Tag: sci-fi books

Review: Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor

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Death of the Author book review

Anna: In Death of the Author, Nnedi Okorafor tackles A LOT but does it well. This book will be released on January 14, 2025!

Zelu, a disabled Nigerian American woman, is freshly let go from her job as a professor when she strikes publishing gold with her sci-fi novel, Rusted Robots. Unlike her first novel, this one is a huge success and earns her a great book deal and immediate fame. 

I sped through this book and found myself highlighting and making a lot of notes. What stands out is the novel’s critique of the publishing world and its examination of cancel culture and social media. It also asks if AI/technology is good/bad and can be trusted. 

The rest of the novel follows her struggles with fame as she deals with the expectations of writing more great books and disagrees with the direction the film adaptation of her book takes. She also faces backlash from fans and readers, as, now famous and wealthy, she explores futuristic avenues and adventures for herself which quickly gets her accused of “becoming a robot”.

Zelu’s family is a big part of her life, but they are also a point of contention as they have a lot of ideas about how to act as Nigerian Americans. Zelu seems to have already strayed from their expectations purely by having an accident and becoming disabled, and this family dynamic becomes more and more complicated as the book goes on. 

The book also looks at how culture and race can impact people’s view of disability. Zelu is seen as rebellious and purely by existing as a disabled unmarried woman pursuing a creative career.

You also get to read Rusted Robots, the fictional book  within the book, which is very cool! 

I didn’t enjoy the Rusted Robots story-within-a-story as much as Zelu’s but enjoyed the concept of a book within a book, especially as Zelu turned more and more to technology in real life.

WARNING:SPOLIER BELOW

It did lose me a bit at the end due to her sudden pregnancy and the fact that she was still able to go to space despite it. As someone who is currently 27 pregnant myself, I just couldn’t suspend my disbelief for that, even though I know the point is that she can still maintain her individuality and pursue her own dreams as a mother.

Overall, I found Death of the Author highly unique, interesting and complex!

VERDICT: 🛸🛸🛸🛸/5

(4/5 spaceships)

Review: These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs

Anna and AlexisLeave a comment
Alexis holds These Burning Stars in front of a bookshelf

Alexis:

These Burning Stars is a political sci-fi with a dark, gritty, and chaotic feel.  

The story follows three separate women: Jun—a famous hacker who finds a key piece of information that implicates the powerful Nightfoot family in a planet-wide genocide seventy-five years ago. Esek—the brutal heir to the Nightfoot empire. And Chono, a cleric who is loyal to Esek. And amidst them all is a mysterious character named Six, who Esek is determined to hunt down. 

There are a lot of impactful themes in this book. It focuses on revenge, choice, and power. I love a good political book, and I enjoyed learning about the crazy power dynamics and the history of the Kinship. Jun herself reminds me of a Jyn/Rey type of character. 

I’ve seen a lot of people say this is one of the best new sci-fi books. While I really enjoyed a lot of it and Jacobs’ writing style, I can’t say it was my favorite. It doesn’t help that the title These Burning Stars does not fit the vibe of the story and that the story itself was marketed as a space opera, yet it doesn’t really feel like one. On top of that, there are two main aspects of this book that frustrated me. 

  1. The story jumps back and forth between different timelines. On top of the different POVs, this made it a bit tedious to get through. I think some well executed flashbacks would’ve worked better and propelled the story and pace along.
  2. Some of the characters are a little too flat. During some chapters, I would think, “Wow, I feel like I know this character well.” Only for the next one to almost make the characters feel like they were in the background of their own story. Jun really intrigued me, but I feel like we got far more of Esek and Chono’s POVs than Jun’s.

That being said, there was a shocking plot twist near the ending, and this book sets up for a powerful sequel. 

If you read sci-fi, have you read this one yet? What did you think?

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐.5 /5