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barb4ry1's review against another edition
3.0
Ejii Ugabe is a 14-year-old heroine living in a dystopian Niger changed by nuclear war and “Peace Bombs”. These bombs unleashed magic across the planet, tearing holes in the atmosphere between worlds. Some children got special gifts. Ejii can speak to shadows, and her friend Dikéogu can control the weather. Together, they could save or destroy the world.
I liked the idea and the setting of the story, but the way it was done could have been better. The characters seemed to lack depth and failed to truly come alive (subjective). Furthermore, the plotline followed a rather predictable and derivative trajectory, devoid of the unexpected twists and turns that would leave me on the edge of my seat.
A solid book, but nothing great here as some reviews suggest (and again, that’s a subjective opinion).
I liked the idea and the setting of the story, but the way it was done could have been better. The characters seemed to lack depth and failed to truly come alive (subjective). Furthermore, the plotline followed a rather predictable and derivative trajectory, devoid of the unexpected twists and turns that would leave me on the edge of my seat.
A solid book, but nothing great here as some reviews suggest (and again, that’s a subjective opinion).
sepptb's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
amyegbert's review against another edition
3.0
This futuristic sci fi dystopian story of the teenage girl Ejii is an interesting and new story, which I really like. But it didn't grab and keep my attention. I didn't feel transported to a cool new magical place, but that could have been more about my state of mind.
bookerthebright's review against another edition
5.0
I have yet to read a book by Nnedi Okorafor which I haven't adored. She is, perhaps, the best science fiction and fantasy author of our time.
I am excited that I had the opportunity to finally learn of the world's other than Earth and Ginen, and am ecstatic to hopefully see more of them in the future.
I am excited that I had the opportunity to finally learn of the world's other than Earth and Ginen, and am ecstatic to hopefully see more of them in the future.
thecaptainsquarters's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Ahoy there me mateys! I usually love Okorafor's work so I was extremely surprised at how hard it was to finish this duology. I got both books from the publisher back in 2023. I managed to read and enjoy about half of Shadow Speaker before I stalled. I tried multiple times to finish part one and just couldn't get back into the story. That brings us to 2025. I decided to get copies of the audiobooks and try again. Dele Ogundiran's narration was excellent and helped me finish the series but I ended up being lukewarm about the duology after completing it.
Part One deals with Ejii Ugabe whose father is killed when she is 9 due to his backward politics. He wants the world to harken to "traditional" values where men dominate and women are second-class citizens and magic of all types is forbidden. The problem is that the Great Change brought magic into the world and magic doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Later Ejii is 15 and has developed shadow speaker abilities. Ejii goes on an adventure to figure out her powers and gets drawn into helping avert war.
Part Two deals with Dikéogu Obidimkpa. He and Ejii became friends in part one. Several years have passed and Dikéogu has to deal with his rainmaker powers. The first section of the book explains the his history of the past several years. The current problem is that the former slave seems to be losing his mind. The temporary peace is about to end and magic users are being slaughtered. Dikéogu decides to fight back.
One of the major problems I had with this duology was connecting to the characters. I often liked them but more often had a hard time sympathizing with them. Both Ejii and Dikéogu can be extremely violent and hurt a lot of people. I get when it is self-defense but lots of times, the two of them just lose control. There did not seem to be enough self-awareness psychologically. Of course they were just struggling to survive. I also thought the romantic relationship between Ejii and Dikéogu was awful. I wish they just would have stayed best friends.
Perhaps some of this comes down to world building in general. Niger in 2074 is not very nice. There are tribal disputes, gender disparages, prejudice about magic users, child slavery, and immense poverty. These elements have also existed as long as humans have but reading about them in this duology set far into the future was unsettling. Also the magic did not make sense a lot of the time. Meditation seemed to be important but a lot of it seemed intuitive with no real rules. This magic exists in other Okorafor books but only bothered me in this one. Then there were the interconnected universes. I am still unclear about how they worked or really related to each other.
I did like some aspects of these books. I loved the personalities of the camels and the bird friends. I liked the developments between Dikéogu and Arif. I really appreciated Ajii's mother. I liked Dikéogu's brief happy relationship though I was sad it ended for the plot romance with Ajii. I appreciated Dikéogu getting to fight the slavers and save children. I always appreciate strong willed women in Okorafor's stories.
Unfortunately I felt underwhelmed and ultimately confused at the conclusion of the duology. I am glad to have finally completed it though. Arrrr!
