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theaurochs's review against another edition
3.0
A fairly entertaining sci-fi thriller that ultimately suffers for throwing too many elements into the mix and not really knowing what to do with them. This is seriously not helped by the style of delivery, meaning that even at the 90% mark in the book, we are still introducing new elements and having them explained either directly to us, or by one character to another. Getting so bogged down in exposition allows precious little time for plot development, so when that does happen it tends to feel rushed and squeezed in; nothing really gets the time it needs to breathe. Because of the widely disparate themes of everything that's being thrown together, none of it manages to really coalesce into something more meaningful.
Sometime in the near future, a massive solar flare wipes out the vast majority of electronics on the planet, and most of those in orbit. Only a narrow band around the equator is spared, thanks to shielding from the Earth's magnetosphere. As such, Nigeria is one of the few countries with remaining infrastructure, and forms the setting for the novel. The impetus for part of the plot is that one astronaut is left stranded on the ISS after the flare, and several goverments around the world (or what's left of them) pool together their resources to build a new launch site in Nigeria in order to save this astronaut. There's frankly a lot of problems with this set-up; whether it's possible to build a launch system from scratch in a little over a year, whether that's a good use of funds when the rest of the world has collapsed around you in order to save just one person, it's sketchy at best but let's accept it for the sake of the plot. The more major problem is that the book doesn't seem to want to tell that story- it instead focuses primarily on some mysterious goings on in and around Kano, that tie in to some strange archaeological finds. It really feels like these two threads needed to be woven together a little more strongly, as it stands they feel like the sketches of two separate books that have been stitched together.
Both threads are interesting, but next to each other they neither have the room they need to really be explored in detail. This is before we get to the side plots with the freedom fighters or the famous actors or the politicians (three separate threads). And they are all touching on so many interesting themes; from African cultural heritage and the importance of honouring the past as well as the future to cultural and racial identity, interesting sci-fi inventions (even if these make no sense in the timeframes given or even in relation to each other), the effects of celebrity, ancient cultures and the magic they may have wielded. There is cool stuff here and I feel like Olukotun is frustratingly close to tying it all together into something much greater. Give the ideas room to breathe, let them show themselves through the narrative rather than simply info-dumping them to us, and we'd have a great novel.
The characters are fine- main character nothing to write home about and in many ways feels like a pretty standard action film protagonist. The book overall reads far too action-filmy, complete with opening James-Bond style chase across a building site and a telescope array, not to mention the whole space station falling out of the sky element. Some of the side characters though do have a bit more humanity to them, but we rarely get to spend enough time with them to see more than one or two notes, and far too often they're again relegated to dispensing exposition.
Not a bad book and pretty interesting, just unable to pull all of it's thoughts into something coherent.
Sometime in the near future, a massive solar flare wipes out the vast majority of electronics on the planet, and most of those in orbit. Only a narrow band around the equator is spared, thanks to shielding from the Earth's magnetosphere. As such, Nigeria is one of the few countries with remaining infrastructure, and forms the setting for the novel. The impetus for part of the plot is that one astronaut is left stranded on the ISS after the flare, and several goverments around the world (or what's left of them) pool together their resources to build a new launch site in Nigeria in order to save this astronaut. There's frankly a lot of problems with this set-up; whether it's possible to build a launch system from scratch in a little over a year, whether that's a good use of funds when the rest of the world has collapsed around you in order to save just one person, it's sketchy at best but let's accept it for the sake of the plot. The more major problem is that the book doesn't seem to want to tell that story- it instead focuses primarily on some mysterious goings on in and around Kano, that tie in to some strange archaeological finds. It really feels like these two threads needed to be woven together a little more strongly, as it stands they feel like the sketches of two separate books that have been stitched together.
Both threads are interesting, but next to each other they neither have the room they need to really be explored in detail. This is before we get to the side plots with the freedom fighters or the famous actors or the politicians (three separate threads). And they are all touching on so many interesting themes; from African cultural heritage and the importance of honouring the past as well as the future to cultural and racial identity, interesting sci-fi inventions (even if these make no sense in the timeframes given or even in relation to each other), the effects of celebrity, ancient cultures and the magic they may have wielded. There is cool stuff here and I feel like Olukotun is frustratingly close to tying it all together into something much greater. Give the ideas room to breathe, let them show themselves through the narrative rather than simply info-dumping them to us, and we'd have a great novel.
The characters are fine- main character nothing to write home about and in many ways feels like a pretty standard action film protagonist. The book overall reads far too action-filmy, complete with opening James-Bond style chase across a building site and a telescope array, not to mention the whole space station falling out of the sky element. Some of the side characters though do have a bit more humanity to them, but we rarely get to spend enough time with them to see more than one or two notes, and far too often they're again relegated to dispensing exposition.
