Eduardo Santiago
There's a lot wrong with this book, but there's a lot right, too, and it was fun overall, so I can forgive a lot of the wrong. Now if only I could figure out what the book was about. Grit? Strength? Luck? Horrible family dynamics? Capitalism? The perils of easy fame? Storytelling? Human heart? Maybe I'll go with food: very few pages would go by without mentioning jollof rice and/or fried plantains. There's all that and much more, and it kept me on my toes.
This is billed as SF but it's really escapist fantasy. There's no science whatsoever, just elements of technobabble that could just as well (and more believably) be magic. Anyone with a fundamental tech background will be gritting teeth and muttering "No, It Does Not Work That Way" at times, particularly during the cheesy story-within-a-story. So will anyone with any knowledge of book publishing or cybernetics. The wish-fulfillment grew heavy at times. And still, I kept reading, and it was darn fun. Okorafor writes complex characters, annoying and relatable and just sympathetic enough to make me care for them. Well, except for her family, those are unredeemably awful.
There's a lot wrong with this book, but there's a lot right, too, and it was fun overall, so I can forgive a lot of the wrong. Now if only I could figure out what the book was about. Grit? Strength? Luck? Horrible family dynamics? Capitalism? The perils of easy fame? Storytelling? Human heart? Maybe I'll go with food: very few pages would go by without mentioning jollof rice and/or fried plantains. There's all that and much more, and it kept me on my toes.
This is billed as SF but it's really escapist fantasy. There's no science whatsoever, just elements of technobabble that could just as well (and more believably) be magic. Anyone with a fundamental tech background will be gritting teeth and muttering "No, It Does Not Work That Way" at times, particularly during the cheesy story-within-a-story. So will anyone with any knowledge of book publishing or cybernetics. The wish-fulfillment grew heavy at times. And still, I kept reading, and it was darn fun. Okorafor writes complex characters, annoying and relatable and just sympathetic enough to make me care for them. Well, except for her family, those are unredeemably awful.