Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor

It’s up to a famous rapper, a biologist, and a rogue soldier to handle humanity’s first contact with an alien ambassador—and prevent mass extinction—in this novel that blends magical realism with high-stakes action. After word gets out on the Internet that aliens have landed in the waters outside of the world’s fifth most populous city, chaos ensues. Soon the military, religious leaders, thieves, and crackpots are trying to control the message on YouTube and on the streets. Meanwhile, the earth’s political superpowers are considering a preemptive nuclear launch to eradicate the intruders. All that stands between seventeen million anarchic residents and death is an alien ambassador, a biologist, a rapper, a soldier, and a myth that may be the size of a giant spider, or a god revealed.

Such a strong start, and such a compelling idea! Aliens come to Lagos for first contact. As Okorafor says, other places might have had an organized, government-led response. But in Lagos, the aliens can reach out to regular people, mix among them, and both wonder and chaos ensue.But then, this devolved into just more and more chaos. The closest thing to a plot is that the main characters think the alien ambassador needs to talk to the president of Nigeria. This involves uploading YouTube videos of the alien doing alien things, wading through unrest in the streets, sitting in traffic jams, etc. It's all very quotidian. Presumably if aliens wanted to talk to the president, they could have just raised their ship out of the ocean, broadcast a message, and sat back and waited.There's no in-world explanation of why they don't do that. I'm guessing the real explanation is that Okorafor wants the opportunity to show readers the tapestry of life in Lagos. And actually, I did like learning about Lagos and Nigeria from someone with strong ties and firsthand knowledge of the place.I would even have enjoyed the introduction of Nigerian gods and folklore figures, if it had felt like an organic, meaningful part of the story. Instead, it was like Okorafor crammed in a hasty pastiche of [b:American Gods 30165203 American Gods (American Gods, #1) Neil Gaiman https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1462924585l/30165203.SY75.jpg 1970226]. It's too bad, because I'd love to read a full novel by a writer of African descent using that idea! But here it's just a few sentences here and there, and doesn't connect much with the rest of the story.I saw enough cool stuff here that I want to check out her other books. I just don't think this came together as a story. It's a sci-fi excuse for a love letter to Lagos.

I would have given this 3.5 stars if I could have. I think my enjoyment of Lagoon was spoilt by the rave reviews I've heard of it - which caused me to feel I was missing some deeper meaning throughout. I've also been in a reading slump.
This was beautifully written as expected and I liked the use of pidgin English even though sometimes I had to stop reading to figure out what it meant. I suspect that my enjoyment of Lagoon will increase over time as it marinades in my brain

Great sci-fi with a different take on alien arrival; loved the mix of religion/mythology in the story.

This is a super cool concept and very refreshing but also TERRIFYINGespecially if you are afraid of sea creatures but also just IN GENERALanyway I'm given to understand that many people enjoy books that are terrifying so check this out if that's youIt also kind of reminded me of [b:American Gods 4407 American Gods Neil Gaiman https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1258417001s/4407.jpg 1970226] except, you know, African Gods. And also aliens??