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afro75's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. It’s the right mix sci for and Nigerian culture. The main character is a twelve year old girl who is a brilliant robotocist tasked with building a robot that will stop the dreaded doomfist from rising to power. I loved the adventure and the realistic friendships in the story. Perfect for fans of Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor.
ellawhen's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
markcdickson's review against another edition
2.0
More like a 2.5. Very readable and had some fun moments but a bit lacking in overall tone and characterisation. Feels more like a series of vignettes.
gmzzn's review
5.0
i want!!! more ow novels!!! pls... this was so much fun... i already loved orisa and efi so much and now somehow i love them even more!!!!
also lucio flying somewhere new and taking pão de queijo with him anyway? truly brazilian 10/10 lmao i'd do that too
also lucio flying somewhere new and taking pão de queijo with him anyway? truly brazilian 10/10 lmao i'd do that too
lizardwater's review against another edition
4.0
I've been playing Overwatch since it's release and it's amazing to continue to watch the characters grow and have their backstories revealed. You can tell there was a lot of love put into designing Orisa as a character and connecting her to the culture she came from. I'm excited to see what character is given the spotlight next as this series of books continues. I was pleased to see this story was from the perspective of Efi (Orisa's creator). Before Orisa was released many people thought that Efi was actually going to be the next Overwatch hero. I wasn't disappointed when it turned out to be Orisa but I always wanted to hear more about Efi's life and in this book I got that. Overall, this was a enjoyable story to read that shined light on parts of the Overwatch lore that haven't been covered yet.
adelaidemetzger_robotprophet's review
4.0
I did not read this because I play Overwatch (I don’t), and I did not read this because both robot-fiction and african-futurism are main genres of mine (they most definitely are!).
I read this because my little sister asked me to.
For reals, though. I really enjoyed this book! Being from the point of view of a Nigerian tween--as well as being in the setting of the fictional, futuristic Nigerian city of Numbani--made me feel right at home with one of my favorite genres african/afro-furturism/fantasy, and it helped that Nicky Drayden is an author I am familiar with reading. Exploring different cultures through fantasy and science fiction is one of my favorite ways to read and learn. I don’t know why, but it makes me feel like the authors can be more expressive with their voices about their cultures and lives when they do it through fantasy and science fiction. And although it is based on a video game, The Hero of Numbani fits on my shelf right next to Octavia Butler, Nnedi Okorafor, and Isaac Asimov.
How I Found Out About This Book
Story time: My little sister (not-so-little-21 y/o as of this review) is obsessed with Overwatch and plays it normally. She got me to play a little bit but I am much more of a story-based gamer and was disappointed to find out Overwatch is just a first-person shooter-style, capture-the-flag, move the convoy online game with no story mode or even cutscenes to get you interested in exploring the characters you play or the world you’re in. I had to find all that out through character and game-story trailers.
Despite my frustration in Blizzard’s choice to format the story, Overwatch quickly got my attention with the plot surrounding a possible future where we humans go to war with our robot creations (in Overwatch they are called “omnics”). Being a robophile who’s first introduction to science fiction as a young teen was Isaac Asimov and his plethora of robot stories, I fell in love with this world and the fascination that omnics are fighting to become citizens become us humans made them so dang intelligent. And when my little sister asked me to read The Hero of Numbani I prepped myself by reading Nicky Drayden’s debut novel The Prey of God’s (which I freaking loved) and dove into more Overwatch/omnic research.
But Is It Good?
Listen, people: You do not have to know anything Overwatch to enjoy this book.
Even if I didn’t research Overwatch before reading this book, I honestly think I would have loved it anyway. Drayden does a SPOT-ON job of painting a picture of the world and setting without info-dumping or making you feel overwhelmed. It was pretty fun and cool to see and hear all the references that fans of Overwatch can catch, as well as understanding where this is in the Overwatch history timeline. But, it’s still a fantastic story with a great message all explained naturally through the eyes of an inspired and passionate eleven year-old who happens to be a genius robotosist.
