This is a semiautobiographical science fiction novel: the main character is clearly based on Nnedi Okorafor herself. She is someone who doesn't normally write science fiction, but after she's fired from her job as a creative writing adjunct, she writes a science fiction novel that becomes a major bestseller and a movie... but then struggles to write a second novel or deal with what success might be. A lot of the novel focuses on her family dynamics. The main sf elements is that she also has a physical disability; after the success of her book, she obtains access to an advanced mobility device, a set of artificial legs she can essentially control with her mind.
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor |
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Originally published: 2025 Acquired and read: April 2026 |
For the most part, it's fine. Nnedi Okorafor has never been a favorite of mine; I've largely given up on her work, as whatever she's doing just doesn't seem to work for me despite the widespread acclaim she gets. I liked the family dynamics. I've seen a lot of online complaints about those, but they rang totally true for me in all their messiness and complications. On the other hand, I thought the stuff about the main character's failure and success didn't always ring true. As someone who is an English professor myself... no one would ever fire an adjunct in the middle of the semester, no matter how many students complained about them! Getting someone to take over a class mid-semester is a huge pain; the only thing you would ever fire an adjunct for is sexual misconduct or just not showing up! On the flip side, do successful authors really get mobbed everywhere? They're not movie stars. (A lot of this felt like wish fulfillment, to be honest.)
What sank the book for me, though, are the excerpts from the main character's supposedly bestselling, highly acclaimed novel, Rusted Robots. I hated these. It takes a lot of confidence and skill to include a novel-within-a-novel and claim it's highly regarded... and while Okorafor might have the confidence, I didn't think she had the skill. The excerpts were twee and obnoxious and I refuse to believe anything like this would ever become a bestselling highly regarded book. The whole book depends on you believing this! Unfortunately, in a world where Becky Chambers's Monk and Robot is apparently popular, perhaps it is plausible, but to be honest, I refuse to believe we live in that world either.
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