Who Fears Death
In addition to writing book reviews, I am also a writer of Social Science Fantasy. It’s not an official genre, but in my humble opinion, it should be. It blends sociology, science fiction, and fantasy, and it is what I most enjoy reading. It is not an easy balance. It involves deep exploration of culture, language and linguistics, and worldbuilding.
There are a few authors whom I have met through their writing who do this very well. Those that come to mind (whose works I have devoured) are listed below.
My reading list is forever growing, and this morning as I was picking through Wonderbook by Jeff Vandermere, a new book and author have clawed their way to the top ten list of TBR… The question remains, where is the time? The consistent answer: Keep turning the page!
Who Fears Death
By Nnedi Okorafor
What fascinates me and draws me to her work is the snippet from Wonderbook pictured below. I am not able to draw my thoughts like this, so that she embeds an entire story in a single drawing is stunning.
The simple Wiki plot overview of Who Fears Death is enough to trip my Social Science Fantasy radar:
The novel takes place in a post-apocalyptic future version of Sudan, where the light-skinned Nuru oppress the dark-skinned Okeke. The protagonist, Onyesonwu (Igbo for “who fears death”), is an Ewu, i.e. the child of an Okeke woman raped by a Nuru man. On reaching maturity, she goes on a quest to defeat her sorcerous father Daib using her magical powers.
Stay tuned for the review once I get there.
Social Science Fantasy Authors
I am always on the lookout for this type of read, and here are a few I believe have done well in this space:
JRR Tolkien
Patrick Rothfuss
Jacqueline Carey
JR Ward
Naturally, you can also check out the beginning to The Caeteran Tales for a new foray into a Social Science Fantasy series.
I am hopeful that Ms. Okorafor builds a society that trips some of these fancies.
As always, keep turning those pages, Lovelies!
