Background: This was first published back in 2007, and was out of print for years. But the author wrote a sequel, and so this book got updated and reprinted. So it makes sense to me that reading this felt like reading Guy Gavriel Kay’s *Fionavar Tapestry*: another early work from someone still working on defining themselves as an author. This was entertaining and original, but it didn’t have the kind of *depth* I would normally expect from Nnedi Okorafor.

It’s set in what used to be the West African nation of Niger in 2074. I suppose I would call this book post-apocalyptic, but it’s not so much that the world experienced an *apocalypse* as it experienced an enormous *change*. The main character, Ejii, is a 14 year old girl who is what is known as a Shadow Speaker, able to see extraordinarily well in both darkness and in light and able to hear the shadows of the world speak to her. Her father had been the head of her village, and imposed a strict version of Islam barring women from any real role in society and requiring them to wear burkas outside of the house. Until the queen of the region got wind of this, and arrived to correct things via decapitation.

As a result of this, Ejii grows up simultaneously hating and worshiping the queen, and is therefore conflicted when she asks Ejii to follow her as an apprentice. Ejii is needed; other planes of existence are colliding with ours, and they are ready to make war upon Earth. The shadows have told Ejii she is needed to prevent this, and so we are off.

As I said at the beginning, this was both original and creative. It’s almost relentless in its Afrofuturism, which I appreciate and enjoy. But it’s also a bit disjointed, and uncertain of what kind of story it wants to be.

Okorafor is a great author, and one who writes powerful stories. This was fun to read, but not nearly her best.

I love being able to visit this world that we have not seen before. I love Afro-futurism and this book run my cup over. I can not wait to read the next book.

I recently finished Shadow Speaker by @nnediokorafor from @dawbooks, and y’all, it is wonderful. While quite a bit of the story revolves around an impending war, there is an always-present sense of optimism and hope.

Ejii lives in a future world that has been devastated by nuclear war but also changed forever by Peace Bombs that have created magical changes everywhere. Ejii is a shadow speaker, and the shadows have told her that she will help to prevent another war, this one with Ginen, one of the other worlds that has been connected with Earth by the Peace Bombs.

Throughout Ejii’s journey, she gains allies and friends, as well as new connections to her emerging powers. She also learns life lessons that help her understand her place in the upcoming war, and helps her understand that violence is not the way to peace.

The story is beautifully told, the imagery is vivid, and the character development is strong. This is an earlier work of Okorafor’s that is being rereleased, so doesn’t have quite the polished edges of her more recent work, but it is still a remarkable story. I’m looking forward to reading the second book in the duology, Like Thunder, just released this week.

A huge thank you to DAW and @netgalley for the free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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I really like Nnedi Okorafor‘s writing style and I found story to be different from anything I have ever read. I was hooked.

I do recommend.

(3.5/5 stars) When I saw that Shadow Speaker (originally released in 2007) was being re-released as a duology with [book:Like Thunder|198224509], I immediately requested the advanced copies. My first introduction to afrofuturism was through Okorafor's novella [book:Remote Control|34215764], and I love her writing style. In this duology, the majority of the story takes place in Nigeria in 2070. Following a nuclear war, "peace bombs" created a world where magic freely roams and doors open to other worlds. Ejii, the main character, is a shadow speaker, and when the shadows tell her she has to leave her home in order to prevent a war, she follows. Honestly this novella could have been a full length novel with more worldbuilding because I loved both post-war Earth and Ginen and would love to explore those worlds more. I'm already looking forward to the sequel to compare how much Okorafor's writing has evolved since this book debuted in 2007.

I wanted to love this more than I did but I was entertained and I'll be reading book two, I need to know how Ejii and Dikéogu's stories end.
Fascinating tales of a future wherein the main characters are African and Muslim.
You'll find friendships, talking animals, a badass warrior leader and her two husbands, vibrant descriptions and twists and turns and magical beings and creatures.

