DNF @ 19%

I made it through Shadow Speaker because I knew I had this ARC to read but I couldn't make myself push through this one. I didn't particularly like Dikéogu in the first book so an entire book from his perspective was not a promising start. There were a few good moments but nothing that lasted or hinted at making this read worthwhile for me. I've had a few DNFs lately. I've been pretty busy so when I do have time to read I want to make sure it's something that's worth reading. Unfortunately, Like Thunder doesn't meet that threshold for me right now.

I very much appreciate being gifted this copy of Like Thunder, and the opportunity to read & review it. Thanks to the publisher. Nnedi Okorafor is an amazing writer & storyteller, and I truly enjoyed this book, and series.

Ahoy there me mateys!  I usually love Okorafor's work so I was extremely surprised at how hard it was to finish this duology.  I got both books from the publisher back in 2023.  I managed to read and enjoy about half of Shadow Speaker before I stalled.  I tried multiple times to finish part one and just couldn't get back into the story.  That brings us to 2025.  I decided to get copies of the audiobooks and try again.  Dele Ogundiran's narration was excellent and helped me finish the series but I ended up being lukewarm about the duology after completing it.

Part One deals with Ejii Ugabe whose father is killed when she is 9 due to his backward politics.  He wants the world to harken to "traditional" values where men dominate and women are second-class citizens and magic of all types is forbidden.  The problem is that the Great Change brought magic into the world and magic doesn't seem to be going anywhere.  Later Ejii is 15 and has developed shadow speaker abilities.  Ejii goes on an adventure to figure out her powers and gets drawn into helping avert war.

Part Two deals with Dikéogu Obidimkpa.  He and Ejii became friends in part one.  Several years have passed and Dikéogu has to deal with his rainmaker powers.  The first section of the book explains the his history of the past several years.  The current problem is that the former slave seems to be losing his mind.  The temporary peace is about to end and magic users are being slaughtered.  Dikéogu decides to fight back.

One of the major problems I had with this duology was connecting to the characters.  I often liked them but more often had a hard time sympathizing with them.  Both Ejii and Dikéogu can be extremely violent and hurt a lot of people.  I get when it is self-defense but lots of times, the two of them just lose control.  There did not seem to be enough self-awareness psychologically.  Of course they were just struggling to survive.  I also thought the romantic relationship between Ejii and Dikéogu was awful.  I wish they just would have stayed best friends.

Perhaps some of this comes down to world building in general.  Niger in 2074 is not very nice.  There are tribal disputes, gender disparages, prejudice about magic users, child slavery, and immense poverty.  These elements have also existed as long as humans have but reading about them in this duology set far into the future was unsettling.  Also the magic did not make sense a lot of the time.  Meditation seemed to be important but a lot of it seemed intuitive with no real rules.  This magic exists in other Okorafor books but only bothered me in this one.  Then there were the interconnected universes.  I am still unclear about how they worked or really related to each other.

I did like some aspects of these books.  I loved the personalities of the camels and the bird friends.  I liked the developments between Dikéogu and Arif.  I really appreciated Ajii's mother.  I liked Dikéogu's brief happy relationship though I was sad it ended for the plot romance with Ajii.  I appreciated Dikéogu getting to fight the slavers and save children.  I always appreciate strong willed women in Okorafor's stories.

Unfortunately I felt underwhelmed and ultimately confused at the conclusion of the duology.  I am glad to have finally completed it though.  Arrrr!

3.5 rounded up

Había dejado colgada la duología The Desert Magician de Nnedi Okorafor, a pesar de que la primera entrega me había gustado bastante. He de decir que aunque Like Thunder recoge muchos de los temas en los que se basaba Shadow Speaker, me ha parecido una obra menos redonda que la anterior. Probablemente sea debido al cambio de protagonista o quizá a que ya no sorprenden tanto ni el escenario postapocalíptico ni los poderes de los “cambiados”.


La elección de un relato oral para narrar la historia me parece todo un acierto por parte de la autora, respetando las milenarias tradiciones de transmisión de conocimiento a través del habla. Resulta un poco “raro” escuchar un audiolibro en el que se explicita que esto es una transcripción escrita de una grabación de voz, pero son minucias. La voz de Dikéogu es bastante personal y comienza su historia cuando sus padres, famosos nigerianos, se deshacen de él por ser un stormbringer. La sensación de rechazo por parte de su familia es de vital importancia en el desarrollo del personaje, que crecerá obsesionado por este abandono.

