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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
Well this was riotous chaotic majickal fun. I've seen this novel described as Nigerian Godpunk and that sums it up perfectly - all action clever urban fantasy with a superb Nigerian bent so can't wait to see where Okungbowa's work goes next.
I’ve read a lot of reviews and feel like this is usually the reaction to things they don’t understand. As someone born in Lagos, seeing the city come alive (it’s chaotic but you understand) in a genre where I don’t see my places written in, David Mogo was a breath of fresh air. I’ve held off on reading this for a long time and I wish I didn’t. The novella is an urban fantasy joyride that is executed with a lot of care and honesty. David Mogo himself isn’t perfect; his complicated nature and origins make him a character you root for, sort of like DC’s John Constantine. His choices and their consequences play out throughout this book and make for such a compelling read.
Before you decide, read the book for yourself, but I loved it
Before you decide, read the book for yourself, but I loved it
This book is sometimes touted as a Nigerian version of American Gods, which isn't a bad description...it just also misses the vibrancy, richness, and inventiveness of this book. When the gods, or orishas, fall to earth, they land in Lagos, and start causing chaos. It falls to David, a demi-god through his immortal mother, to restore order...which is a bit hard when you're a chaos god of war! I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it if you enjoy contemporary fantasy.
A 3.5 starrer
There are a lot of things that scream different when it comes to this book. African mythology, the setting in Lagos, a demigod as a lead character. Kind of my first exposure to this kind of setting and that keeps one hooked quite for long.
Per the story itself, there is a feeling that this seemed to work better as a novella rather than a full fledged novel. There is a sense of discontinuity in the book and that impeded my reading experience. It may also be a conscious choice from the author as we are already handling so many different things that a convoluted plot might just tip it over. There is a sense of darkness and dystopia that rules the book. The limited scale worldbuilding presents Lagos as a living character in itself.
The lead character, David Mogo is a bit diff to classify. He does exhibit some typical YA lead character tics but has a sense of guilt built in him. His supporting cast is quite strong with his mentor character a fairly quirky lead. It definitely is an interesting addition to my list of books and I do have a feeling that this series can rocket up the ranks if storytelling and editing were managed properly. The world imagined here and the history is so rich with the potential to explore this world beyond just Lagos
There are a lot of things that scream different when it comes to this book. African mythology, the setting in Lagos, a demigod as a lead character. Kind of my first exposure to this kind of setting and that keeps one hooked quite for long.
Per the story itself, there is a feeling that this seemed to work better as a novella rather than a full fledged novel. There is a sense of discontinuity in the book and that impeded my reading experience. It may also be a conscious choice from the author as we are already handling so many different things that a convoluted plot might just tip it over. There is a sense of darkness and dystopia that rules the book. The limited scale worldbuilding presents Lagos as a living character in itself.
The lead character, David Mogo is a bit diff to classify. He does exhibit some typical YA lead character tics but has a sense of guilt built in him. His supporting cast is quite strong with his mentor character a fairly quirky lead. It definitely is an interesting addition to my list of books and I do have a feeling that this series can rocket up the ranks if storytelling and editing were managed properly. The world imagined here and the history is so rich with the potential to explore this world beyond just Lagos
Sadly, I had to DNF this one. The cover and blurb are great but I just couldn't get into the story or writing.
I received a free arc of this book from the publisher via Net-Galley, in exchange for an honest review.
I don't know where to even start when it comes to talking about this one. It blew my mind to the point that even now, several days after I finished, I'm still reeling.
When I dissect what I read, it's a little difficult to figure out why it had so much impact; superficially, this is a story I've read many times, a coming-of-age tale wherein a young man must claim his full, supernatural potential in order to save the people and place he loves. I mean, that's an ancient story; we've been telling variations of it for eons, right?
But as with all stories, it's how you tell it that matters. It's the script and the costumes and the set dressing, the stage make-up and the actors you cast for the roles, that combine to make a story unique regardless of how many times it's core has been told before. And I really feel like Okungbowa has done something special here.