The world building isn't straight forward so you'll need to dive in and accept that you'll be confused as Ejii is explores as she embarks on this adventure.

Nnedi Okorafor has created another wonderful novel, one which, again, uses the mythology of Nigeria to create a future in which the mythology of the past combines with fantasy and climate awareness, along with a female teenage protagonist. If you enjoyed Binti, you need to read this book!

Ejii is a shadow speaker - a metahuman directly impacted by the Change, a wave of green power that spread over the world in the past. Being a shadow speaker means that her eyes appear different than most human eyes; it also means that shadows speak to her. This can manifest in many ways; in Ejii's case, her abilities let her speak to animals, and, as she matures, hear what the shadows themselves are saying. The child of a pair of tribal leaders - her father a past leader who abused his power, her mother a present leader - Ejii is ostracized for her powers but also elevated for her status as the child of her parents, but that elevation varies depending on which of her parents the speaker prefers. Drawn into a conflict with species from 4 other worlds that Earth can now connect with following the Change, Ejii has one chance to avert a war. A beautifully written novel that will appeal to readers of all ages.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

The Shadow Speaker is a fantasy book that follows Ejii who is fearless and smart and a child of a politician. She witnessed her father die but her father wasn't well liked and was also cruel. She is sad that her father was was killed because children do not inherently see the evil of their parents even. With her new abilities she decides to seek her father's killer. As a non-fantasy reader the book was interesting .


.

I was quite excited to be given the opportunity to review both the revised version of "Shadow Speaker" and the sequel "Like Thunder," both by well-regarded authoer Nnedi Okorafor. These came in at the same time for me, and while I was tempted to review them as a single unit, it turns out that I've walked away with different impressions of each.
The described setting and genres (genre crossing? sharing? morphing? I don't know quite how to describe this as it blurs the lines a bit across fantasy, sci-fi, and it's own sort of dystopian) were intriguing to me, and I was excited to dive in.
"Shadow Speaker" was ... ok. Perhaps the fantasy thumb on the scale was a bit heavier than suits my taste? I'm not quite sure. I do know that I found it just engaging enough to finish, but that I didn't love it. Also, there were a few bits that probably should have been adjusted for the 2023 release, but remained anyway.
After reading "Shadow Speaker" I'm not sure I'd have chosen to read "Like Thunder" had I not received it as an ARC and felt compelled to at least give it a chance. I'm so glad I did though, as this sequel far outshines the first in the series, and is an excellent example of Okorafor's skills as a writer.
Final verdict: "Shadow Speaker" 3 stars, "Like Thunder" earns 4.

Shadow Speaker was originally released in 2007. This year the whole duology is being rereased. It is an interesting novel that is set in a post-apocalyptic world, taking place in Niger.

In the past a nuclear war and peace bombs created a world where magic was released over the world. Doors opened to other worlds and children got gifts. Our main character Ejii can talk to shadows and her friend can control the weather. When the shadows tell Ejii to follow Jaa, the leader of her town and the person that beheaded her father, she goes. Against the wishes of her mother because the shadows told her she'll make a difference in preventing the war.

There are a lot of really interesting things in this world. How this world came to be for instance. But also the opening of doors to the other worlds. A lot of things are seeping through in our own world. From talking cats to the guardians of the doors to the other worlds. The other world we actually visit has a problem with us because of the polution we bring. Their world is complete nature. There are so much great things to be find here.

But I didn't love it. I struggled to connect with the characters. I felt very far removed from them byt he writing, and as such it was hard to care if something happened to them. I missed some depth in places.

Even so, the world building in itself interests me enough to want to try the conclusion to this duology.

Shadow Speaker was originally published in 2007. It was re-released this past September with a sequel called Like Thunder that will be published in November 0f 2023.