Resulta de especial importancia el tratamiento que Okorafor hace del genocidio que pretende llevar a cabo Ginen (a quien ya conocimos en el libro anterior), que se pospuso con la tregua de tres años con la que finalizó Shadow Speaker y que ahora está cercana a su conclusión. Primero nos prepara el cuerpo con el sufrimiento de cientos de niños esclavos en las plantaciones de cacao y luego remata con los planes para acabar con los humanos en la Tierra, que no parecen tan descabellados cuando se compara con la crueldad extrema de la que somos capaces.

Se me hace un poco raro que se haya escogido a la misma narradora del primer audiolibro, Délé Ogundiran, para este segundo, que se supone que está grabado por un hombre. No obstante, su labor es impecable.

Like Thunder es un libro movido por la rabia, de la que se alimentan todos sus personajes. Y aunque se catalogue como juvenil, probablemente por la edad de sus protagonistas, lo cierto es que nos encontramos ante un libro sobre el que se puede reflexionar a cualquier edad.

3.5/5✨

Fantasy. Sci-fi. Afrofuturism. POC author. 2023 release.

Like Thunder by Nnedi Okorafor is an imaginative blend of sci-fi and African-inspired fantasy, exploring themes of identity, resilience, and the clash between tradition and technology. The story picks up after the events of the previous book, from a new point of view: Dikéogu’s.

One of my favorite aspects of this series remained the vibrant and immersive worldbuilding. The layering of folklore, advanced technology, and complex social structures made it stand out from other, specifically Western, speculative fiction. I also ate up the complexities of Dikéogu, Eiji, and Arif’s developing relationship. It’s always refreshing to get to see non-traditional relationships highlighted.

My main struggle with this story was the shift to a new narrator. I enjoyed Eiji’s voice so much in the first book, that I felt a bit disappointed not to get it again here. Although the transition to Dikéogu’s voice proved challenging at first, I grew to appreciate the further into the book I read. I also sometimes struggle with the author’s narrative style. It’s a lot more direct (i.e. telling more than showing) than I’m used to. However, if you’ve enjoyed the author’s narrative style in the past, it shouldn’t be a problem.

Ultimately, I think Like Thunder is a successful addition to the series. Its complex themes, nuanced characters, and unique worlbuilding make it a standout. While I did enjoy the first book more, I was still able to appreciate what this story had to add.
[Note: Check Trigger Warnings]

It is challenging to review a sequel because I would highly recommend this book to those who enjoyed the first one. But you can't easily hand sell a book to some who hasn't read it. That being said, as a whole I would highly recommend this wonderfully world built scifi duology. Okorofor's imaginative African futuristic world building cannot be topped.

So, I have made it my goal to read through all of Nnedi Okorafor’s works as I have loved everything I’ve read by her. But… this was the first book to give me pause. We are back in the world first introduced in Shadow Speaker which I loved, but in a different perspective—Dikéogu’s. Dikéogu had a terrible past—being sold into slavery. And in Shadow Speaker he found himself and became empowered—both literally and figuratively. But… in Like Thunder, he felt like an old curmudgeon. He had some sentiments that felt disrespectful to burqa wearing individuals and sex workers and I couldn’t feel the necessity of including those in the book unless to highlight a dated and unacceptable way of thinking? I know he eventually comes around for various reasons (after seeing that the father of his burqa wearing lover wasn’t a controlling machismo and that the sex worker was kind) but it still felt weird to read. Apart from that… the storyline kind of pittered on with a whole section of the story being obscured because the main character blacked out. And the resolution/fight/reclamation of Ginen was very anticlimactic to me. Though the characters remained the same in both books, they seemed unrelated to each other in their mood/sentiments. Sorry to have not liked this one but…😔 thanks to the publishers for the early access to this book.

This time, we get the story from the male character's POV. Individually, some of the things here are memorable, but as a whole, it's a bit on the bland side, and again, early work of Dr. Okorafor's that was not reedited in the republishing of the book. Interesting to read an early example of her work, but not that remarkable beyond that.