I remember the first time I read a Russian fantasy novel (in translation!) and realised that it's more than setting that changes how a story feels; just as I can't (generally) stand books published in the 90s or earlier because the writing style of the time just doesn't work for me, different parts of the world seem to have their own styles, too - it's not limited to time periods. Australian fantasy is just different to (North) American fantasy, as is Russian, as is German, as is Chinese. I don't have the linguistic or literary knowledge to put into words exactly how they're all different - and it's not like they're a monolith or anything. But it's clear to me that different cultures flavour their stories differently - which makes perfect sense when you think about it, doesn't it?
David Mogo, Godhunter is like that; it doesn't feel like an American or (Western, I have no experience with Eastern) European fantasy novel. Maybe it wouldn't feel quite so mind-blowing to someone more familiar with Nigerian literature (or, honestly, Nigeria in general), but for me, raised on a very Western diet stretching from Lord of the Rings onwards, it felt brand-new and fresh and raw and dizzying, all at once. I can't say for sure, having never been there, but what I want to say is that it's more than the fact that DM,G is set in Nigeria; I think it might intrinsically be a Nigerian story, coming from a literary tradition I'm not familiar with, influenced by a culture I don't know.
I just don't think a white British author could have pulled this off, is what I'm saying here.
And to be honest, I suspect that that might be at the root of many of the negative reviews I've seen for this book; DM,G is so different stylistically from what most of us (white, Western) readers are familiar with that I can see why some people might reject it, without ever quite being able to put their finger on what it is that actually bothers them about what they're reading. I will freely admit I struggled to adapt for the first few chapters, and I absolutely had trouble learning everyone's names and keeping them all straight - but that was solely due to my own unfamiliarity with Nigerian names; I have the same problem with Finnish names, and I've been living in Finland for years now. If you've never read a Nigerian novel before - if you've never strayed far from your comfort zone of straight, white, mostly-cis-male writers - then yeah, you're going to have to put some extra work in in order to get the most out of this book. But it's damn worth it.
And besides, Okungbowa is very considerate of his white readers; I've seen reviews complaining about info-dumping, but a) I found all the info I needed woven very deftly into the narrative, and b) I needed that info! When I pick up a book by a white American man, I'm engaging with a literary tradition I'm familiar with; just like fanfiction writers don't need to introduce the characters - because the readers are fans who already know those characters - no one needs to break down a generic Medieval-esque-European setting for me. No matter how original the story, I recognise and understand something about its basic nature. I didn't have that to fall back on with DM,G - which made everything new and interesting in a way I don't get to experience often, but yes, also meant Okungbowa needed to introduce me to...well, a lot. And you know what? He did it incredibly well. I never felt overwhelmed, bored by information I didn't care about, or confused about what was going on. One example stands out very clearly in my memory; during a battle scene, David is faced with a kind of monster he knows but that this particular white reader did not - a creature from Nigerian mythology. And I was awed at how quickly and perfectly Okungbowa conveyed the information I needed during a fight scene, without bogging down the action at all. Worldbuilding via fight scene? That's just ridiculously impressive.
Another critique I've seen is that the dialogue shifts between what I wince to call 'proper' English and what is probably Naijá, or Nigerian Pidgin (although it's never named in the book), and look - even I know that people switch back and forth between British English and Naijá depending on the situation and setting, and probably mood and personal preference too. That David speaks British English with some characters some of the time, and Naijá at other times - particularly with his adopted father, who speaks Naijá exclusively - is completely normal. It would be weird if he didn't. Was it sometimes hard to understand what was being said? Sure, but no more so than when LotR delves into Elvish. When a fantasy book has instances of a fantasy language, 99 times out 100 context makes the meaning clear, and the same is true with this book (which, let me reiterate, is not using a fantasy language, it's a real language real people speak and which the characters are obviously going to be familiar with). And as someone who tears her hair out every time Hollywood shows us Germans speaking English with each other when there are no native English speakers present, I appreciated getting to see these characters speak like, you know, real people. It anchored the fantastical elements really well.
