Currently reading
Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders
The Aether Age: Helios
52 Stitches, Vol. 2
Dead in the Family: A True Blood Novel
Little House by Boston Bay
Sutherland's Rules
The Accursed
The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There
Geek Mom: Projects, Tips, and Adventures for Moms and Their 21st-Century Families
Witchbreaker
Who Fears Death
(Refers to the audiobook.)"A journey."This book is a journey, and it is at times an intentionally uncomfortable one. Set in a (far?) future subsaharan Africa, racially-based genocides continue between the Nuru and the Okeke. An "Ewu" girl (the result of the rape of an Okeke by a Nuru man) is given the name Onyesonwu -- "Who Fears Death". This book has magic -- in particular: shape-shifting, and traveling to The Wilderness, the space where spirits go after life -- and sand, and violence -- though this is not a book "about" magic, or sand -- and scenes which are both unsettling and gripping. The narration from Anne Flosnik here is quite primal; we feel the pain and, as often, anger of Onyesonwu and her companions and adversaries. Okorafor's world is one where some technology remains -- portable computers with maps, water collection devices -- but this is not at all a book about technology. It is about people, and in particular the roles of women (and men) in a highly tribal culture. There are ruins -- old, paved roads -- but this is not a book about the past. It is also not a book about the future. It is a book which is quite present, and is highly recommended to readers with an interest in something beyond the beaten path, whether coming from an interest in fantasy or more mainstream fiction, and the willingness to travel on unfamiliar and rocky ground.