Because this was from Efi’s point of view, it reminded me a lot of Nnedi Okorafor’s Akata Witch series which was also a fantastical story seen through the eyes of a twelve year-old. I soaked up all the cultural details of what it’s like living in Nigeria in the future with omnics as citizens in the neighborhood--that was so damn cool to me! And the book addresses that. Efi’s soul motivation in this book is to try and convince humans that omnics are real people with a culture of their own and that they can live peacefully with humans despite the leftover trauma of the Omnic Crisis years back. But that’s where the delicious conflict is! Because crime lord and international villain Doomfist is terrorizing the city and using his hackers to mess with omnics, lengthening the gap with humans and omnics. It’s up to Efi to build a bot tough enough to face off with Doomfist but gentle and friendly enough to become a part of the neighborhood.
Long story short, this is a-girl-and-her-bot kind of story with great themes about the challenges of responsibility and that growing up is about learning from the choices you make while keeping good relations with family and friends. Drayden crafts this story well with personality, authenticity to both Overwatch and the setting of Nigeria, and taking threats seriously while having fun along the way. And come on. Robots in a futuristic Nigeria? What’s not to love?
Conclusion
Do I recommend it? Yes.
Again, whether you are a fan into the lore of Overwatch or just someone who enjoys a good sci-fi read, The Hero of Numbani is a delightful and intriguing tale of a girl who builds a robot to make the world a better place with the perfected craft of Nicky Drayden at the helm--I doubt another author could have written this with the balance Drayden did. It made me hungry to check out Drayden’s other books like Temper and Escaping Exodus (I have both and am just waiting to finish other books to start them).
Because I am fairly familiar with Overwatch now, I am also eager for Blizzard to give the okay for more authors to write more books that take place in the Overwatch universe. I’d love to dive deep into a book from the point of view of Hanzo or Genji, Sombra, hell, even my boy Maximillien. I would melt to have the chance to read an official, novelized origin story for him.
A fun read. A great sci-fi. Getting myself a copy.
I read this because my little sister asked me to.
For reals, though. I really enjoyed this book! Being from the point of view of a Nigerian tween--as well as being in the setting of the fictional, futuristic Nigerian city of Numbani--made me feel right at home with one of my favorite genres african/afro-furturism/fantasy, and it helped that Nicky Drayden is an author I am familiar with reading. Exploring different cultures through fantasy and science fiction is one of my favorite ways to read and learn. I don’t know why, but it makes me feel like the authors can be more expressive with their voices about their cultures and lives when they do it through fantasy and science fiction. And although it is based on a video game, The Hero of Numbani fits on my shelf right next to Octavia Butler, Nnedi Okorafor, and Isaac Asimov.
How I Found Out About This Book
Story time: My little sister (not-so-little-21 y/o as of this review) is obsessed with Overwatch and plays it normally. She got me to play a little bit but I am much more of a story-based gamer and was disappointed to find out Overwatch is just a first-person shooter-style, capture-the-flag, move the convoy online game with no story mode or even cutscenes to get you interested in exploring the characters you play or the world you’re in. I had to find all that out through character and game-story trailers.
Despite my frustration in Blizzard’s choice to format the story, Overwatch quickly got my attention with the plot surrounding a possible future where we humans go to war with our robot creations (in Overwatch they are called “omnics”). Being a robophile who’s first introduction to science fiction as a young teen was Isaac Asimov and his plethora of robot stories, I fell in love with this world and the fascination that omnics are fighting to become citizens become us humans made them so dang intelligent. And when my little sister asked me to read The Hero of Numbani I prepped myself by reading Nicky Drayden’s debut novel The Prey of God’s (which I freaking loved) and dove into more Overwatch/omnic research.
But Is It Good?
Listen, people: You do not have to know anything Overwatch to enjoy this book.
