Tags
authorship, fame, families, movement disorders, Nigerian Americans, Robots in literature, Science fiction, women with disabilities
Nnedi Okorafor is a prolific science fiction author whose books often incorporate her Nigerian heritage. This was my first time reading her, and I can see why she is an acclaimed, award-winning writer. Death of the Author is the story of Zelu, who achieves success after publishing a novel about robots (a book we also read throughout this story). Unable to walk from a childhood fall, Zelu begins to incorporate futuristic technology into her own life. A hard book to describe, but well worth the read!
“There’s more vivid imagination in a page of Nnedi Okorafor’s work than in whole volumes.” — Ursula K. Le Guin
“Okorafor’s book bounces between the novel (about the writer) and the novel-within-the novel (about the robots), and the result is an ambitious blend of genres.” — NPR
“Nnedi Okorafor is so ferociously talented that we are starting to see she cannot be boxed into any category or genre. Her new novel, Death of the Author, is a deeply felt dazzle. A blaze. It is true deep to the bones.” — Luis Alberto Urrea, Pulitzer Prize finalist and bestselling author of The House of Broken Angels
“A captivating Möbius strip of literary SF.” — Library Journal (starred review)
“[Her work is] irresistible to readers. Her nearly two dozen works of fiction have earned Okorafor a slew of honors—four Hugos, a Nebula, a World Fantasy Award. And a new generation of American storytellers who explicitly use their African heritage, history and mythology to inspire their work have followed in her wake, including Tomi Adeyemi, Ayana Gray, Jordan Ifueko and Namina Forna. . . . Connection is the heartbeat of Okorafor’s work.” — New York Times, 12 African Artists Leading a Culture Renaissance Around the World
“Okorafor explores what it means to be human. . . . All-out Okorafor – her best yet.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Death of the Author explores . . . conservationism, Africanfuturism, and what a world without humans could look like. The focus on the near future and the issues that Zelu faces give the postapocalyptic Rusted Robots a greater urgency. Her desire to live life on her own terms will engage readers who love to watch protagonists grow. Highly recommended for fans of Octavia Butler, Nicky Drayden, and Tade Thompson. . . . [Okarofor’s] latest book-within-a-book will attract genre and literary fiction fans alike.” — Booklist(starred review)

