Reviews with content warning for Gore - Remote Control

Everything starts with a meteor shower. A young girl sees something that falls from the stars and what she finds, or what is given to her, comes with great power and a great price. Now wandering with only a small red fox by her side, Sankofa is looking for what was taken from her. As she walks from town to town word by month spreads out even faster and soon Sankofa is wrapped in mythology and legend.

"People whisper things like, "She's the adopted child of the Angel of Death. Beware of her. Mind her. Death guards her like one of its own." Three was truth in every single one of the stories."

An absolutely engrossing coming of age story with Sankofa looking for purpose and trying to find a sense of self. Amazing character and plot development, but also an exploration of grief, isolation, and trauma. This is a book that is mysterious and vivid and gripping and is so very hard to put down. I truly hope we get more of Sankofa in future books.

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rorikae's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

In 'Remote Control' Nnedi Okorafor tells the story of a young girl with the power of death and how this power affects her life.
Fatima loves spending time in her family's backyard, drawing large patterns in the dirt and spending time climbing her favorite tree. But one day, meteors fall from the sky and Fatima finds a seed that has potentially come from outer space. The seed imbues Fatima with the power of death and her life is permanently changed. After a tragedy, she loses her name and becomes Sankofa, walking from city to city accompanied by death.
Though 'Remote Control' is under 200 pages, Okorafor enfolds the reader into Sankofa's story. We are introduced to her first after rumors have spread about her powers and so we see her first through the eyes of the public as this mythical being who has the power to control death. But Okorafor then sends us back to Sankofa's origin story, when she is just a girl who loves watching the stars and encounters a seed that changes her life. As Okorafor unfolds the story behind the legend, we learn more about the tragedy and grief that have plagued Sankofa ever since she lost her name. Despite the short nature of the story, it fills every page and feels like the perfect length. Okorafor also utilizes the story to comment on large corporations that exploit resources and the impact that the fear of death has on different characters. It's a gripping story with so much to say. I highly recommend it.

Content Warnings

competencefantasy's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This is the first one by this author where I'm starting out with themes that are up my ally. The relationship of the protagonist with her community and lack of community, the mysterious semi symbolic nature of the powers, an other parts of the central conciet were very much my thing, which is why I bought the book so close to release. What this did for me was allow all the authors other skills in language use, mood, and effective choice of details to rise to the top of my awareness. This stuff is really interesting and really good.

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