This short novella packs enough punch to have won the Hugo and Nebula awards in 2016 and 2015 respectively. A coming of age story centered around a young black-African woman named Binti. The plot concerns itself with her acceptance into the most prominent academic research school in the galaxy and the hardships and near death experiences she faces just getting there without the permission of her family. This work is the first of a three part trilogy which includes Binti: Home and Binti: The Night Masquerade which was finished in 2017.
Somewhere I am reading that there are distinctions between African based and Afrofuturism but I’ll make no such distinction here since our main character can be equally seen as the outsider in her universe and does have a unique cultural background. We learn that her people the Himba are a small and racially oppressed people living in the deserts of a future Earth. They have unique customs and a strong racial history which keep them separate from the majority Khoush people they commonly interact with. They also seem to be gifted with unique abilities in the areas of thought, mathematics, and harmony.
The magic realism here forms some of the best parts of the novel and it is fun to see a black author’s take on the combination of magic and Science ala Asimov in the seminal foundation series. It is also worth note that this book is sometimes classified as YA but older Sci-fi fans should still find much to enjoy here. Nnedi Okarofor’s novella is complex enough to hold interest even for older readers and the personal struggles of Binti, her loss of heritage and embracing of change are enlivened by her unique cultural situation in the galaxy and world of Binti. A very good read, not as action packed as Jemisin’s The Fifth Season but perhaps more interesting as a character study. We’ll see how the rest of the novella develops.
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