The Book of Phoenix: Who Fears Death, Book 0

I read Who Fears Death prior to The Book of Phoenix, but then I re-read them in chronological (reverse) order, and got even more out of them than when I read them the first time. Okorafor once again champions magical futurism with such prose, grit, and grace in equal measures through her astounding characters that I forget I'm reading a book at all. The marriage of technology and magic are amazing, and I found myself again barely able to stop reading to do more mundane things like sleep or work.

Will Nnedi Okorafor ever stop giving us takes that are complex, yet clear, filled with imaginative wonders, and a plot thicker than any substance known to man? I hope not. She's a gifted writer who has truly gifted readers with her tales. This one could be my favorite. It has so much to offer, and I enjoyed feasting on the pages of this glorious, cutting tale.I think that this book is clearly not only a tale, but a clear warning to take heed of. Nnedi Okorafor is a great storyteller, yet here there are many opportunities to learn, for many terrible truths betide us. We need to truly understand that we are human, but myopically arrogant in our place on a planet that has seen many events, and our entire existence is but a blip for the third rock from our sun.When you read this, I hope it will hit you with the searing clarity it did for I. This is not a pretty book, yet it is truer than I could have ever imagined a fictional story could be. It holds up a mirror and dares us to really look. I am very pleased that I had the honor of doing so. I highly recommend this well-penned novel. It has every element that any truly great writer weaves an excellent tale with, and Nnedi Okorafor is writer who can wield these tools with exceptional skill.Read this book. It is a Must-Read, IMHO.As Always, I Wish Happy Reads to All from the Unapologetic Book Junkie 😉!

I had to read this for an English course. At first, the atmosphere built by Okorafor was interesting and complex. Slowly the reader recognizes the painful repetition that ensues. The ending is abrupt and disappointing. After hours of research, analysis, and writing over this piece I still struggle to find any meaningful takeaway. The characters are childish and immature in their actions. They learn nothing from their adventure. The story could've ended in the first five chapters without much changing beyond filler.Still, I do have respect for it. Okorafor includes a diverse and inclusive environment while highlighting the injustices committed on groups of color in America's past; a noble cause. Although much of this content lacks any form of subtitlty, it's still present. I'd personally skip the read.

I really enjoyed The Book of Phoenix. I found it to be both entertaining and quite educational.I will start of by saying that I didn't give this book five stars because I don't think it's life changing. However, it still deserves high marks because I think it is well written and a unique kind of story.Three aspects of this book that I appreciated:1. The weaving in of African culture, language, and history into the story.2. If the reader takes the time to look into the many interesting things that are casually mentioned in this book, they will certainly find themselves to be more well informed. Like the languages that are mentioned. Or the tribes. They are actual languages and tribes.3. Though the whole book prepares you for the ending, I still found it to be intriguing, and atypical of many books I have read in recent years.My only warning is this: if you need causes explained to appreciate a story, this is not the book for you. Like the African mysticism that this story often calls upon, you are asked to accept many things without knowing how or why. This did not negatively impact the story for me personally, as I thought it fit the theme perfectly, but some people require explanation before they can give acceptance.

A mind bending, heart breaking tale that unfortunately seems as close to real as it is to unreal. It was so gripping that I read it in one day. When the privileged believe they can use people as experiments to improve their own lives they should beware of what they create. Nature has a way of cleansing itself. This mythical story delivers a real punch that makes me wonder if the author is prophetic.

A marvelously knit tale that contains wide and wonderful worlds within a single book. Like a matryoshka the story presents a polished brilliance as we watch Phoenix Okore rise from lab experiment to a revolutionary hero and something far different and much greater still. Dr. Okorafor's masterful prose flows like silk but hits as hard as iron, and again, the good Dr. brought me to tears over this tale.Buy as many copies as you can, for family and friends.

Nnedi Okorator weaves a fantastic tale of man's inhumanity to man, mam's inhumanity to nature, nature's connection to all things big and small, and to how sentient beings cannot be controlled or manipulated. Also, that there are Beings, Spirits and Life Forces greater than humanity.

Nnedi always writes characters I'd like to sit and learn from. So I do.This one is dystopian as anything, and builds on real and present dangers.

