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What Members Thought
It's amazing how much breathtakingly complete and rich worldbuilding Nnedi Okorafor squeezed into a relatively small story. The world was so real I wanted to go there. Maybe not where Binti was, though, as she seemed to have a bit of bad luck mixed with her fortune. And only if I didn't have to do all the math she kept doing. Unlike Binti, I do not find solace in maths.
The world building was the great strenght of the story, as was Binti herself. The plot itself felt weak to me, though. Not terri ...more
The world building was the great strenght of the story, as was Binti herself. The plot itself felt weak to me, though. Not terri ...more
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Wow. I loved the world and the characters. The plot was really deep and amazing, I just fell into the world and read it all in one sitting. The length is just perfection.
Wow. I loved the world and the characters. The plot was really deep and amazing, I just fell into the world and read it all in one sitting. The length is just perfection.
For such a short tale, this packs a lot of great content in! I love the use of the Himba people literally being connected to their land, and the tension between that and going out into space.
The brevity occasionally caused some drawbacks. For instance, I understood that the Khoush were a race/group who considered themselves superior, but I wasn't clear on where they came from or how that evolved (turns out Okorafor said on Twitter that they're "clearly" Arabic, but that wasn't clear for me!" All ...more
The brevity occasionally caused some drawbacks. For instance, I understood that the Khoush were a race/group who considered themselves superior, but I wasn't clear on where they came from or how that evolved (turns out Okorafor said on Twitter that they're "clearly" Arabic, but that wasn't clear for me!" All ...more
This is a great little novella, and I’d love to find the next books. I like the concept; it’s perfectly focused for a novella and gives you just enough of a world and a story without getting bogged down with either. The parallels to the real world are not subtle, but they’re still nuanced and not cliche or sloppy.
We meet Binti as she's sneaking away from her isolated African home, determined to accept her place at Oomza University, located on another planet, far away. She knows her family will be upset, but once she reaches the University safely, surely they will understand, because she has mathmatics talents that are destined for more than making astrolabes with her family. It's that "safely" part that is a problem.
I don't read a lot of science fiction, but I thought this was really original and interes ...more
I don't read a lot of science fiction, but I thought this was really original and interes ...more
Recommended for those who like Arrival.
I loved this, I really really loved this, but there just wasn't enough to it! I haven't looked into it, but I'm guessing this was originally included in an anthology of some sort? In that setting, it would have shone. But as a stand-alone, it just felt unfinished. I wanted more! More backstory, more about the trip, just more more more!
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Apr 20, 2018
Jana
rated it
really liked it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
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A very interesting story.
Apr 09, 2019
Jocelyn
marked it as to-read
Nov 12, 2019
Christina
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Jul 07, 2020
Lucinda
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Dec 27, 2020
Cassandra Moore
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Jan 28, 2021
Maryam
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May 17, 2021
J
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Dec 09, 2021
Meghan
marked it as to-read
