She Who Knows

3.5 stars, Metaphorosis reviews

Summary
In far future Africa, the disregarded Osu-Nu people have a monopoloy on salt harvesting, but it's only boys and men who do that work. Teenage Najeeda nonetheless feels the call, and goes on her first harvest just as she's also finding her way in various kinds of magic.

Review
DAW doesn't seem to have decided how to market this. The cover shows only She Who Knows, the title is listed as She Who Knows: Firespitter (suggesting Firespitter is the subtitle), and Firespitter is described as the first of the She Who Knows trilogy.

In fact, reading this, it feels very much like the first portion of a book. It's largely setup and introduction, and there's not much in the way of resolution. That is, there is some resolution, but not to the issues introduced at the start. My feeling is that Okorafor is either known for or comfortable with novellas, and DAW just said, “What the hell, let's sell the first part on its own”). I strongly urge you to wait for the full set and then glue them together into one book. That's largely how the Binti trilogy worked, after all. And the first book of the Desert Magician, for that matter. I'm all for doing something new, but splitting these books seems to be solving a problem that doesn't exist.

I'd like to say, ‘all that aside', but I can't really set it aside, because that feeling of incompleteness pervades the final pages of the book. You feel you've started a journey, but not really gotten anywhere; you haven't reached an inn so much as a makeshift riparian campground where you have to wait for the ferry to come carry you the rest of the way over.

What there is of the book is good. It's at times frustratingly vague about magic and technology; it feels a bit like an Afrocentric magical realism, and the Afrocentric element is, as with Okorafor's other books, refreshing. But I never felt I really had much grasp on the world. Maybe if I'd read the linked book Who Fears Death, I'd have felt more confident, but I have my doubts.

Protagonist Najeeba is engaging, though a bit distant from the other characters and her family, including the father she feels strongly about. I never felt quite drawn in to her character or situation, so much as somewhat clinically observing them. I was disappointed that (as with some of her other books), in this far future society, somehow traditional gender roles play out just the same as they do now and in our past. It's certainly credible, but I come to SFF in part for something new. If you change a few elements here, this could as easily be set 100 years in the past as in the future. It's also odd that while the society is dead set on girls and boys staying in their lanes, her parents are initially all for Najeeba doing ‘boys' work'. They don't blink an eye – for a while.

I think DAW is doing Okorafor a real disservice in constantly publishing her stories in dribs and drabs, and this one is no different. If you're fine with reading the first third of a story and then stopping for a year – a sort of mini-serial – by all means pick this up. If you prefer complete stories, hold off until the whole trilogy is out, and buy the inevitable omnibus as a complete book.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

This tells the story of Najeeba, a teenager discovering her power. Like her father, she hears the call to travel the Salt Roads, an occupation usually reserved for men. But this is just the beginning of Najeeba's growing abilities. 

This was my first Nnedi Okorafor, but it won't be my last!  I was a little concerned about not having read Who Fears Death, which this is a prequel for, but that is not a problem as far as I can tell.  I am not really familiar with the mythology/folklore this story is drawing from, but the author pulled me into Najeeba's world and gave me enough information to follow along. I believe this is the first of a planned trilogy and I look forward to seeing where the story goes. 

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and Daw in exchange for my honest review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.