Like Thunder

September 15, 2023
A supernaturally gifted teenager haunted by lost memories shares what he remembers of his story in this Africanfuturist tale. Decades ago, a nuclear catastrophe known as the Great Change destroyed society as we know it and split apart the boundaries between worlds. The disaster gave birth to the Changed Ones: people who can control the elements, wield light as a weapon, or see into another creature's very spirit. As a storm-wielding rainmaker, Dik�ogu Obidimkpa is a Changed teenager who takes refuge in Timia--where fierce anti-Change sentiments thrive--following his escape from a cocoa plantation. There, he meets Tumaki, a prominent imam's electrician daughter, and the two soon find themselves in the throes of a heady--and largely off-page--romance. All is not well in Timia, however, and genocidal sentiments against the Changed Ones ramp up, culminating in a monstrous attack on Dik�ogu and Tumaki's hiding place. Dik�ogu wakes up half-delirious in the desert a year later, with little memory of what transpired in the interim. Left with a strange puzzle to solve, he seeks out his old allies--including his first love, Ejii, whose story was told in The Shadow Speaker (2007)--and begins to piece together not only what happened to his girlfriend, but also the mystery of a reticent Ejii's shocking experiences. Okorafor pulls no punches here, openly drawing connections between the public's mistreatment and distrust of the Changed Ones to genocidal campaigns around the world. Many bigoted characters use the term "cockroach" to refer to Changed people, a direct reference to the Rwandan genocide. Eagle-eyed readers will also spot quiet criticisms of contemporary internet celebrities in general, and family influencers in particular. An emotional near-future novel that will keep readers turning pages even as their mountain of questions grows larger.

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October 9, 2023
The impressive finale to Nebula Award winner Okorafor’s Desert Magician’s Duology (after Shadow Speaker) turns the focus from Ejii Ugabe, the girl who saved the world, to her mysterious companion, Dikéogu Obidimkpa.The story is presented as an audio file of his hazily pieced together memories, recorded to keep himself sane. After the event known as the Big Change, which altered the laws of physics and gave certain people (or Changed Ones) special powers, Dikéogu discovered he could control the weather. Upon learning he was Changed, his fearful parents sold him into slavery, though Dikéogu managed to escape. Years later, as part of a specialized team to take down child slavery on chocolate farms, Dikéogu kills his former slaver with a lightning strike. Eager to explore his rainmaker powers and seek further revenge, he separates from his team to seek out his parents. From there, he embarks on a fast-paced, violent journey through the sinister sides of post-Change Africa, trying to outrun ever-growing anti–Changed One sentiment. Dikéogu’s perspective lends greater depth to Okorafor’s apocalyptic Saharan world, offering a pessimistic counterpoint to the first novel’s optimism. While this is less vibrant and more devastating than its predecessor, readers will be just as enthralled. Agent: Donald Maass, Donald Maass Agency.