Even if I didn’t research Overwatch before reading this book, I honestly think I would have loved it anyway. Drayden does a SPOT-ON job of painting a picture of the world and setting without info-dumping or making you feel overwhelmed. It was pretty fun and cool to see and hear all the references that fans of Overwatch can catch, as well as understanding where this is in the Overwatch history timeline. But, it’s still a fantastic story with a great message all explained naturally through the eyes of an inspired and passionate eleven year-old who happens to be a genius robotosist.
Because this was from Efi’s point of view, it reminded me a lot of Nnedi Okorafor’s Akata Witch series which was also a fantastical story seen through the eyes of a twelve year-old. I soaked up all the cultural details of what it’s like living in Nigeria in the future with omnics as citizens in the neighborhood--that was so damn cool to me! And the book addresses that. Efi’s soul motivation in this book is to try and convince humans that omnics are real people with a culture of their own and that they can live peacefully with humans despite the leftover trauma of the Omnic Crisis years back. But that’s where the delicious conflict is! Because crime lord and international villain Doomfist is terrorizing the city and using his hackers to mess with omnics, lengthening the gap with humans and omnics. It’s up to Efi to build a bot tough enough to face off with Doomfist but gentle and friendly enough to become a part of the neighborhood.
Long story short, this is a-girl-and-her-bot kind of story with great themes about the challenges of responsibility and that growing up is about learning from the choices you make while keeping good relations with family and friends. Drayden crafts this story well with personality, authenticity to both Overwatch and the setting of Nigeria, and taking threats seriously while having fun along the way. And come on. Robots in a futuristic Nigeria? What’s not to love?
Conclusion
Do I recommend it? Yes.
Again, whether you are a fan into the lore of Overwatch or just someone who enjoys a good sci-fi read, The Hero of Numbani is a delightful and intriguing tale of a girl who builds a robot to make the world a better place with the perfected craft of Nicky Drayden at the helm--I doubt another author could have written this with the balance Drayden did. It made me hungry to check out Drayden’s other books like Temper and Escaping Exodus (I have both and am just waiting to finish other books to start them).
Because I am fairly familiar with Overwatch now, I am also eager for Blizzard to give the okay for more authors to write more books that take place in the Overwatch universe. I’d love to dive deep into a book from the point of view of Hanzo or Genji, Sombra, hell, even my boy Maximillien. I would melt to have the chance to read an official, novelized origin story for him.
A fun read. A great sci-fi. Getting myself a copy.
allicatbooks's review
4.0
This was cute and fast and I could definitely see it being an easy sell to Overwatch fans.
rain_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Als langjähriger Overwatch-Fan musste ich dieses Buch anfragen. Die Hintergrundgeschichte zu Orisa und ihrer Schöpferin Efi hatte mich schon länger interessiert.
An sich war die Geschichte gut erzählt und die Charaktere passten zum Eindruck, den man beim Verfolgen der Lore und der Dialoge im Spiel gewinnen kann. Leider war für mich der Schreibstil etwas zu einfach und die Gesamtgeschichte hat mich nicht richtig mitgerissen. Die Charakterentwicklung war ganz nett mit anzusehen, leider gleichzeitig ziemlich vorhersehbar. Ein weiterer Bezug auf die gesamte Overwatch-Organisation und ein wenig mehr Hintergrundwissen zu Talon und Doomfist wäre schön gewesen.
Ansonsten eine ganz gute Lektüre nebenbei, wenn man sich mit Overwatch beschäftigen möchte.
An sich war die Geschichte gut erzählt und die Charaktere passten zum Eindruck, den man beim Verfolgen der Lore und der Dialoge im Spiel gewinnen kann. Leider war für mich der Schreibstil etwas zu einfach und die Gesamtgeschichte hat mich nicht richtig mitgerissen. Die Charakterentwicklung war ganz nett mit anzusehen, leider gleichzeitig ziemlich vorhersehbar. Ein weiterer Bezug auf die gesamte Overwatch-Organisation und ein wenig mehr Hintergrundwissen zu Talon und Doomfist wäre schön gewesen.
Ansonsten eine ganz gute Lektüre nebenbei, wenn man sich mit Overwatch beschäftigen möchte.