Then, one day Fatima observed a wooden box sprouting up from the earth. This object sunk into the ground, where it remained - not forgotten, but dormant - for nearly a year. Then one night, an unexpected meteor shower deposited a strange, glowing green object by her beloved tree. She spent many hours lost in both nature and her imagination - drawing in the dirt, climbing up high into the branches, and staring at the stars. Landing once again firmly in the subgenre of science fiction that Okorafor herself has termed “Africanfuturism,” this novella is sure to captivate existing fans and also draw new readers to her work.ĭespite growing up in poor health, frequently battling malaria, young Fatima loved nothing more than to play in the beautiful shea tree outside her home. Her latest release, Remote Control, follows a fierce young protagonist through a future imagining of Ghana. It is also excellent introspection.Nnedi Okorafor has found many devoted readers and a great deal of critical acclaim for writing a growing number of science fiction and fantasy books geared toward both adults and young adults. Remote Control is excellent story-telling. I often found myself wondering what if someone was able to overcome their fear, to have real interaction and impact on Sankofa? How would that have changed her and/or her journey? And there’s strength too, in a young girl who has nothing but her own conviction in her path. There’s a sad isolationism in Remote Control, and it’s not just from others’ fears of what she can do, but also Sankofa’s own fears of never finding the seed, never being able to belong.
We meet her when she’s fourteen, an unwanted Christmas guest, knowing she’s not wanted yet doing what she must to continue her journey.
Known as the Adopted Daughter of Death, Sankofa accepts offerings as her due, though she’s (mostly) polite about it. Only seven when she first accidentally obliterates her entire village, Fatima renames herself Sankofa and wanders from village to village seeking out the seed that started it all. Set in a future-Ghana where autonomous robots coexist with mud huts, Nnedi Okorafor’s Remote Control is a lyrical tale of a young girl who acquires the power to kill. 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.īut is there a greater purpose for Sankofa, now that Death is her constant companion?Purchase at IndieBound | Amazon | The Book Depository Her touch is death, and with a glance a town can fall. 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.
The day Fatima forgot her name, Death paid a visit. "She’s the adopted daughter of the Angel of Death. The new book by Nebula and Hugo Award-winner, Nnedi Okorafor. Published by Tordotcom on 19 January, 2021
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