This epic tale starts with young members of the Biafran side of a futuristic version of the Nigerian Civil War. It's 2172, the richer nations have fled to space, and nations like Nigeria are stuck struggling with uninhabitable radiation and whatever technical innovations will help them survive. Onyii and the girl she took in as a sister, Ify, are inseparable, but they get split up and see separate sides of the war. What follows is a very engaging, action-heavy story with characters (including "synths" and androids) that will break your heart.
The tech is very cool - I love it when nanotechnology comes into play in such an organic way, along with organic bodies augmented with technology. Sometimes the action is a bit too heavy and feels rushed on the page - there were lots of times when I tried to visualize a fight or some of the tech used and thought about how amazing this novel would be adapted as a comic book.
I feel like I got a much better understanding of the political tensions between the Igbo and the Nigerian government - even though I've read a lot of Nigerian authors, none of the books I've read have touched much on the Nigerian Civil War. This book also made commentary on the children soldiers in the 1980s and 1990s, stolen away from their families and made to fight. This is a brutal, inventive world with rich characters.
The tech is very cool - I love it when nanotechnology comes into play in such an organic way, along with organic bodies augmented with technology. Sometimes the action is a bit too heavy and feels rushed on the page - there were lots of times when I tried to visualize a fight or some of the tech used and thought about how amazing this novel would be adapted as a comic book.
I feel like I got a much better understanding of the political tensions between the Igbo and the Nigerian government - even though I've read a lot of Nigerian authors, none of the books I've read have touched much on the Nigerian Civil War. This book also made commentary on the children soldiers in the 1980s and 1990s, stolen away from their families and made to fight. This is a brutal, inventive world with rich characters.