Remote Control

"Remote Control" is a science fiction novella that also has mythic qualities. Set in Ghana, the story opens with a fourteen-year-old girl called Sankofa. Here's the start:"The moon was just rising when Sankofa came up the dirt road. Her leather sandals slapped her heels softly as she walked. Small swift steps made with small swift feet. When she passed by, the crickets did not stop singing, the owls did not stop hooting and the aardvark in the bushes beside the road did not stop foraging for termites. Yards behind her, in the darkness, trotted the small red-furred fox rumored to follow her wherever she went."I love the soft, poetic tone, how it drew me into the story. And as the story unfolds, I loved how it mixed science fiction with past myths and with the creation of new myths about Sankofa.Spoilers lie ahead. In the course of the novella, there's a hefty and upsetting death toll. There are flies and maggots on corpses, other corpses of which only a bone or two is left, people attacking the young girl, mentions of people in excruciating pain from cancer. Sankofa loses home, family, a peaceful childhood. And so I didn't precisely enjoy every part of this, but I was held throughout. Sankofa is a very sympathetic protagonist, even though she causes many of the deaths (sometimes inadvertently, sometimes deliberately).I clung to every gentle moment that offset the violence, and was especially moved by brief descriptions of Sankofa's relationship with the red-furred fox from the opening (Movenpick). Those moments can't return her mother or father to her, but they have a great sweetness.The story opens when Sankofa is fourteen, then moves back to her early childhood. At one point -- the start of chapter seven -- I was unsure whether we'd returned to fourteen-year-old Sankofa or were still back in her past. It was a minor distraction but did take me out of the narrative.Little detail is given for how Sankofa's powers work. We know they come from an alien seed that she touched after it fell behind her house, and that was sufficient for me.I've read three other novellas by Nnedi Okorafor -- the Binti trilogy, which I enjoyed -- but, for me, this is better, creating a new myth with deep roots.Four out of five glowing stars.About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).

What an unusual little gem. The is the story of a little girl named Fatima. Even though she was a sickly child, contracting malaria all the time, she loved life. She enjoyed hanging out in trees and looking up at the stars. She loved her family and her simple world within. Then she finds a box. It is not an ordinary box and her simple life is changed forever. No longer with a family and not able to remember her name, she now goes by Sankofa. She is known to everyone around as Death's adopted daughter. Many fear her. She now wanders from town to town searching. A child still but one that has to grow up fast. Will this be the only life she will know? Will she be cursed to wander and constantly feared?A touching story that makes you feel for this little girl and the journey she is taking.

This book left me wanting more. I need to know more about everything in all the best ways. Fatima's journey was intense, exciting, and full of heartache. The book gives me an overall feeling of a superhero origin story. And that ending...I kept turning the pages back and forth screaming "that's it!?!?" I couldn't believe it ended like that and there's nothing else. Hopefully more comes from Fatima in the future. I would definitely pick it up.

This was a beautifully written book, and it was just that shy of five stars for me because of the confusing opening. To be fair I don’t know how the opening could’ve been changed to make it less cumbersome, but if I would not have been dedicated to finishing this book thenI might have put it down. And I would’ve been such a waste. Because this was so beautifully written. I love the social commentary that is included here, I love the way that it weaves together with this greater mythos. I love the view of the world it gives us. I love the pain, it’s a very bitter pill to swallow, no pun intended, and a lot of it is very difficult to read. But I think the story is over all worth it. And I would’ve been very upset missing out in it had I put this book down because of the more clunky beginning, and not seen what was here. Because I think that it was phenomenal.

🪐Fatima AKA Sankofa plagued by Malaria never got to enjoy her childhood as other small children did. Sick every few months, nature became her close confidant. The large shea tree that grew in her backyard brought her great comfort and doubled as playground. Discovering the pleasure of dirt was next level for Fatima.🪐However, the endearment she has for the constellations is incomparable. Her youthful enchantment leads her to fancy herself a starwriter. She gives planets names all her own. Palm kernel, white spark, owusu, and spider web.🪐Never could she imagine that her life would change forever from the place that held her heart. On the night that the sky was dazzled with green streaks her family were in awe at the sight. As she sits high on the shoulders of her companion she notices that a streak has fallen from the sky and landed at the feet of her friend. She scrambles down in search of what could be there. A small egg a seed perhaps? What Fatima finds changes her life! If becoming, an orphan is not enough, Fatima becomes the adopted daughter of the Angel of death. This was a good eye brow furred read and would recommend to lovers of sci-fi! However, I NEED MORE! Are the streets saying that there will be series? So many questions. I read Binti before reading this and this one has definitely catapulted Okorafor to the top of my SciFi favs. I am a new fan of Okorafor and henceforth STAN with all that she writes. I now have all her backlist and now sit in anticipation for the HBO MAX adaptation of Who Fears Death.

Very good and straight to the point. Thought provoking and you have to dig deep for some of the meanings. Highly recommend

Incredibly interesting and unique concept, would read again!

The story is a mesmeric flow of words and imagery that undulates between mysticism and cold reality.

I think that the premise of the book is good.... but it doesn't have anything else.The main character is a bit flat.When you finish it, you don't have all the answers.The book is well written. The whole book is: look the different reactions when people see the girl who can kill with a look.That is interesting but not for a long time (I suppose that explain the number of pages)Conclusion: It's interesting, nothing more.

J'ai aimé cette histoire originale, parfois triste et poétique auX couleurs de l'Afrique.Ce lis rapidement et facilementMerci à l'auteur

This book is so much bigger than 159 pages. This book is so much bigger than my mind... I felt like it was asking me to grow.