This is my fifth read by Nnedi Okorafor. I have previously read the Binti series and Remote Control.
Similarly to her other works Okorafor explores heavy topics through the eyes of younger characters. In this case we have Ejii who is not only struggling with understanding the execution of her father, she is also learning more about her powers and the type of influence she wants to have on the world. I personally love stories with a quest element and talking animals. Shadow Speaker balances the fantastical and the real world implications of an impending war very well. My only qualm was the pacing. I can't wait to read the sequel when it comes out in November.

Summary:
It is 2070 on Earth. After a disastrous nuclear fallout humans find themselves surrounded with magic, technology, magical gateways, gods and metahumans. We follow Ejii Ugabe, a shadow speaker, who witnesses the execution of her tyranical father at an early age. Now at 14 she is embarking on a journey to another world called Ginen to prevent a war of the worlds.

Thank you to Netgalley and DAW for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the way Okorafor tells a story. It is a YA book with themes that can be heavy, and emotional. The world building is filled with science, magic, old rituals and fantasy elements, of which I do wish there was more world-building as it would enhance the experience.

I look forward to reading the second book as I believe it will round out points that felt sudden in overall pacing.

Thanks to NetGalley, Publisher, and Author for an ARC for my review.

No matter what the season or time of year, I will never say no to a new book from Nnedi Okorafor. Every since I read Who Fears Death and the Binti novella trilogy, I have devoured anything and everything she’s written. The Nsibidi Scripts series? Phenomenal. (If you’re looking for an alternative to a certain British magic school series, these are my first recommendation. IMO they’re far better.) Remote Control? Fabulous. Her Shuri and Black Panther comics? *chef’s kiss*.

You can thus well imagine my delight when I learned that she was releasing a new book at the end of September and it’s sequel in November. Surprised at the timeline? I was too, but I wasn’t going to complain. Then I discovered that this book I’m reviewing now, Shadow Speaker is actually a re-release of an out of print novel from 2007 that’s been expanded and a new introduction added. It explained some things, but you’ll see what I mean. Anyway, on to the review of another well done novel by my favorite Africanfuturist sci-fi/fantasy author, Nnedi Okorafor!

The Good Stuff
As noted in the intro, i am absolutely in love with Nnedi Okorafor’s worldbuilding, and Shadow Speaker does not disappoint (to put it mildy). Nnedi Okorafor has two primary ‘worlds’ that she writes in: the world of Lagoon, the Binti trilogy, and the graphic novel LeGuardia, and the Ginen universe. The latter includes the Nsibidi Scripts trilogy, Who Fears Death, Remote Control, The Book of Phoenix, and The Desert Magician Duology, of which Shadow Speaker is the first book.

The harmony between magic and science, the natural world and technology, plants and mechanics are what make the Ginen universe so special. Ejii, the protagonist of Shadow Speaker, can speak to the spirits and ‘hear’ other people’s moods, feelings and memories. Her traveling companion Dikéogu is a rainmaker, meaning he can control thunder and storms. Other characters can fly; there are animals that speak and know the future, smoke entities from parallel worlds, houses made from giant trees, and insects that create portals to other universes. Yet the magic feels deeply grounded in lived reality, which is one of Nnedi Okorafor’s fortes. She makes her world so vivid, so present, so real that it feels like if I were to travel to Niger, I would find epals (i.e., electronic tablets) made of plants and migrating birds that only carry women on their backs.

Another aspect of her work I deeply appreciate that Shadow Speaker embodies well is that she feels no need to explain the African religious or cultural references to her reader. I know I’m not her primary audience – I know very little about Nigerien cultural history, deities, folklore, or language. And I LOVE IT. She does not and should not have to explain these to me any more than Western scifi/fantasy feels the need to explain Greek mythology or the Roman Empire when it references them. If I want to understand her worldbuilding better, I have work to do, and that should be my work, not hers. I get utterly giddy when I look up a word or deity I don’t understand because it means that she’s able to be unabashedly herself in her writing, with no need to cater to a white Western reader. It’s goddam glorious.