Not a bad book and pretty interesting, just unable to pull all of it's thoughts into something coherent.
ordwayhomebody's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
aasplund's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
jazzypizzaz's review against another edition
3.0
pretty good! some interesting themes regarding the melding of: ambitions of the future and heritage of the past, technology and magic, hard tech and biology, culture re: African diaspora and African continent.
thebiblioklept's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
I have mixed feelings. I didn't hate it, didn't love it.
I have mixed feelings. I didn't hate it, didn't love it.
david_agranoff's review against another edition
3.0
I picked this book up after it won a special mention in this year's PKD awards of which it was nominated for.
This is a strange book that apparently is a sequel to the author's first novel Nigerians in Space. Well it is marketed that way although I read that the author intended for this book to stand alone. I don't know if I missing something but it worked for me as a singular reading experience. Had I know it was book two I would not have started here but it ended up in my TBR so here we are. Combing a few plot elements and a strange sci-fi mystery this is a really great example of afrocentric genre even if personally I did not connect to it as much as some other books in this subgenre.
The premise sets up nicely for a post Apocalypse novel, but strangely enough that is not what we are talking about here. The book starts in orbit when a space station gets a front row seat for solar flare that wipes out power/technology for much of the globe. There is a small zone along the equator that is uneffected, and this is the reason why Kwesi Brackett our main point of view character has to go Nigeria. As a engineer he is needed to join the effort to rescue the lone astronaut who didn't escape the space station and has been stranded in orbit for a year while quickly losing her life support and sanity. Once in Africa the story weaves a couple plot strands that involve terrorist groups like Boko Haram, ancient artifacts and the discovery of an advanced civilization buried in Nigeria's past.
Brackett is in charge of the water tanks where the future astronauts practice space walks. He is overseeing the final stages of building this massive pool with a artifact is found and quickly stolen. In the process of trying to track down the stolen items Brackett is witness to a separatist terrorist attack. These elements were some of the books most interesting moments. The glimpse into the near future Nigeria was not the focus, but to me it was the most compelling part.
The various plot threads seem very different but they weave together really through the the story. Deji Bryce Olukotun's writing is well thought out, he has excellent command of plot, structure and characters. For me the biggest weakness of the book was found in it's subplot about the origins of the artifact. I am sorry for most readers this will be the most interesting part, but how Nigeria reacts to it's suddenly important global role intrigued me more that was not Olukotun's focus. I
I respect this book, even if I didn't totally love it. Olukotun is a good writer and I will read more of his work in the future. This is good thoughtful science fiction and in a time when we are trying to find more diverse voices this is a good one.
This is a strange book that apparently is a sequel to the author's first novel Nigerians in Space. Well it is marketed that way although I read that the author intended for this book to stand alone. I don't know if I missing something but it worked for me as a singular reading experience. Had I know it was book two I would not have started here but it ended up in my TBR so here we are. Combing a few plot elements and a strange sci-fi mystery this is a really great example of afrocentric genre even if personally I did not connect to it as much as some other books in this subgenre.
The premise sets up nicely for a post Apocalypse novel, but strangely enough that is not what we are talking about here. The book starts in orbit when a space station gets a front row seat for solar flare that wipes out power/technology for much of the globe. There is a small zone along the equator that is uneffected, and this is the reason why Kwesi Brackett our main point of view character has to go Nigeria. As a engineer he is needed to join the effort to rescue the lone astronaut who didn't escape the space station and has been stranded in orbit for a year while quickly losing her life support and sanity. Once in Africa the story weaves a couple plot strands that involve terrorist groups like Boko Haram, ancient artifacts and the discovery of an advanced civilization buried in Nigeria's past.
Brackett is in charge of the water tanks where the future astronauts practice space walks. He is overseeing the final stages of building this massive pool with a artifact is found and quickly stolen. In the process of trying to track down the stolen items Brackett is witness to a separatist terrorist attack. These elements were some of the books most interesting moments. The glimpse into the near future Nigeria was not the focus, but to me it was the most compelling part.
The various plot threads seem very different but they weave together really through the the story. Deji Bryce Olukotun's writing is well thought out, he has excellent command of plot, structure and characters. For me the biggest weakness of the book was found in it's subplot about the origins of the artifact. I am sorry for most readers this will be the most interesting part, but how Nigeria reacts to it's suddenly important global role intrigued me more that was not Olukotun's focus. I
I respect this book, even if I didn't totally love it. Olukotun is a good writer and I will read more of his work in the future. This is good thoughtful science fiction and in a time when we are trying to find more diverse voices this is a good one.
em_p2's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
angeladams's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
raethereviewer's review against another edition
4.25
I read this for my Afrofuturism class and enjoyed it a lot more than I was expecting to. A lot of times with these kinds of space travel books, the focus is on the astronauts and being in space. This book is all about the behind the scenes of getting into space and following Kwesi as a main character was such a great choice.