+ excellent and intriguing world-building + interesting (if slightly exaggerated) comment on privacy, environmentalism, and corporaA very brief review:
+ excellent and intriguing world-building + interesting (if slightly exaggerated) comment on privacy, environmentalism, and corporate power structures + a compelling story about two people (a herder and cyborg girl) trying to survive in a world that wants to destroy them.
- meandering plot - the pacing feels off - the opening is heavy with exposition - I couldn't warm up to characters; they're interesting but not relatable (subjective) not a fan of the narration...more
As a dog person, I like the idea of including a cybernetically enhanced dog as one of the POVs. The Babylon Eye opens with no world-building, just smeAs a dog person, I like the idea of including a cybernetically enhanced dog as one of the POVs. The Babylon Eye opens with no world-building, just smells, and sounds. Then we get to the prison where an inmate with the past gets an offer that sounds too good to be true. Meet Elke Veraart, an eco-terrorist and a talented trainer of gardags, cybernetically enhanced attack dogs. When one of the most advanced gardags, Meisje, disappears during a mission on a Portal-Station out to sea, influential people offer Elke the deal. If she finds the dog, she’ll win back her freedom.
The story is told from two points of view, one human second canine, and is set in Cape Town, South Africa. I loved the setting and both characters. Meisje felt real and believable. Du Toit wrote her POV well and captured her dual nature. Meisje is a dog with doggy needs, but also an enhanced and intelligent creature able to mind-link with a human handler. She can’t talk, but she understands human language and pays attention to details and smells. She evades capture and proves her intelligence repeatedly.
Elke is a character with a past. Suicidal, lonely, and filled with guilt, but also principled and dependable. On the outside, she looks angry (for example her body modifications include long horns), on the inside she remains emotionally vulnerable, complex and careful. After loosing home as a young teenager, she joined a gang that hunted poachers and assassinated them. I have a feeling what happened to her then still shapes her life now, many years later.
Aside from political intrigue, sci-fi elements, the story has also an ecological message. The main protagonist used to be an eco-terrorist. The world is running on empty and people deal with an energy crisis, climate change, rising sea levels, pollution and the destruction of the natural world. Humanity survived the first contact with aliens (Strangers) and there’s even a black market for an alien world-contraband. All of those elements blend in an intriguing vision of the future.
The Babylon Eye has it all - strong, relatable characters, solid vision, good, utilitarian writing. Unfortunately, it lacks focus. I felt as if it couldn’t really decide what it wanted to be. As a result, parts of the text felt unfocused and uninspired and this significantly decreased my enjoyment in the story.
Try it, though, to see what African indie sci-fi scene has to offer. Neatly edited and relatively, The Babylon Eye entertains and differs from most western sci-fi in a good way....more
The young sorceress Onyesonwu was born Ewu, a child born of violence. Her biological father raped her mother and left heA striking and chilling book.
The young sorceress Onyesonwu was born Ewu, a child born of violence. Her biological father raped her mother and left her for dead in the desert. As Onyesonwu grows into her powers, she realizes that to achieve her destiny, she must die.
The book focuses on difficult themes and holds no punches. Prepare to witness a rape, female genital mutilation, gender and racial inequality and destructive tradition. All of this served through Okorafor’s lyrical style and a poetic touch. Not as plot focused as I would desire, sometimes meandering, but powerfully impactful. It wasn’t called magical futurism without a reason.
I’ll try to write a longer review, but it’ll be damn hard. My advice? Experience it yourself....more