Ejii, the protagonist, is a fascinating perspective character through which to tell this story, and one I wish we could see more of. Just how often have you read an SFF story with a dark-skinned, Muslim teenage girl who wears a hijab or veil most of the story? The way she navigates the complicated relationship with the woman who killed her father/would-be mentor was compelling, and the story had no qualms addressing the kind of patriarchal pressures such a young girl would face in that society while she’s attempting to find her own voice and power.

Will she choose violence and revenge or creation and connection? And what about Dikéogu, the boy whose family sold him as a slave because of his strange powers and now must learn to trust others or else risk losing the people he’s come to care about? You’ll have to read the book to find out!

Potential Drawbacks
When I first started reading the book, I noticed that it felt…off somehow. I finished the Nsibidi Scripts trilogy earlier this year, and I couldn’t help noticing that they felt fuller, the characters richer and more textured, the pacing more even. Then I learned that this was a re-release of a book from 2007, and it all made sense.

Shadow Speaker has moments where it feels like it was written by a younger writer, one whose style and depth hadn’t fully developed yet. Sometimes the characters react strongly for reasons that don’t entirely fit. Sometimes the pacing from one scene to another is not quite right. The character of the Desert Magician, for example, is one that shows up in other books like the Nsibidi Scripts series. In that series, his characterization differs in clear ways from this book, which threw me for a bit until I realized that the character evolved over time. The Desert Magician of Shadow Speaker is still ‘young’ in Okorafor’s development of his character, not quite as complex as later books she’s written, though fun in his own way. None of this dampened my enjoyment of the story overall, but it’s worth pointing out in case you, like me, come to the book expecting more of what current Nnedi Okorafor books offer.

The other drawback for me was the unfortunate characterization of the ultimate antagonist, Chief Ette. A mirror of Ejii’s own abusive father (who had been chief of her village of Kwamfa), Chief Ette is the same kind of patriarchal *sshole Ejii’s father was, but rather than handsome, physically fit, and charismatic, he’s described as physically the opposite: he’s grossly overweight. Much in the way of Baron Harkonnen in Dune, this is meant to depict him as a consuming force, a sign of excess and decadence. Though we do see into his memories to understand that he’s also sad and his overeating is a response to trauma in his childhood, it wasn’t nuanced enough to overcome the stereotype.

Perhaps we will get more nuance in the sequel? And, while I’m asking, maybe some positive fat representation? Pretty please? We definitely don’t have enough positive fat characters in SFF, and I’d love to see Nnedi Okorafor offer that kind of representation.

Final Score: 8/10
Overall, I enjoyed the book despite the inconsistencies in characterization and pacing and the unfortunate writing of the fat antagonist. Was it my favorite Nnedi Okorafor book? No, but that actually says more about how much better her other work is than it does about this book per se (at least for me). There’s so much I still really love about it that I still recommend it, especially for folks looking for compelling Africanfuturist SFF.

Her blend of mysticism with science and technology with plants is one of a kind, and her worldbuilding, drawn from African religion and culture (especially Niger), is breathtaking. Plus, there are bugs everywhere and honestly I think SFF could use more insects that aren’t killable bodies.

I am absolutely STOKED about the sequel; I cannot wait to see what she does in revisiting this story 16 years later. Given how much her writing has come into its own in those years, I can only imagine Like Thunder is going to be…electrifying!

Like Okorafor's other work, Shadow Speaker is an emersive world with powerful characters. The beginning of this book was so strong but there was a point that the plot fizzled out and I had to struggle to finish. You lose track of what the protagonist's purpose is with distracting world building that doesn't add to the story. Interesting, but I wanted more.

I think I would read anything this author writes - she is just fantastic. I never expected to like her books, but I kept seeing her on lists and finally gave in and read Binti and then just kept reading and here we are.

This book was just fantastic - set on Earth [in the not-so-distant future] and other places, it is the story of Ejii and her life as a Shadow Speaker, and all she goes through as she learns how to navigate the world as a special person that not everyone thinks belongs.

