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A review by sarahetc
Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor
4.0
Just up front: I selected this book because I liked the cover-- that bubble looks pregnant and ominous. Then I read the first chapter and got very hell yeah because who does not want to read a story about a vengeful swordfish using alien technology to become a giant avenging monster?! But that's not really what the story is about. It's just one of the few chapters Okorafor sprinkles through the story that give it body and heft and make what might be a standard sort of sci-fi adventure so much richer.
Lagoon is the story of aliens, who make contact in the city of Lagos, Nigeria. It's a city built on islands in the sea, hence imbued with extra energy, something different and special. The ocean calls out to Adaora, Anthony, and Agu who all walk toward, and accept even with reservation, that they will be the vanguard of a new human fate. Snatched by a fist of the ocean, complete with sonic boom, they return to the surface with the ambassador of the aliens, named by Adaora, "Ayodele." She is a shapeshifter and that's just the start.
The story is well-paced and, though full of what you might think of as "alien invasion" tropes, not exactly predictable. Okorafor's three main characters work together and split up several times, roping in and casting off secondary and tertiary characters whose plots enhance the main story, for the most part, although sometimes gum up the pace. She writes in English and a couple different English pidgins, which is exciting and goes a long way to helping the reader to keep track of the different threads and narrators.
There was an abrupt shift about three-quarters of the way through the book where Okorafor changed from direct character narration to a meta narration by the spirit Udide, the spider/weaver to tells all tales. After this point, the main narrative was interspersed with one-off short stories that pulled in the West African folktale pantheon, including Anansi, Legba, MamiWata, and others. It was jarring, but only because each seemed worth more than a few pages. I can only hope Okorafor develops this further in other novels. Or maybe she already has-- this was my first encounter with her.
So a spoiler-free recommendation for a non-traditional sci-fi adventure, with overtones of fiction-of-science, magical realism, and large-scale mythologizing.
Lagoon is the story of aliens, who make contact in the city of Lagos, Nigeria. It's a city built on islands in the sea, hence imbued with extra energy, something different and special. The ocean calls out to Adaora, Anthony, and Agu who all walk toward, and accept even with reservation, that they will be the vanguard of a new human fate. Snatched by a fist of the ocean, complete with sonic boom, they return to the surface with the ambassador of the aliens, named by Adaora, "Ayodele." She is a shapeshifter and that's just the start.
The story is well-paced and, though full of what you might think of as "alien invasion" tropes, not exactly predictable. Okorafor's three main characters work together and split up several times, roping in and casting off secondary and tertiary characters whose plots enhance the main story, for the most part, although sometimes gum up the pace. She writes in English and a couple different English pidgins, which is exciting and goes a long way to helping the reader to keep track of the different threads and narrators.
There was an abrupt shift about three-quarters of the way through the book where Okorafor changed from direct character narration to a meta narration by the spirit Udide, the spider/weaver to tells all tales. After this point, the main narrative was interspersed with one-off short stories that pulled in the West African folktale pantheon, including Anansi, Legba, MamiWata, and others. It was jarring, but only because each seemed worth more than a few pages. I can only hope Okorafor develops this further in other novels. Or maybe she already has-- this was my first encounter with her.
So a spoiler-free recommendation for a non-traditional sci-fi adventure, with overtones of fiction-of-science, magical realism, and large-scale mythologizing.