Who Fears Death

Nnedi Okorafor

Jun 2011 · Penguin

About this ebook

Now optioned as a TV series for HBO, with executive producer George R. R. Martin!

An award-winning literary author enters the world of magical realism with her World Fantasy Award-winning novel of a remarkable woman in post-apocalyptic Africa. 

In a post-apocalyptic Africa, the world has changed in many ways; yet in one region genocide between tribes still bloodies the land. A woman who has survived the annihilation of her village and a terrible rape by an enemy general wanders into the desert, hoping to die. Instead, she gives birth to an angry baby girl with hair and skin the color of sand. Gripped by the certainty that her daughter is different—special—she names her Onyesonwu, which means "Who fears death?" in an ancient language.

It doesn't take long for Onye to understand that she is physically and socially marked by the circumstances of her conception. She is Ewu—a child of rape who is expected to live a life of violence, a half-breed rejected by her community. But Onye is not the average Ewu. Even as a child, she manifests the beginnings of a remarkable and unique magic. As she grows, so do her abilities, and during an inadvertent visit to the spirit realm, she learns something terrifying: someone powerful is trying to kill her.

Desperate to elude her would-be murderer and to understand her own nature, she embarks on a journey in which she grapples with nature, tradition, history, true love, and the spiritual mysteries of her culture, and ultimately learns why she was given the name she bears: Who Fears Death.

Ratings and reviews

I enjoyed the book a lot. I was looking for something a little different than the standard cliched fantasy I normally read and it did the trick. The main character's voice is strong and her journey is magical and epic. But it's a magic that feels more natural than most fantastical magic and flows from her own inner power and the power of the desert. I thought the ending was a bit confused and rushed. And on a similar point, the main character's personality and powers seemed too fickle and unpredictable for me to fully understand. Why save this person and not that person? Why get angry at that and forgive that? This inability to really understand the ethos of her made me never fully immerse myself in her journey. Overall however, the evil she fought against was so human, atrocious, and believable and the characters and their journey so balanced that I would easily recommend the book.

In all of our stories we must pull out light from the darkest violations. This author shows me how to reconcile these pasts with a powerful and beautiful story. Nnedi Okarafor weaves magic with her pen.

Very good story, really sticks you in the heart. But I just couldn't finish it... Yet. One day I'll come back and finish it. My only problem is the events go from bad to worse to even worse. That process continues. It wouldn't be a problem if I knew what the goal was. I read nearly half into it and just couldn't figure out where the book was going.

About the author

Nnedi Okorafor was born in the United States to two Igbo (Nigerian) immigrant parents. She holds a PhD in English and is a professor of creative writing at Chicago State University. She has been the winner of many awards for her short stories and young adult books, and won a World Fantasy Award for Who Fears Death. Nnedi's books are inspired by her Nigerian heritage and her many trips to Africa. She lives in Chicago with her daughter Anyaugo and family. She can be contacted via her website, www.nnedi.com, or on Twitter at twitter.com/nnedi.