Brilliantly told, heartbreaking in spots, I had to MAKE myself stop reading every night to go to bed. I cannot wait to dive into the sequel and learn what happens to Ejii and her family. So well done!!!

**I cannot say enough about the narrator of this book as well. She is just fantastic and I would listen to her narrate just about anything. She is absolutely one of my all-time favorites.

Thank you to NetGalley, Nnedi Okorafor, Dele Ogundiran - Narrator, and DAW for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"The Shadow Speaker" weaves a captivating coming-of-age narrative that's all about empowerment. What truly makes this book shine is its vibrant array of characters. Okorafor-Mbachu crafts an enthralling cast, breathing life into each character, making them feel like old friends.

The portrayal of a future Nigeria is nothing short of intriguing, marrying highly imaginative world-building with modern Nigerian elements projected into a future setting. However, I must admit, that some of the imaginative elements occasionally tread the line of being a bit too eccentric for my personal taste. Additionally, the reasons behind these changes aren't always sufficiently explained or entirely convincing.

But despite these minor quibbles, "The Shadow Speaker" is a breath of fresh air in the realm of fantasy literature. It possesses a distinct allure that will enchant both teenage readers and adults alike. So, if you're in the mood for a story that embarks on a journey of empowerment and discovery in a fantastically unique world, this book is well worth a read.

Okorafor does it again. They always have the most wonderful ability to spin an emotional and immersive story. I definitely felt I could relate with the main character throughout the story. The narrator did a great job bringing life to the story and following the text well.

I have always enjoyed the way Okorafor tells a story through the eyes of the young. Even when the themes she lays out are heavy, experiencing them through children and young teens heightens the readers emotions and interactions with the plot and story.

Shadow Speaker is no different, a world filled with science, magic, old rituals and behaviours with a main character who struggles with a tyrannical father, hateful half-siblings, and her own abilities. Ejii goes on her walk-about and becomes instrumental in making the adults who are bent on war see that they can always choose another way.

I do wish there was more world-building as it could only have increased the immersiveness of the story, but with Ejii and Dikéogu at the centre, I still enjoyed reading this book.

I enjoyed the elements that I was able to identify from having read the short story from which this springs and being familiar with Okorafor's style. I cannot wait to continue this journey with Dikéogu.

Very unique and interesting worldbuilding and magic, but the pacing of the plot was off in many places. It felt like there was a lot of unnecessary things added. Very up and down when I was reading, especially the latter half of the book.

2 stars.

Whimsical, adventurous and inventive.

Fatphobia, ableism and possibly transphobic.

Ableism: Short person described as a mi*get. Pretty sure this word is a slur. Please correct me if I’m wrong but even google says it is.

Fatphobia: The villain is described as fat SO MANY times. I’ll let the quotes speak for themselves.

-‘He was the kind of fat that only came from eating more than a camel ate in a day. Ejii’s mother would have been disgusted. His body broadcast excess and greed’
-‘The type of man who had top bring others down to lift himself up, and he was a lot to lift’
-“Walking food machine”!
-‘Enormous girth’
-‘his soft exposed belly’
-‘Giant pig’, Bloated with fear’
-‘so… hungry, for power, food’
-‘he wants to consume all things’
-‘he is fat, unnatural’
-“crush you with half my weight”!

This language goes unchallenged. There were other ways to tell us this man was selfish. This book has been rewritten and it’s being published like this.

Transphobia: There is a creature that ‘can tell’ when a man dresses as a woman. Yet there is no care taken to say trans women and women in the text, which leaves the author's intent a mystery.

FInal Thoughts: Without all of this I was leaning towards 3 stars. Magic mixed with science seemed clunky and the pace felt jarring. The start was fantastic but it just kept going downhill from there. The ending was apparently rewritten in order for this to be a duology, which I also have the ARC for because I loved reading Binti. I was looking forward to reading more of Okorafo’s work; we'll see if that's still the case after book 2.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.