Nnedi Okorafor's "The Book of Phoenix" takes place in the not-too-distant future where government-backed multinational corporations exploit people from developing nations in Africa in order to improve the lives of the wealthy. Outside of a framing device set centuries in the future, Okorafor tells her story from the perspective of Phoenix Okore, a genetically-enhanced individual called a speciMEN. These individuals, created by LifeGen Technologies (the speciMEN nicknamed the company the Big Eye due to the way it observes them), exist to test ideas that may benefit the world's wealthiest individuals.This theme of class-based exploitation runs throughout the novel, with many of the Big Eye workers taking positions in order to reduce the time on their academic indenture, a student loan program taken to the extreme. As for the speciMEN themselves, Okorafor explains how most of them are from Africa or members of the African diaspora. Much as companies exploit developing nations while Euro-Americans turn a blind eye so long as the exploited are from impoverished countries in our own time, the Big Eye can get away with it by targeting those least likely to attract much international condemnation from powerful countries. Okorafor writes, "They saw me as they saw the Africans made slaves during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade hundreds of years ago" (pg. 136). She also draws upon historic examples of the scientific exploitation of those of African descent, specifically Henrietta Lacks, whose HeLa cells continue to serve as tools in medical experimentation and raise questions about privacy rights and ethics (pgs. 148, 186). She also comments upon the effects of industrialization and ecological change upon relatively isolated groups like the Jarawa (pg. 188), who will suffer most from climate change while the West marginalizes their voices so that they cannot advocate on behalf of their needs. In these commentaries, Okorafor's work belongs alongside other works of environmental science fiction, such as Margaret Atwood's MaddAddam trilogy.In some of the more introspective prose, it is easy to see Phoenix as an avatar for Okorafor, especially when she muses, "I love books. I adore everything about them. I love the feel of the pages on my fingertips. They are light enough to carry, yet so heavy with worlds and ideas" (pg. 135). Further, her condemnation of the exploitation of the natural world evokes a theme present in much of this type of speculative science-fiction, "Human beings make terrible gods" (pg. 162). Okorafor also makes some fun references amid her social commentary. For example, the character Mmuo had a friend at university named Success T (pg. 119). This character also appears in Okorafor's Nigerian noir short story "Showlogo." In addition to this, among the records Phoenix finds in the Library of Congress are references to "Project X" and "Experiment 626" (pg. 148), the former likely alluding to the 1987 film about government experiments and the latter to Disney's "Lilo and Stitch".I did not know at the time of reading that this book is a prequel to Okorafor's 2010 novel, "Who Fears Death", but the work is able to stand on its own and, with the exception of a brief reference at the end to the protagonist of the earlier novel, it requires no foreknowledge of that work.

This is an absolutely terrific book - very inventive and readable. I'd been looking for some contemporary sci-fi to read, having read lots of Philip K Dick & Octavia Butler lately, and this popped up in my recommendations. Lots of old sci-fi tackles 'old' themes, if you like, but this grapples with the contemporary fears of our age - globalisation, power being concentrated in the hands of the few, Western exploitation of Africa for its natural resources and cheap labour.... it tackles all these themes so powerfully, and with a beautifully written and sympathetic narrator - Phoenix - doing all this seemingly completely effortlessly, without seeming worthy or hard work.I would recommend this book for any sci-fi fan. It's very readable and engaging - and for me, one of those books you loved so much you can't put it down, but at the same time, it makes you want to slow down so that it'll last forever! Immediately after finishing I downloaded Binti by the same author, and I can't wait to read some more of Nneti Okorafor's work. Highly recommended.

The Book is Phoenix is a seamless blend of science fiction, fantasy and folk tale with a morality play embedded at it's core.I was gripped right from the beginning and couldn't put this book down for long. I ended up reading it all in a single day, ignoring literally evrything else in my life.Truly a true for our times, I believe this is a must read for everyone.

I would recommend this book to all lovers of "Octavia Butler" fantasy and cosmological stories from all societies. The empowering images conjured of black femininity strength and beauty in Phoenix Okore will stay with me forever. I truly loved it

It's simply a brilliant book, in every sense. Well written, interesting, moving, intense... I read it in a week. If you are into afrofuturism and/or social justice, you'll like it even more.