Look, I will defend this book against all comers, okay? Okungbowa not only came up with an amazing premise, he wrote a story that lived up to it - how often does that happen? The magic! The fight scenes! And oh my gods (literally), the mythos! The more that was revealed about the Falling - when the gods showed up on Earth - and what had caused it and also, you know, the nature of gods and the various pantheons and everything - the more I learned about that, the more I wanted to gush about this book to literally everyone. I am so in love with so many things I can't talk about here because spoilers, which is so frustrating! I don't know how to convince you to go read this when I can't tell you why.
But basically, if you're not afraid of moving away from traditional (blegh) fantasy, if you're into cinematic magic and mythology and seriously weird found-families, if you want grit along with your action, if you want something new and wonderful, then this is definitely a book for you.
Seriously, give it a go. I can't imagine regretting it.
I don't know where to even start when it comes to talking about this one. It blew my mind to the point that even now, several days after I finished, I'm still reeling.
When I dissect what I read, it's a little difficult to figure out why it had so much impact; superficially, this is a story I've read many times, a coming-of-age tale wherein a young man must claim his full, supernatural potential in order to save the people and place he loves. I mean, that's an ancient story; we've been telling variations of it for eons, right?
But as with all stories, it's how you tell it that matters. It's the script and the costumes and the set dressing, the stage make-up and the actors you cast for the roles, that combine to make a story unique regardless of how many times it's core has been told before. And I really feel like Okungbowa has done something special here.
I remember the first time I read a Russian fantasy novel (in translation!) and realised that it's more than setting that changes how a story feels; just as I can't (generally) stand books published in the 90s or earlier because the writing style of the time just doesn't work for me, different parts of the world seem to have their own styles, too - it's not limited to time periods. Australian fantasy is just different to (North) American fantasy, as is Russian, as is German, as is Chinese. I don't have the linguistic or literary knowledge to put into words exactly how they're all different - and it's not like they're a monolith or anything. But it's clear to me that different cultures flavour their stories differently - which makes perfect sense when you think about it, doesn't it?
David Mogo, Godhunter is like that; it doesn't feel like an American or (Western, I have no experience with Eastern) European fantasy novel. Maybe it wouldn't feel quite so mind-blowing to someone more familiar with Nigerian literature (or, honestly, Nigeria in general), but for me, raised on a very Western diet stretching from Lord of the Rings onwards, it felt brand-new and fresh and raw and dizzying, all at once. I can't say for sure, having never been there, but what I want to say is that it's more than the fact that DM,G is set in Nigeria; I think it might intrinsically be a Nigerian story, coming from a literary tradition I'm not familiar with, influenced by a culture I don't know.
I just don't think a white British author could have pulled this off, is what I'm saying here.
And to be honest, I suspect that that might be at the root of many of the negative reviews I've seen for this book; DM,G is so different stylistically from what most of us (white, Western) readers are familiar with that I can see why some people might reject it, without ever quite being able to put their finger on what it is that actually bothers them about what they're reading. I will freely admit I struggled to adapt for the first few chapters, and I absolutely had trouble learning everyone's names and keeping them all straight - but that was solely due to my own unfamiliarity with Nigerian names; I have the same problem with Finnish names, and I've been living in Finland for years now. If you've never read a Nigerian novel before - if you've never strayed far from your comfort zone of straight, white, mostly-cis-male writers - then yeah, you're going to have to put some extra work in in order to get the most out of this book. But it's damn worth it.