Part One deals with Ejii Ugabe whose father is killed when she is 9 due to his backward politics. He wants the world to harken to "traditional" values where men dominate and women are second-class citizens and magic of all types is forbidden. The problem is that the Great Change brought magic into the world and magic doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Later Ejii is 15 and has developed shadow speaker abilities. Ejii goes on an adventure to figure out her powers and gets drawn into helping avert war.
Part Two deals with Dikéogu Obidimkpa. He and Ejii became friends in part one. Several years have passed and Dikéogu has to deal with his rainmaker powers. The first section of the book explains the his history of the past several years. The current problem is that the former slave seems to be losing his mind. The temporary peace is about to end and magic users are being slaughtered. Dikéogu decides to fight back.
One of the major problems I had with this duology was connecting to the characters. I often liked them but more often had a hard time sympathizing with them. Both Ejii and Dikéogu can be extremely violent and hurt a lot of people. I get when it is self-defense but lots of times, the two of them just lose control. There did not seem to be enough self-awareness psychologically. Of course they were just struggling to survive. I also thought the romantic relationship between Ejii and Dikéogu was awful. I wish they just would have stayed best friends.
Perhaps some of this comes down to world building in general. Niger in 2074 is not very nice. There are tribal disputes, gender disparages, prejudice about magic users, child slavery, and immense poverty. These elements have also existed as long as humans have but reading about them in this duology set far into the future was unsettling. Also the magic did not make sense a lot of the time. Meditation seemed to be important but a lot of it seemed intuitive with no real rules. This magic exists in other Okorafor books but only bothered me in this one. Then there were the interconnected universes. I am still unclear about how they worked or really related to each other.
I did like some aspects of these books. I loved the personalities of the camels and the bird friends. I liked the developments between Dikéogu and Arif. I really appreciated Ajii's mother. I liked Dikéogu's brief happy relationship though I was sad it ended for the plot romance with Ajii. I appreciated Dikéogu getting to fight the slavers and save children. I always appreciate strong willed women in Okorafor's stories.
Unfortunately I felt underwhelmed and ultimately confused at the conclusion of the duology. I am glad to have finally completed it though. Arrrr!
erica_o's review against another edition
4.0
The summary for this is a little off.
It's not about Ejii traveling across the country, looking for her father's killer.
It's about Ejii catching back up with her father's killer in order to fulfill a possible destiny.
It's not a revenge story, it's a coming of age story that doesn't involve avenging a father's death except by making sure other tyrants like said father don't come into power.
I wish I could have read this as a teenager. It would have absolutely captured my imagination.
As an old lady, I enjoyed listening to this but was put out by the unnecessary trope that popped up in order to pull heartstrings. That will never not make me bitter.
It's not about Ejii traveling across the country, looking for her father's killer.
It's about Ejii catching back up with her father's killer in order to fulfill a possible destiny.
It's not a revenge story, it's a coming of age story that doesn't involve avenging a father's death except by making sure other tyrants like said father don't come into power.
I wish I could have read this as a teenager. It would have absolutely captured my imagination.
As an old lady, I enjoyed listening to this but was put out by the unnecessary trope that popped up in order to pull heartstrings. That will never not make me bitter.
tamikie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The only thing this book is missing is more queers. It's a phenomenal coming of age and the author is incredible.
siobhano's review against another edition
4.0
*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book*
"The Shadow Speaker" clearly shows that Okorafor has an incredible mind filled with brilliant ideas for fiction, but she tends to leave the execution lacking. This book is too short and it throws too much world building (Africanfuturism / sci-fi / coming of age / world travel / climate change), character and storylines at the reader. It is fast paced and entertaining but also too much and the characters are partly pretty unlikeable. Typical for Okorafor it's also quite violent. I did enjoy the ride though, so 4 stars because it's just so innovative
"The Shadow Speaker" clearly shows that Okorafor has an incredible mind filled with brilliant ideas for fiction, but she tends to leave the execution lacking. This book is too short and it throws too much world building (Africanfuturism / sci-fi / coming of age / world travel / climate change), character and storylines at the reader. It is fast paced and entertaining but also too much and the characters are partly pretty unlikeable. Typical for Okorafor it's also quite violent. I did enjoy the ride though, so 4 stars because it's just so innovative
littlepepperguy's review against another edition
4.5
I love Okorafor's scifi/fantasy novels. Engaging, quick paced and truly unique
aischareads's review against another edition
5.0
Holy Cow, this is great so far--never thought I'd read this genre of sci-fi (not sure it is yet, but)...