I first read the standalone novella, Binti, back in 2018. Here are my thoughts at that time:
The Himba people have never left their homeland, much less traveled to the stars, but Binti has been accepted to go to the Oomza University which is offworld. She knows she cannot tell her family, they will never approve, so she sneaks away one night to board the ship that will take her.
She is other to everyone. No one is familiar with the Himba people as they remain isolated and do not travel but Binti hopes that those traveling to the University will learn to treat her as an equal. On the trip, things are going well and she is even starting to make some friends until the ship is attacked by the Meduse.
Earth and the Meduse have been at war for a long time and this is just the latest strike. Now the Meduse have killed everyone on board except for Binti for there is something about her that is different. Now she has the chance to try and be a bridge between the Meduse and Oomza University in order to bring peace.
This was truly a remarkably crafted tale. At less than 100p long, it was tightly woven with amazingly detailed characters and universe. Ms. Okorafor is an incredibly talented wordsmith and worldbuilder and I can't wait to read more of her work.
I had no idea what the rest of the series would be about but was hoping it would follow Binti at the University. It instead brings her back to her village as a broker of the peace talks between the Meduse and humans. Unfortunately there is much fear and Binti has now become too alien after her fusing with the Meduse to be easily accepted by the people she grew up with. Now she must learn her full past, the story of the stone she brought with her on the ship to Oomza University, and the history of the war with the Meduse if there is to be any hope of peace between the worlds.
I will admit to being a bit disappointed at first that this was not the story I was hoping to get (but very thankful that in the Kindle version of the trilogy there was a short story of University days). I did find it a bit harder to get into the rest of the series as a result as I also found the pacing to be a bit slower but the story did pull me in with the masterful writing and intriguing characters. I am definitely a fan of Ms. Okorafor and will be continuing to work my way through her body of work.
Page count: 368p/6,033p ytd/353,423p lifetime
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