You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
tense
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
3.5 rounded up again. I really enjoyed this on a conceptual level but it kinda dragged for me in the middle. Nigerian cyberpunk, super interesting.
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
A great little ride!! A very satisfying story, reads like a futuristic fairy tale / folktale, the way AO meets so many different characters as she travels across Nigeria. Love when capitalism is the enemy.
on audiobook, good narrator. fun, I think it's YA, but that's fine by me, kept my mind off the shitty news while I worked.
Damn, Okorafor kan skrive. Og feministisk, nigeriansk sci-fi - what's not to like?
I really loved a lot of the concepts in this book like obviously the ubiquitous capitalist enemy that rules over everything like globalist company towns. The AI/tech augmentation reminded me a lot of Becky chambers closed and common orbit. At first this was the understanding I got from Okorafors descriptions and my assumptions - I thought AO was abnormal in society but not the only person with technological adaptations. I also really loved descriptions of the hour glass and how it is sort of a utopian abolitionist society totally off grid with a lot of open ness between people who are all exiles or fugitives in some way.
Many things were sort of unclear to me at the beginning middle like what exactly the red eye was, what noors were, what anti ajejs did. Some of these things were still sort of unclear to me up until the last couple of pages. I also felt like the part with the white guy oracle in the tent smoking weed was so strange. I really did not like that part. It felt pretty anticlimactic and I was weirded out by how struck the character was by his “wisdom.” I would have liked more exploration of some of the transitional introspection while AO started to realize her power. I’d be interested in more of a deep dive as to why she didn’t experience this until recently. The first few times it was described felt sort of flat in comparison to later times. I also wondered about the conflict or twist that why couldn’t ultimate corp hack her back if they “made” her, and her neural implant was their technology? This seemed to be hinted at with things a few characters said to her but then wasn’t explored further. Another thing I would have liked to know more about is the dichotomy of her being able to see into all these peoples lives and invade their privacy but why was that never reversed to her? How did no one take her connection to all these AI and screens and use it against her? Was she really sooo all powerful? Did the AI want to fight on her side against the corporations that made them too??
I liked that this story was a sort of Bonnie and Clyde on the run thing and I did think the two characters and their relationships were very interesting but would have liked more of that like truly was their meeting coincidence or what caused it? I honestly would not have been opposed to a bit more romance descriptions either! In the middle I was like ??? Is there even any sparks ??
Another thing I loved about this book was the cultural, geographic, political, economic setting. I thought the last sentence was funny about a country far away losing power. Unfortunately I rarely feel like I consume any media about Nigeria but the context of north and south differences, nomadic people, the presence of the desert and sand/wind element, the cultural and economic disparity between north and south, the different traditional or family customs between different cultures all within Nigeria was all very new to me and I was very interested as I read more context. There is rich storytelling setting!
There were some times while reading this that I didn’t love it as much but at the end I really loved it and that’s where it counts the most.
Many things were sort of unclear to me at the beginning middle like what exactly the red eye was, what noors were, what anti ajejs did. Some of these things were still sort of unclear to me up until the last couple of pages. I also felt like the part with the white guy oracle in the tent smoking weed was so strange. I really did not like that part. It felt pretty anticlimactic and I was weirded out by how struck the character was by his “wisdom.” I would have liked more exploration of some of the transitional introspection while AO started to realize her power. I’d be interested in more of a deep dive as to why she didn’t experience this until recently. The first few times it was described felt sort of flat in comparison to later times. I also wondered about the conflict or twist that why couldn’t ultimate corp hack her back if they “made” her, and her neural implant was their technology? This seemed to be hinted at with things a few characters said to her but then wasn’t explored further. Another thing I would have liked to know more about is the dichotomy of her being able to see into all these peoples lives and invade their privacy but why was that never reversed to her? How did no one take her connection to all these AI and screens and use it against her? Was she really sooo all powerful? Did the AI want to fight on her side against the corporations that made them too??
I liked that this story was a sort of Bonnie and Clyde on the run thing and I did think the two characters and their relationships were very interesting but would have liked more of that like truly was their meeting coincidence or what caused it? I honestly would not have been opposed to a bit more romance descriptions either! In the middle I was like ??? Is there even any sparks ??
Another thing I loved about this book was the cultural, geographic, political, economic setting. I thought the last sentence was funny about a country far away losing power. Unfortunately I rarely feel like I consume any media about Nigeria but the context of north and south differences, nomadic people, the presence of the desert and sand/wind element, the cultural and economic disparity between north and south, the different traditional or family customs between different cultures all within Nigeria was all very new to me and I was very interested as I read more context. There is rich storytelling setting!
There were some times while reading this that I didn’t love it as much but at the end I really loved it and that’s where it counts the most.
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I'm not sure if "Noor" fits into Nnedi Onirafor’s expanding world of Genin, but it feels like this story of a young woman, AO, is a part of the rich universe this author is building.
In "Noor", AO is born with disabilities, and she is convinced to replace or augment parts of her body with prosthetics created by a megacorp (who has an ever-expanding presence in people's lives.) AO has so much replaced that she gradually is more physically cyborg than human.
When she’s attacked and goes on the run, she meets a cow herder called DNA with two cattle sporting fantastic Names: Carpe Diem and GPS. He's, and the cattle, have recently evaded murder attempts, and AO and DNA decide to go on the run together into the desert.
The AO and DNA are soon perused relentlessly by the megacorp, leading to in-story discussions about corporate monopolies and control, disability, transhumanism and choice.
The story’s leads are personable, though AO is better developed than DNA and I enjoyed the story of flight, and fight, leading to a somewhat grim outcome.
In "Noor", AO is born with disabilities, and she is convinced to replace or augment parts of her body with prosthetics created by a megacorp (who has an ever-expanding presence in people's lives.) AO has so much replaced that she gradually is more physically cyborg than human.
When she’s attacked and goes on the run, she meets a cow herder called DNA with two cattle sporting fantastic Names: Carpe Diem and GPS. He's, and the cattle, have recently evaded murder attempts, and AO and DNA decide to go on the run together into the desert.
The AO and DNA are soon perused relentlessly by the megacorp, leading to in-story discussions about corporate monopolies and control, disability, transhumanism and choice.
The story’s leads are personable, though AO is better developed than DNA and I enjoyed the story of flight, and fight, leading to a somewhat grim outcome.
Anything by Nnedi Okorafor I would pick up and read. You can expect and exciting story with interesting characters that will bring up questions of home and identity. It's always a pleasure to get to know her characters. Noor isn't as good as some of Okorafor's other works. The beginning is a little rough, and things seem to be tied up a bit too nicely. In the end, though, you won't regret getting to know the main character and her world.