Early Review – Shadow Speaker (The Desert Magician’s Duology, Book 1) by Nnedi Okorafor (3.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction/Afrofuturism
Length: 336 pages
Publisher:‎ DAW
Release Date: September 26, 2023
ASIN : ‎ B0BX8R81PL
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Desert Magician’s Duology
Source: eGalley from NetGalley for Review
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

“Niger, West Africa, 2074

It is an era of tainted technology and mysterious mysticism. A great change has happened all over the planet, and the laws of physics aren’t what they used to be.

Within all this, I introduce you to Ejii Ugabe, a child of the worst type of politician. Back when she was nine years old, she was there as her father met his end. Don’t waste your tears on him: this girl’s father would throw anyone under a bus to gain power. He was a cruel, cruel man, but even so, Ejii did not rejoice at his departure from the world. Children are still learning that some people don’t deserve their love.

Now 15 years old and manifesting the abilities given to her by the strange Earth, Ejii decides to go after the killer of her father. Is it for revenge or something else? You will have to find out by reading this book.

I am the Desert Magician, and this is a novel I have conjured for you, so I’m certainly not going to just tell you here.”

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Desert Magician’s Duology, a reprint of a series that was originally released in 2008. I got this as an ebook from NetGalley for review.

Thoughts: This is the first book in the Desert Magician’s duology. This is a re-release of this series which was originally released in 2008. The second book in the series will be titled “Like Thunder” and release in Nov 2023. I liked this but thought it definitely had some flaws as well.

This book follows Ejii a young girl who is a shadow speaker. She lives in a future post-apocalyptic earth where some humans have gained special powers because of the merging of the Earth with other worlds. Ejii decides to leave her village after the shadows tell her she must accompany a warrior woman to some special peace talks in order to stop a war. She gains some friends along her adventure and faces many dangers.

I enjoyed this but didn’t love it. I really liked the idea of humans gaining these strange powers but didn’t think they were explained very well. I also enjoyed Ejii’s journey across the desert, but it seemed a bit anti-climatic…there was supposed to be all of this danger and Ejii seemed to overcome her trials fairly easily because in my opinion her powers are just way too crazy powerful but only at really convenient times.

In general, this just felt more choppy and immature compared to Okorafor’s other books. It’s an interesting story. However, the premise here is fairly sophisticated and the writing style didn’t match well for me. I struggled with the flow of the story some. I really loved the beginning but the ending felt a bit jumbled.

My Summary (3.5/5): Overall I liked this but found it a lot less impressive than Okorafor’s “Binti” series. It just feels a bit clunky and the main characters seem very overpowered (at convenient times). Right now I don’t plan on reading the second book in the series.