Nnedi Okorafor, Who Fears Death

Just realised that so far I've only reviewed two books this months, that's a pretty poor show for a book reviewing blog.

I tried a sample of Nnedi Okorafor's Who Fears Death back in May, so I've had to wait a fair while to read the whole thing. I bought it has part of my recent splurge.

trigger warning: violence, rape, racism, death, genocide, incest, FGM, slavery

The Plot: Alone in the desert, a woman who has survived the genocide of her village and a horrific rape by an enemy general, gives birth to a girl with hair and skin the colour of sand. She names her child Onyesnwu, 'who fears death'.  Onyesonwu, already ostracised due to the nature of her conception, is further rejected by her community when she  starts to exhibit signs of powerful magic. Able to transform into any animal, travel through the spirit world and even resurrect the dead, Onyesonwu is powerful and dangerous. Her volatile spirit  and gender mean she has the capacity to cause great harm, as well as good.   However,  as the violence between the Nuru and the Okeke escalates a prophecy is made, foretelling of a saviour who will end the war. 

Rating: ««««¶ (4/5) 

Full review and quick glossary under the cut *spoiler warning*:-
(I've included a brief list of terminology, as the novel can get confusing)

kindle samples 2

Continuing my quest to discover new authors, I downloaded a couple more kindle samples (the first part can be read here), here's my findings:-

Lagoon, Nnedi Okorafor 

Synopsis: On a beach in Lagos, aliens first make contact with a marine-biologist, a rapper and a solider 

My Thoughts: After really enjoying the first sample if Nnedi Okorafor's work (Who Fears Death) I've ever read, I had high expectations. I wasn't immediately grabbed with this though, it does however have potential. I'm a fan of alien films/tv shows (star trek enterprise and voyager in particular) so this sounds like it would be my kind of thing. Basing it just of the short samples I've read though, I think I'd rather read Who Fears Death first.

Verdict: would like to read the full book.      

The Coldest Girl in Cold Town, Holly Black 

Synopsis: Vampirism is regarded as an infectious disease, those who contaminated are contained in Cold Towns, and ostracised from the rest or the society.

My Thoughts: I secretly liked this. I say secretly because it's not the sort of book I'd like to be caught reading in public, so it's ideal for kindle, it's kind of trashy. It's YA fiction so no doubt will be full of teen angst, and I suspect a love triangle. Holly Black as certainly jumped on the Twilight bandwagon. Which means this novel is pure easy-reading escapism. 

Verdict:  would like to read (in fact I've already ordered in from the library- but shhhhh, don't tell anyone)