And besides, Okungbowa is very considerate of his white readers; I've seen reviews complaining about info-dumping, but a) I found all the info I needed woven very deftly into the narrative, and b) I needed that info! When I pick up a book by a white American man, I'm engaging with a literary tradition I'm familiar with; just like fanfiction writers don't need to introduce the characters - because the readers are fans who already know those characters - no one needs to break down a generic Medieval-esque-European setting for me. No matter how original the story, I recognise and understand something about its basic nature. I didn't have that to fall back on with DM,G - which made everything new and interesting in a way I don't get to experience often, but yes, also meant Okungbowa needed to introduce me to...well, a lot. And you know what? He did it incredibly well. I never felt overwhelmed, bored by information I didn't care about, or confused about what was going on. One example stands out very clearly in my memory; during a battle scene, David is faced with a kind of monster he knows but that this particular white reader did not - a creature from Nigerian mythology. And I was awed at how quickly and perfectly Okungbowa conveyed the information I needed during a fight scene, without bogging down the action at all. Worldbuilding via fight scene? That's just ridiculously impressive.
Another critique I've seen is that the dialogue shifts between what I wince to call 'proper' English and what is probably Naijá, or Nigerian Pidgin (although it's never named in the book), and look - even I know that people switch back and forth between British English and Naijá depending on the situation and setting, and probably mood and personal preference too. That David speaks British English with some characters some of the time, and Naijá at other times - particularly with his adopted father, who speaks Naijá exclusively - is completely normal. It would be weird if he didn't. Was it sometimes hard to understand what was being said? Sure, but no more so than when LotR delves into Elvish. When a fantasy book has instances of a fantasy language, 99 times out 100 context makes the meaning clear, and the same is true with this book (which, let me reiterate, is not using a fantasy language, it's a real language real people speak and which the characters are obviously going to be familiar with). And as someone who tears her hair out every time Hollywood shows us Germans speaking English with each other when there are no native English speakers present, I appreciated getting to see these characters speak like, you know, real people. It anchored the fantastical elements really well.
Look, I will defend this book against all comers, okay? Okungbowa not only came up with an amazing premise, he wrote a story that lived up to it - how often does that happen? The magic! The fight scenes! And oh my gods (literally), the mythos! The more that was revealed about the Falling - when the gods showed up on Earth - and what had caused it and also, you know, the nature of gods and the various pantheons and everything - the more I learned about that, the more I wanted to gush about this book to literally everyone. I am so in love with so many things I can't talk about here because spoilers, which is so frustrating! I don't know how to convince you to go read this when I can't tell you why.
But basically, if you're not afraid of moving away from traditional (blegh) fantasy, if you're into cinematic magic and mythology and seriously weird found-families, if you want grit along with your action, if you want something new and wonderful, then this is definitely a book for you.
Seriously, give it a go. I can't imagine regretting it.
I like the three-part structure of this book. It feels very episodic, like the pacing of a TV show. It’s unusual for an epic fantasy novel - and this is epic fantasy. Or at least, it starts at urban fantasy and builds to epic fantasy.
This is a book that feels high-energy. It’s in some places frenetic, but never loses the character core of it’s protagonist, David. He is an excellent flawed lead. He can be stubborn, sometimes obnoxious, but he’s ultimately someone you root for.
The world-building is also excellent. I always enjoy mythology-based magic systems and I love books that are odes to specific cities, and this book combines both with what feels like a true love and immersion with Lagos as a place (both real and mythical).
The world-building is also excellent. I always enjoy mythology-based magic systems and I love books that are odes to specific cities, and this book combines both with what feels like a true love and immersion with Lagos as a place (both real and mythical).
You will need to be that person again when the time comes. It will be in the best interest of those you protect that you do not hesitate then.” I observe her for a moment. “Has this happened to you? Do you make terrible decisions on impulse?” She nods. “It is the only way I’ve lived. The curse of being part of chaos, I believe.” “Is that why you stopped?” “Maybe.” She stares off, towards the darkened rear of the plane. “But it doesn’t guarantee anything, really. We are fire and blood and war. We do not have the luxury of family or friends. Sooner or later, the heat drives them away. Sooner or later, we ruin everything.”
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
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:
No
Honestly this felt very different from Suyi Davis Okungbowa's upcoming novel, Son of the Storm, which I felt had amazing worldbuilding and a wonderful pace. In contrast, this one is kind of all over the place, though interesting concepts as usual by the author.
