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bymus3's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
marniii's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-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
Second installment of “The Desert Magicians Duology” and it was a lot of fun. It’s didn’t hit me as hard as the first which had me crying and dreaming of alternative radical futures. More of a fun adventure m. We follow Dikéogu this time after Ejii and him leave Ginen. Okorafor presenta so many difficult topics we have to sit with and sift through throughout the novel, but in her usual style she keeps it moving quickly. Overall I actually wish the book was longer and the character development was deeper because I’m greedy and wanted more lol. SPOILERS:
We follow Dikéogu returning to the site of his enslavement and dealing with the confusing grief of murdering his former enslaver, watch him lose a woman he loves to genocide, fall in a pit of despair losing himself for a full year, finally coming back to himself and returning to those he holds dear only for the genocide to catch up with him and murder the entire village. On top of all that he’s dealing with his complex feelings around his relationship with his ultra conservative famous parents that sold him into slavery. It’s a lot of really heavy emotions of grief, rage, jealousy and self-control. Really happy to have read this duology and as always can’t wait for her next release!!
We follow Dikéogu returning to the site of his enslavement and dealing with the confusing grief of murdering his former enslaver, watch him lose a woman he loves to genocide, fall in a pit of despair losing himself for a full year, finally coming back to himself and returning to those he holds dear only for the genocide to catch up with him and murder the entire village. On top of all that he’s dealing with his complex feelings around his relationship with his ultra conservative famous parents that sold him into slavery. It’s a lot of really heavy emotions of grief, rage, jealousy and self-control. Really happy to have read this duology and as always can’t wait for her next release!!
lisas_novel_idea's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
tavvyink's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
nodogsonthemoon's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
readingsofaslinky's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
So, I have made it my goal to read through all of Nnedi Okorafor’s works as I have loved everything I’ve read by her. But… this was the first book to give me pause. We are back in the world first introduced in Shadow Speaker which I loved, but in a different perspective—Dikéogu’s. Dikéogu had a terrible past—being sold into slavery. And in Shadow Speaker he found himself and became empowered—both literally and figuratively. But… in Like Thunder, he felt like an old curmudgeon. He had some sentiments that felt disrespectful to burqa wearing individuals and sex workers and I couldn’t feel the necessity of including those in the book unless to highlight a dated and unacceptable way of thinking? I know he eventually comes around for various reasons (after seeing that the father of his burqa wearing lover wasn’t a controlling machismo and that the sex worker was kind) but it still felt weird to read. Apart from that… the storyline kind of pittered on with a whole section of the story being obscured because the main character blacked out. And the resolution/fight/reclamation of Ginen was very anticlimactic to me. Though the characters remained the same in both books, they seemed unrelated to each other in their mood/sentiments. Sorry to have not liked this one but…
fertilepress's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
slewis_city's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.75
silodear's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
I’m sad about how disappointed I am with this second novel. I waited over a decade to read it. Book one is enjoyable and exciting and fun! This one simply was not. It felt rushed and I didn’t find Dikeogu to be very likable and so many things just didn’t really make sense. A bummer of a book. Three stars for effort and for completing the duology.
plantingneurons's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5