been really helpful. A reader can’t be expected to Google every word that comes up. There needs to be an explanation for terms that aren’t obvious.
The writing in general also ranged from being okay to mediocre. Many words were redundant and rather served to stagger the writing than aid it. There were scenes where almost every sentence started with “Then…”
This was clumsy. The first person, present tense was also off-putting. I don’t advise newer writers, as Okungbowa seems to have been at this stage, to write in it. Past-tense flows better.
The pacing of the book was also weird. The first half started strong, and then just fizzled out. The second half then just started speeding away from itself, introducing new concepts, characters and plot elements with little room to breathe. And when there was room to breathe, the scenes ended up being more boring than anything else.
It doesn’t help that David is also incredibly whiny and unlikable. Till the last page, I cared nothing for him.
The book has potential. Definitely. That’s why I kept reading. But by the end, I was relieved to be done. It needs more editing. Especially considering that in the paperback edition I found in a retail store, there were still many blatant typos, repeated words and other errors that shouldn’t have made it past the first proof reader.
If you are desperate for some African Urban Fantasy and have read the more popular South African UF (Kat Drummond, Apocalypse Now Now, Zoo City…etc.), then this may be up your alley. It presents a very interesting setting, let down by clumsy writing and disposable characters.
David Mogo Godhunter is set in Lagos, Nigeria, after a magical apocalypse infects the city with hordes of gods from regional mythology. David, with the support of his foster father, hunts these gods for a paycheck. Similarly, to the monster hunters in the Katverse.
The setting is very promising. It’s detailed, has interesting politics, and uses the real life location very lovingly and sincerely. Like all good urban fantasy, the city itself is a character just as much as the people. I have never been to Lagos but the books descriptions help be to visualise the setting and feel a part of it.
The book lives and breathes its setting. It is essentially Nigerian, with cultural references, and regional languages perforating the prose. Now, I appreciate this. I read because I want to learn about different places and people – real or fictitious. And this book goes a long way to expose the reader to many different terms, concepts and cultures. But it only exposes us. It never provides any explanation of what something is. Not even a hint. I’d often find myself reading an entire page and not knowing what was going on because all the essential words were in a language I do not understand.
The dialogue between David and Papa Udi is also incomprehensible. I know it’s a regional dialect and pidgin, and that it is realistic. But as a reader, I have no idea what’s going on. I could never grow attached to Papa Udi, as the book implied, I should have been, because I never understood him.
A glossary or lexicon would have been really helpful. A reader can’t be expected to Google every word that comes up. There needs to be an explanation for terms that aren’t obvious.
The writing in general also ranged from being okay to mediocre. Many words were redundant and rather served to stagger the writing than aid it. There were scenes where almost every sentence started with “Then…”
This was clumsy. The first person, present tense was also off-putting. I don’t advise newer writers, as Okungbowa seems to have been at this stage, to write in it. Past-tense flows better.
The pacing of the book was also weird. The first half started strong, and then just fizzled out. The second half then just started speeding away from itself, introducing new concepts, characters and plot elements with little room to breathe. And when there was room to breathe, the scenes ended up being more boring than anything else.
It doesn’t help that David is also incredibly whiny and unlikable. Till the last page, I cared nothing for him.
The book has potential. Definitely. That’s why I kept reading. But by the end, I was relieved to be done. It needs more editing. Especially considering that in the paperback edition I found in a retail store, there were still many blatant typos, repeated words and other errors that shouldn’t have made it past the first proof reader.
If you are desperate for some African Urban Fantasy and have read the more popular South African UF (Kat Drummond, Apocalypse Now Now, Zoo City…etc.), then this may be up your alley. It presents a very interesting setting, let down by clumsy writing and disposable characters.
This book started off very promising, however it quickly loses it's momentum for me. It starts to become redundant, confusing, and unentertaining. While the actual writing is not bad, the story line does nothing for me and the fight scenes do even less. In the end, kind of had to force myself to finish this book only for the purpose of finishing it and not because I actually cared about what happened in the book.
3.5 stars
really like okungbowa's writing style, and there were some really hard-hitting lines in this, especially about identity and not really knowing where you fit. existing sort of in the between.
am in sort of a slump though so couldn't connect as well with the characters, but overall i think this was well-written. might read it again in the future to see if my rating moves up!
really like okungbowa's writing style, and there were some really hard-hitting lines in this, especially about identity and not really knowing where you fit. existing sort of in the between.
am in sort of a slump though so couldn't connect as well with the characters, but overall i think this was well-written. might read it again in the future to see if my rating moves up!
adventurous
dark
Really good, I enjoyed it a lot across the board. It's always refreshing to see some good fantasy that doesn't beat the dead horse that is Western, Tolkienesqe fantasy, and this world of Yoruba-speaking gods and Nigerian wizards is absolutely a breath of fresh air. My only complaints is that the pacing can be a bit slogged by description, setting dumps of either long-descriptions of magic or setup for Lagos itself, and that some of the big character moments come about kind of quickly, and are resolved just as quickly. Still a great read, though!
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Gods and goldlings have escaped heaven and are running around, causing chaos. David Mogo uses his abilities as a demigod to help chase them down.
This was a fun book but there were parts where I was hoping for something more. I absolutely loved the concept and the setting though! I had a great time while reading it, but didn't feel particularly compelled to pick it up again when I'd put it down for a few days. I'd still recommend it though, especially to those who want to read outside of the usual countries that dominate literature.
Oh and this is very minor but some of the formating was very odd. Like è's (which come up pretty frequently) had a weird box just off of them...
This was a fun book but there were parts where I was hoping for something more. I absolutely loved the concept and the setting though! I had a great time while reading it, but didn't feel particularly compelled to pick it up again when I'd put it down for a few days. I'd still recommend it though, especially to those who want to read outside of the usual countries that dominate literature.
Oh and this is very minor but some of the formating was very odd. Like è's (which come up pretty frequently) had a weird box just off of them...
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Cursing, Excrement
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The main character doesn't seem to have a lot of agency in the book