asunnybooknook's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. Uneven and repetitive at points, but some stories were amazing! Others felt cut short.
sumayyah_t's review against another edition
5.0
Delightful and often serious short stories from Nnedi Okorafor, set mostly in Nigeria or the Niger Delta. The collection begins with a bang with "The Magical Negro", moves into the realm of the mystical with "Kabu Kabu" and takes a serious tone with "The Black Stain." Pieces such as "Long Juju Man" and "The Carpet" read like folktales and encourage to reader to open their mind to the possibilities. All in all, Nnedi does a wonderful job of showing the reader another world.
elizafiedler's review against another edition
4.0
Not all these stories are perfect, but there's always something wonderful in them. OMG, the Magical Negro! The Baboon War! I need more Okorafor.
zombiezami's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Okorafor is a master of world-building. I loved the subtle interconnectedness of all the stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Violence, Blood, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Misogyny, Death, Hate crime, Classism, Cursing, Body horror, Gore, and Slavery
Moderate: Rape, Animal death, Child death, Child abuse, War, Alcoholism, Confinement, Xenophobia, Vomit, Alcohol, Torture, Ableism, and Infidelity
Minor: Islamophobia
Animal attack, Texturismalisterscriven's review against another edition
5.0
Short stories aren't really my thing, usually. I have a hard time understanding what they're trying to say when it's just like "here's a quick snapshot of a weird thing!". My brain is used to massive novels and hordes of characters. But despite those shortcomings of mine, this was super good. And super weird. And often disturbing. I liked it.
abbie_'s review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
I don’t read much science fiction or speculative fiction, but I had a good time reading this collection! My favourites often dealt with the effects the oil industry on nature and communities, including Spider the Artist, The Popular Mechanic, and Moom! Which is actually the prologue to Lagoon which I now want to read! The titular story is also excellent, as was Tumaki. Most of the stories had something great to offer, and while a few were forgettable they were enjoyable to read at the time.
tregina's review against another edition
4.0
Fabulous choice for my first book of the year. A mix of magic realism, folklore and science fiction, many of the stories had an underlying theme of travel, whether they were stories about the journeys themselves or stories about having been one place or stories about going to (or wanting to go to) another. My favourite was probably "Spider the Artist", the most straight-up science fiction of the bunch, which approached emerging AI in a way that is similar to the way I think about it. But really, you can't go wrong with any of them.
princessfabulous's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
lizlogan's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book although some of the book got a bit repetitive. I like the completely different stories that Okorafor introduces into the literary canon. It's nice to see representation of Africa and Nigeria where it does not and hasn't gotten a lot in both her young adult series and in her short stories. Although I am seeing more and more stories and books taking place in and around Africa, I think that hers are the first I have seen and thus are more important to me for bringing me into this world of stories I hadn't otherwise known about or seen.