Who Fears Death
It took me a while to recognize the shape of this story. It's billed as science fiction, but it doesn't read like the science fiction I'm used to. I spent a lot of time looking for clues that this story took place in the future as opposed to the past. They're there, but they're subtle and not really relevant to the story. Tigers are extinct. Computers are ubiquitous but old and rarely used. It eventually became clear that the creation myth in this world is also the story of the end of the world as we know it.
But this book actually has more elements of fantasy. Magic is real. Our main character is a sorcerer-in-training. She can turn into animals and visit the world of the dead. Her lover is also magically inclined and a fantastic healer, though he doesn't pass the initiation rite necessary to becoming a sorcerer. There's a wonderful amount of magic and even that hallmark of fantasy literature: dragons. This all helps to obscure the fact that the book takes place in our far future, where things haven't gotten better at all.
The beginning of the book is focused on Onyesonwu's past and initiation and training. The plot doesn't really begin to take shape until more than a quarter of the way through the book. Or maybe it does, and I was just so confused by the science fiction label that I didn't see the clues that were right in front of me. At any rate, by the time Onye and her friends set into the desert to kill an evil sorcerer and change the world, it's clear that this is a hero's journey. Once I realized that, I had an easier time settling in and enjoying the story.
Which isn't to say that the beginning isn't good. It is. Even when the story felt a bit directionless I was captivated. But the early violence (Onye is a child of rape and goes through a female circumcision rite) could be a bit much, and I had to put the book down a few times. Thankfully, I could always see it coming far enough in advance to make that choice before I was in the midst of a scene. And it all ends up being crucial to the world and the story and the blind reliance of people on traditions that are holding them back.
I'm really excited to track down the prequel. I hope it addresses how the world ended and gives more insight into the creation myth. I need to know more about this world and the magic that its inhabitants wield.
But this book actually has more elements of fantasy. Magic is real. Our main character is a sorcerer-in-training. She can turn into animals and visit the world of the dead. Her lover is also magically inclined and a fantastic healer, though he doesn't pass the initiation rite necessary to becoming a sorcerer. There's a wonderful amount of magic and even that hallmark of fantasy literature: dragons. This all helps to obscure the fact that the book takes place in our far future, where things haven't gotten better at all.
The beginning of the book is focused on Onyesonwu's past and initiation and training. The plot doesn't really begin to take shape until more than a quarter of the way through the book. Or maybe it does, and I was just so confused by the science fiction label that I didn't see the clues that were right in front of me. At any rate, by the time Onye and her friends set into the desert to kill an evil sorcerer and change the world, it's clear that this is a hero's journey. Once I realized that, I had an easier time settling in and enjoying the story.
Which isn't to say that the beginning isn't good. It is. Even when the story felt a bit directionless I was captivated. But the early violence (Onye is a child of rape and goes through a female circumcision rite) could be a bit much, and I had to put the book down a few times. Thankfully, I could always see it coming far enough in advance to make that choice before I was in the midst of a scene. And it all ends up being crucial to the world and the story and the blind reliance of people on traditions that are holding them back.
I'm really excited to track down the prequel. I hope it addresses how the world ended and gives more insight into the creation myth. I need to know more about this world and the magic that its inhabitants wield.
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