The Night Masquerade

• a fun, adventurous, (surprisingly) romantic, and resounding conclusion to a remarkably unique trilogy with a triumphant heroine who remains fierce and powerful to the end
  - the ending leaves a little bit to be desired; some questions are left unanswered/unexplained

Decent end to the trilogy.

Such a beautiful conclusion to the Binti trilogy - I loved the way this book really drew everything together and focused on the relationships that Binti builds throughout the trilogy. The characters, world, and lore are all so vibrant.

Me ha encantado, tanto el libro como la trilog??a. En mi opini??n, The Night Masquerade es el m??s profundo de los tres. Me ha gustado mucho la originalidad y la diversidad de los mundos y los personajes de esta saga, pero en este ??ltimo libro, adem??s, es en el que m??s hincapi?? se hace en los conflictos de los personajes y se pone todo en perspectiva.

M??s all?? de la trama en s?? misma, se pueden extraer varias lecturas sobre nuestra sociedad o, mejor dicho, sobre nuestras sociedades, que me han dado mucho sobre lo que reflexionar. Es un canto al respeto, la tolerancia, la diversidad y la paz; pero no desde un enfoque simplista y facil??n, sino elaborado y lleno de aristas.

??Cuando un ??rbol tiene fuertes sus ra??ces, no teme a las tormentas.??

I still like the first novella best. But the story as a whole is good too.

(...years after I started the series) it is done! Maybe one day we will get more stories set in this world? Puppy eyes

Well, I tried, but this just Wasn't For Me. I thought after Home that Big Things would be happening and Binti would come into her own, but alas it was not to be. The first good chunk of this short book was her laying in the sand lamenting....everything. And granted, she had every reason to be upset, but I wanted her to move the story along and do something! In the end, everything fell flat and I didn't feel like there was any point to the whole story anymore. Honestly, I don't reach for SF, so this could just be me and how my tastes run so maybe still give it a chance!

I absolutely loved the first two books in this series. I wasn't that impressed with this one though. It was still decent, but I didn't care for the ending. I still think it's a great series overall.

I'm interested in how this came to be 3 novellas instead of 1 longer novel. From the author's notes I gather that thought she was done and then came back to it? Which: I'm glad she did, because this was a really satisfying conclusion to Binti's story. And I guess I did like the effect of each one standing on its own, with a little room to breathe in the story? I can't imagine anyone only reading one of these, though.

Also I'm marking these as adult–which is how they were published/marketed–but I think they would also have definite teen appeal for an older/nerdier teen.

Another solid 3.5.

There have been so many mysteries and questions since the beginning of this trilogy and we finally get some answers here.. but mind you, only some. I can understand why the author may have chosen to leave some of them unanswered and it actually goes well with the theme of illogical unending wars between two peoples, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. However, whatever clarity we got was great.

I have definitely fallen in love with Okwu more as the series has gone by. It has grown to be such a loyal and faithful partner to Binti and I wasn't expecting that. Binti has some amazing character development and shows great bravery and commitment to peace which I admired, but she is still fragile and the author leaves the ending on a hopeful note. Mwinyi is a new addition and while the romance came about suddenly, I thought he was a delightful character and just wished we had been able to see more of him.

As with the theme of the previous books, I'm not sure I completely understand what the author was trying to convey here. Maybe it's about self acceptance - Binti accepting all parts of herself to live a happier life. There's also commentary about the futility of endless wars, and that sometimes we don't even know why we are fighting them. And even if the majority want peace, it may not always be possible. I thought this came across as cynical but I guess it's not too far away from reality.

Overall, I thought this was a fascinating trilogy. As someone who doesn't know much of sci-fi, I can't really judge it based on quality but I liked the author's ideas and characterizations. I just think it would have been better in a longer format because so much of it feels too open for interpretation. But I did have fun and that's all that matters.

I loved the first two novellas so much more. Unfortunately in this one Binti was too much of a Mary Sue for my taste. However it is still a highly immaginative and interesting story to follow.

A thoroughly entertaining and mind-expanding exploration of culture and the universe, and the exact perfect ending to the series.

This last book fundamentally changes Binti but though there's lots of action and plot twists, it doesn't feel as urgent as the first two. I still feel very satisfied by the conclusion, the writing was excellent, and I'll continue to think about series and it's many layers for a long time.

a weird and sometimes intense story. felt kinda uneven – some of it really resonated for me, sometimes it lost me a little. it's not even that long, but felt like i couldn't read that much of it at once. i like Binti a lot though (i mean who wouldn't)

An excellent fun read

Once again Nnedi Okorafor delivers a punchy rollicking good read. It's full of interesting twists and turns taking the reader on an adventure of discovery.

Beautiful. Inspiring. Amazing. I loved this third installment of Binti's adventure. What an amazing world and collection of characters Nnedi Okorafor has made.

Throughout reading this book, I'd often forget I was reading a sci-fi novel as I was so utterly consumed by Binti's story, travels, adventure and emotional journey.

This entire series is so fresh and so original it's moved my expectations for all other stories.

Loved it.

Short Review: This is conclusion to the short trilogy that starts with Binti. All three together are less than 500 pages, so I think they will likely be packaged together as a single volume eventually. Of the three, I think the first and the last are best in different ways. The first was unique and gave a sense of the different type of scifi book that Okorafor was writing. It was new and fresh. The second had important character development and wasn't bad, but was an extension of the first more than a stand alone story. The third is not stand alone either, but I think is very good in a different way. The exploration of what it means to be a part of a group, or an alien, and how cross cultural communication works and does not work and how your own family and community can at times can be more alien than the aliens is well done.

I am looking forward to reading some of Okorafor's other books.

My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/night-masquerade/

This was a fantastic end to a fantastic trilogy. The Night Masquerade synthesizes the themes raised in the first two novellas, bringing them together in an unexpected and fascinating manner. The Binti series has been a great story about home, identity, and how we can define those things in the prescence of challenges to them.