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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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
Strong narrative voice, fantastic worldbuilding, weak romance? (Why does it there to be a romance when there’s so little attempts at building a chemistry? Publishing quota? I think it would have worked very well to have the protagonist ending up in this book being alone and happy, with friends instead of plus one forced lover. Come on it’s 2024.)
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
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:
Complicated
Oh no we are trapped in a dead-end situation. Thank god we suddenly develop magical powers to control the world…. Well it was a long time since I last encountered this deus-ex-machine-moment which I find a little to convenient, maybe even lazy in writing. But it suited this novella in which everything was a little bit too dramatic, too hasty. Starting with the Prologue which I couldn’t grasp even after several readings and until now I still don’t know when this monologue is happening.
But even if this book has it’s flaws, you will get a lot: gigantic sand-storms, peaceful tech-communes, wizards who will take you to the strawberry fields, protagonists in a sensational identity crisis even though they thought they knew exactly who they were and everything in between you can hope for in an afrofuturistic fantasy novel.
But even if this book has it’s flaws, you will get a lot: gigantic sand-storms, peaceful tech-communes, wizards who will take you to the strawberry fields, protagonists in a sensational identity crisis even though they thought they knew exactly who they were and everything in between you can hope for in an afrofuturistic fantasy novel.
It took me a while to really get into this book, but once I got there it was good. The characters were a little impenetrable until they opened up for a bit.
I did enjoy the return to the OG cyberpunk take around cybernetic augmentations "reducing your humanity", where the trouble arises from the corporations that create and own the tech, not the augmentation themselves.
I did enjoy the return to the OG cyberpunk take around cybernetic augmentations "reducing your humanity", where the trouble arises from the corporations that create and own the tech, not the augmentation themselves.
her latest short novel, Okorafor once again returns to her curated genre of Afrofuturism, this time focusing on the nexus of artificial intelligence, security and privacy, capitalism, supranational corporations and the role that technology could play in Nigeria.
This time around we meet AO (who has legally changed her name to the acronym) because of the augmentations that she has had done on her body in order for her to survive. Born with birth defects, and later ending up in a car accident that took away more of her bodily autonomy, AO becomes a cyborg, seen by others as less human, an "artificial organism", and this in turn causes folks in Nigeria, even one where technology is a part of everyday life, to want to end her existence. The allegory here to the value of woman seem in their "authenticity" of being women was one that was powerful, as AO, even with her augmentations and machine parts, is still a woman, though society may see her otherwise.
One day this all changes when she is attacked in the market, and ends up killing her attackers, the attack caught on the drones. She escapes and runs into a heardsman calling himself DNA, one of the last of the Nigerians who reject the more modern ways of life, and someone who is also on the run from the authorities, and together the both of them embark on a journey to escape the Nigerian government and Ultimate Corps, the supranational organization that is hunting both of them down.
There are elements of her earlier works in this book, though there is more of a reflection of the current world and its issues here. Okorafor does a great job breaking down the more complex policy and societal issues that are currently being debated, with the same blend of "juju" and technology that allows for her to stand out.
It is one of her shorter novels, so I won't get into the mechanics of the plot, but I will say that "Noor" is on the more tech side of her novels, with a focus on AI and our overall reliance of technology in our everyday life.
This time around we meet AO (who has legally changed her name to the acronym) because of the augmentations that she has had done on her body in order for her to survive. Born with birth defects, and later ending up in a car accident that took away more of her bodily autonomy, AO becomes a cyborg, seen by others as less human, an "artificial organism", and this in turn causes folks in Nigeria, even one where technology is a part of everyday life, to want to end her existence. The allegory here to the value of woman seem in their "authenticity" of being women was one that was powerful, as AO, even with her augmentations and machine parts, is still a woman, though society may see her otherwise.
One day this all changes when she is attacked in the market, and ends up killing her attackers, the attack caught on the drones. She escapes and runs into a heardsman calling himself DNA, one of the last of the Nigerians who reject the more modern ways of life, and someone who is also on the run from the authorities, and together the both of them embark on a journey to escape the Nigerian government and Ultimate Corps, the supranational organization that is hunting both of them down.
There are elements of her earlier works in this book, though there is more of a reflection of the current world and its issues here. Okorafor does a great job breaking down the more complex policy and societal issues that are currently being debated, with the same blend of "juju" and technology that allows for her to stand out.
It is one of her shorter novels, so I won't get into the mechanics of the plot, but I will say that "Noor" is on the more tech side of her novels, with a focus on AI and our overall reliance of technology in our everyday life.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes