Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor

Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor is a stand-alone science fantasy novella, set in near future Ghana. It tells the story of a girl who is alone and feared and, for a large part of the story, nomadic.

"She’s the adopted daughter of the Angel of Death. Beware of her. Mind her. Death guards her like one of its own."

The day Fatima forgot her name, Death paid a visit. From hereon in she would be known as Sankofa­­--a name that meant nothing to anyone but her, the only tie to her family and her past.

Her touch is death, and with a glance a town can fall. And she walks--alone, except for her fox companion--searching for the object that came from the sky and gave itself to her when the meteors fell and when she was yet unchanged; searching for answers.

But is there a greater purpose for Sankofa, now that Death is her constant companion?

I requested this novella for review because I've enjoyed Okorafor's other work, especially the Binti series of novellas. However, I wasn't sure what to expect, since the blurb makes it sound very different from Binti. After reading, I can say that, it is and it isn't. Fatima/Sankofa undergoes an intensely traumatic event at a young age, leaving her alone. Magic helps keep her safe, physically at least. 

Sankofa's story is not told entirely chronologically, which works very well for this context. I liked the way in which aspects of her life were revealed piece by piece. I also liked the worldbuilding that went into the story. From the shea tree Sankofa climbed as a child to the towns, cities and homes she encounters during her travels, Okorafor paints very clear pictures of the settings. The contrasts between rural and urban settings is especially stark. While Sankofa is in the forest, it is easy to forget that this story is actually set in the future. The advanced technology present in the city is a stark contrast, and reminds us that there is more going on in the background of the story than what we most frequently see from the tight focus on Sankofa.

I really enjoyed this story. I highly recommend it to fans of science fantasy and speculative fiction generally. I'm not usually a fan of science fantasy but this one really worked for me. If you enjoyed Okorafor's other works, especially the Binti series (since I have not yet read any of her longer works, I can't compare those), I highly recommend Remote Control.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: January 2021
Series: No
Format read: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Hugo Novella Roundup

I was in the fortunate position of having read almost all of the Hugo shortlisted novellas before the list of nominees on the ballot was announced. This meant that I didn't have much reading to do before writing this round-up, but on the other hand, some of the shortlisted books have faded a bit in my memory, since I read most of them very close to the release dates. So ranking these novellas, all of which I enjoyed, is going to be a bit tricky.

Before I get to the novellas, if this is the first of my Hugo round-ups that you're seeing, you might be interested in my round-up of Hugo shortlisted short stories, which I prepared earlier. Discussions of (some of) the other categories to come!

The full Hugo shortlist with links to my review of each novella is below, if you want to quickly scroll down to have a look at it. The list is in no particular order — I think I grabbed it from Tor.com — because it's quite tricky to rank these novellas, for a few reasons. Artificial Condition and Binti: The Night Masquerade are, respectively, a middle and final part of larger stories. Even though I very much like those stories (Murderbot 5eva), I'm not sure they work very well as standalone novellas, which they should for this award, in my opinion. In contrast, Beneath the Sugar Sky and The Tea Master and the Detective are both parts of ongoing series but stand alone perfectly well. Beneath the Sugar Sky has some characters recur from earlier novellas in the series, but is a fully self-contained story. The Tea Master and the Detective may have direct sequels or companion novellas in the future, but for the moment it is merely set in the same universe as many of the author's other stories (the overall series is also nominated for a Best Series Hugo Award). That leaves Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach and The Black God's Drums as completely independent and self-contained stories (or at worst, self-contained first books in series, but I'm not sure on that last point).

But which book did I like best? It's currently a three-way tie between Beneath the Sugar Sky, Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach, and The Tea Master and the Detective. Right now I'm leaning towards putting Beneath the Sugar Sky first, then tossing a coin for second and third, and for the remaining places. Once again, this is a very strong ballot and I wouldn't be disappointed by any of these novellas taking home the rocket trophy.

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)

Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)

Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor (Tor.com Publishing)

The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark (Tor.com Publishing)

Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach by Kelly Robson (Tor.com Publishing)

The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard (Subterranean Press / JABberwocky Literary Agency)

#ReadShortStories (71 to 75)

This batch is characterised by a bit of random reading and a hankering for some flash after reading some longer things. I am continuing to read my review copy of The Underwater Ballroom Society, so I expect those longer stories (it's a novella anthology) will continue to inspire me to read shorter stories in between.

Notable in this batch, "A Series of Steaks" has become one of my favourite stories that I've read this year (it was published last year though) and I particularly enjoyed "Astrofuturist 419" as well.


A Series Of Steaks by Vina Jie-Min Prasad  — An excellent story about 3D printing forgeries of beef. It was a delightful read that made me giggle and also marvel at the level of details included. If the author wasn’t already on my list of short story writers I like, this story would have put her there. Source: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/prasad_01_17/

Twelve Sisters by Y S Lee — I like subverted fairytales and sequels to fairytales, as this one is. After the events in The Twelve Dancing Princesses (which I haven’t read and that made no difference to my enjoyment of this story), the youngest princess endeavours to save her oldest sister from an abusive relationship and also, as their father lies on his deathbed, to save the country from a malicious king. A great read. Source: The Underwater Ballroom Society edited by Stephanie Burgis and Tiffany Trent

Murdering Miss Deboo by Sean Williams — An story featuring the d-mat (replicator/teleport) technology that has featured in some of Williams’ other stories and novels. An interesting premise for a very short story, but I felt like it could have been a slightly smoother read. I’ve enjoyed some of his other stories more. Source: https://cosmosmagazine.com/the-future/murdering-miss-deboo

Shovelware  by Bogi Takács — Flash. Lucid dreaming games as a quick way of generating art assets is a cool idea. The depressing Hungarian art aspect could have done with a slightly meatier exploration. Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/531268a

Astrofuturist 419 by Nnedi Okorafor  — A “Nigerian scam” that wasn’t a scam: a Nigerian astronaut really was left stranded in space for 14 years and now his family is trying to get him home. Flash. I liked it a lot. Source: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/okorafor_11_16/

Hugo Ballot Discussion: Novellas

Since the Hugo ballot was announced over the weekend, I'm going to run a few blog posts discussing the works in the fiction categories. This is the first post in that series, in which I will talk a bit about the shortlisted novellas (and link to my earlier more detailed reviews of them). Why am I starting with novellas? Because I happen to have read the entire shortlist already.

In the meantime, if you haven't yet, you can check out the full Hugo ballot at Tor.com. Below I have reproduced the novella shortlist with links to my reviews of each novella. Each got a full standalone review except for "And Then There Were (N-One)" by Sarah Pinsker, in large part because I read that one in Uncanny and didn't realise it was a novella at the time.


Best Novella

All Systems Red, by Martha Wells (Tor.com Publishing)
“And Then There Were (N-One),” by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny, March/April 2017)
Binti: Home, by Nnedi Okorafor (Tor.com Publishing)
The Black Tides of Heaven, by JY Yang (Tor.com Publishing)
Down Among the Sticks and Bones, by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
River of Teeth, by Sarah Gailey (Tor.com Publishing)

This is a really strong category and, for me, ranking these novellas comes down more to personal preference than any sort of objective writing quality. Some of these just resonated more with me than others. All of them tell interesting stories from interesting and relatively uncommon points of view, and there's quite a bit of diversity on display. The struggle to rank them is real.

That said, my favourite, long after reading them all, is All Systems Red. But I wouldn't put any of the others out of the running (not even River of Teeth, which made me sad with its hippo violence). This is a category that could swing in any direction.

(What exciting times we live in that there aren't any Puppy nominees to discount. Hopefully, we're passed all that now.)

Have you read these novellas? Which was your favourite?

Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor

Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor is the third and final book in the Binti trilogy of novellas. I have previously read and reviewed the first two books, Binti and Binti: Home. This book picks up right where Home left off, which is just as well since that one ended on a bit of a cliffhanger.

Binti has returned to her home planet, believing that the violence of the Meduse has been left behind. Unfortunately, although her people are peaceful on the whole, the same cannot be said for the Khoush, who fan the flames of their ancient rivalry with the Meduse.

Far from her village when the conflicts start, Binti hurries home, but anger and resentment has already claimed the lives of many close to her.

Once again it is up to Binti, and her intriguing new friend Mwinyi, to intervene--though the elders of her people do not entirely trust her motives--and try to prevent a war that could wipe out her people, once and for all.

Well. This book was an emotional roller coaster that I was in no way prepared for. It started more or less how I expected (which was dramatic enough) and then really ramped up... which I suppose I should have expected based on the earlier books. I also feel like I can’t talk about the plot at all because of spoilers. So this was a more emotional read than I was expecting, and I’m not sure that reading it on the plane was a good strategy because I think it would have had an even stronger impact if I hadn’t been a bit sleep deprived for most of it.

A while ago I saw the author describe the three books of the Binti series like this: “Girl  leaves home / Girl comes home / Girl becomes home.” And honestly, keeping that in mind while I was reading made certain events more impactful, even in light of what came next (spoilers redacted). Also, it’s a fair summary of the themes of each book.

I recommend Binti: The Night Masquerade to fans of the earlier books. This isn’t a series you can read out of order since it is more or less one continuous story broken into three parts. If you’re thinking about picking up this space opera, then definitely start with the first book, Binti. I am a bit sad the series is over, but it was a great ride and one day I’d like to reread all three novellas in quick succession, so there’s still that to look forward to.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: January 2018, Tor.com publishing
Series: Binti book 3 of 3
Format read: ePub on Kobo
Source: Bought from Kobo

Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor

Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor is a sequel novella to Binti, which I reviewed here and which went on to win both the Hugo and Nebula awards for Best Novella. The sequel follows on from the original story, showing us the next chapter of Binti's life, and focussing on a very different set of experiences. This review will contain some spoilers for the first novella.

The thrilling sequel to the Nebula-nominated Binti.

It’s been a year since Binti and Okwu enrolled at Oomza University. A year since Binti was declared a hero for uniting two warring planets. A year since she left her family to pursue her dream.

And now she must return home to her people, with her friend Okwu by her side, to face her family and face her elders.

But Okwu will be the first of his race to set foot on Earth in over a hundred years, and the first ever to come in peace.

After generations of conflict can human and Meduse ever learn to truly live in harmony?

The first Binti novella followed Binti on her eventful and ultimately traumatic journey from her home on Earth to the prestigious Oomza University. Binti: Home opens on Oomza University and follows Binti as she makes the decision to go home for a visit. Rather than focussing on the journey this time, the story focusses on what happens after Binti gets home.

The novella deals a lot with change and belonging. Binti was changed by her time at Oomza, from learning new things and living in a different environment with a diverse assortment of people. She was also changed, both emotionally and physically, by the events en route to Oomza. How does she then go about fitting in back home? In a culture where no one leaves (usually) the very act of going away and coming back is subversive in itself, but the added changes of the journey are revolutionary. The scenes with Binti's family were the most upsetting, I thought, and although some of their reactions are understandable I, as the reader sympathising with Binti, couldn't help but be outraged at how unfair they were.

If you enjoyed Binti, I definitely recommend reading Binti: Home. It's the next part of Binti's story and, as the ending strongly implied, it's not the last part either. I hope there will be a third story because Binti: Home ended on more of a cliffhanger than I was expecting. I turned the page expecting more story and was met with "About the Author"! I need to know what happens next! Argh! If you haven't read Binti, I recommend picking that up first, since Home builds a lot on what came before. If you're a fan of thoughtful science fiction, I highly recommend this series of novellas.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: January 2017, Tor.com
Series: Yes, Binti book 2 or 2 so far
Format read: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor is a novella that was on my radar for a while, but particularly came to my attention when it was shortlisted for ALL THE AWARDS this year. I purchased it for being the most interesting-seeming novella on the Hugo shortlist.

Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs.

Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti's stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach.

If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself - but first she has to make it there, alive.

Binti starts off as a lovely story about a young woman with strong cultural ties stepping outside of her comfort zone and leaving her planet and her home for the first time. Leaving her family behind is difficult and she knows they will be angry with her for going. But she holds onto her heritage, taking her traditions with her when she leaves Earth. Although Binti begins as a story of adjusting to new experiences and being surrounded by new people, all of them from different cultures, it takes a sharp turn for the dire, partway through Binti's journey to university.

The story of Binti's belonging — or not belonging — turns from a story of potential social awkwardness into one of survival when Binti is confronted by hostile aliens. I quite liked that Binti was physically changed by her traumatic and otherwise life-changing experience.

I have to admit, I wasn't expecting this shift in story, but it definitely made for an interesting read. In particular, the final resolution was not entirely expected, but was very satisfying. That said, I would've loved to have read the conversation Binti has just after the close of the novella! Perhaps if there are more stories set in the same world (which I have heard may be the case), we can find out how that played out.

I highly recommend Binti to all fans of science fiction, novellas, and stories about diverse cultures. It's not a long tale — I read it in a single sitting — but an engrossing and exciting one. I will certainly be keeping an eye out for more of Okorafor's work, which this was my example of.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: 2015, Tor.com novella
Series: Apparently more stories in this world are forthcoming
Format read: ePub
Source: Purchased from iBooks