3.5 stars rounded up. I requested this book not realizing it was the second book in a duology, but I chose to read it anyway and I didn't struggle as much as I thought I would. Like Thunder is a post-apocalyptic Afrofuturism novel that follows Dikéogu, a young man with powerful storm magic, in a not-so-distant future Africa where there was a massive Change- some technology stopped working, some humans developed supernatural abilities, and humanity now has to deal with powerful beings from other realms. He teams up with other enhanced persons he had met in the first novel to exact revenge on his influential, prejudiced parents, and along the way discovers there is some larger, more sinister presence pulling the strings of the current violent chaos directed at Changed humans.
This world gives me Rosewater meets X-Men vibes, and is an indulgent blend of science fiction and fantasy. We content with the ramifications of child slavery, violent discrimination against altered humans, pre-existing racial and tribal tensions, media mis-information, magical madness, and mythical monsters of old. The plot timeline is a little funky, but if you just roll with it you'll pick up in the details you need. I liked that our teenage/young adult characters felt their age- they definitely have a cynicism and determination born out of their massive traumas, but still have the emotional impulsivity and broody-ness of the almost-adult. I appreciate that our protagonist has many aspects that make him unlikeable (and who could be easily likeable after all he has been through?), but there are enough other aspects where you still root for his success.
The worldbuilding is great. I think the integration of the real-world state of Africa and the what-if of this future world is powerful and insightful. I'm definitely interested in picking up the first book, and I'll continue to be exciting for future releases from this author.

My Thoughts:

This is book 2 of the Desert Magician Duology by Afrofuturist author Nnedi Okorafor. Because Okorafor spends so much energy building this postapocalyptic world (or worlds), this last book is a little more chaotic. Told from the point of view of Dikéogu Obidimkpa, the rainmaker who accompanied young Shadowspeaker Ejii Ubaid in Book One. Taking place several years after the two separate, the book starts at the point where Dikéogu is losing his mind in a world that is also losing its mind.

Like the first book, Okorafor weaves magic and ecological warfare, world building, as well as world destruction into a cautionary tale reminiscent of Ursula K. LeGuin. The power of this duology for me, though, is the smaller scenes of mental chaos. It changes the perspective in this novel because Dikéogu is so unreliable as a narrator.

At the end, because I wanted to hear the correct pronounciation for Okorafor's book, I ended up finishing this book as an audiobook. I would recommend this as a read along. I recommend reading this book and then listening to it again with Délé Ogundiran as narrator on the audiobook. I needed a second "read" to be able to notice things that I rushed through in the first reading so that I could get to the conclusion.

From the Publisher:
Niger, West Africa, 2077

Welcome back. This second volume is a breathtaking story that sweeps across the sands of the Sahara, flies up to the peaks of the Aïr Mountains, cartwheels into a wild megacity—you get the idea.

I am the Desert Magician; I bring water where there is none.

This book begins with Dikéogu Obidimkpa slowly losing his mind. Yes, that boy who can bring rain just by thinking about it is having some…issues. Years ago, Dikéogu went on an epic journey to save Earth with the shadow speaker girl, Ejii Ubaid, who became his best friend. When it was all over, they went their separate ways, but now he’s learned their quest never really ended at all.

So Dikéogu, more powerful than ever, reunites with Ejii. He records this story as an audiofile, hoping it will help him keep his sanity or at least give him something to leave behind. Smart kid, but it won’t work—or will it?

I can tell you this: it won’t be like before. Our rainmaker and shadow speaker have changed. And after this, nothing will ever be the same again.

As they say, ‘Onye amaro ebe nmili si bido mabaya ama ama onye nyelu ya akwa oji welu ficha aru.’

Or, ‘If you do not remember where the rain started to beat you, you will not remember who gave you the towel with which to dry your body.’

Publication Information:
Author: Nnedi Okorafor
Publisher: DAW (Nov 28, 2023)
Print length: 303 pages
Narrator: Délé Ogundiran
Audiobook Publisher: Tantor Audio (Dec 5, 2023)
Listening Length: 10 hours 23 minutes

Here’s the thing: I usually enjoy Nnedi Okorafor’s writing, but I struggled with this one. In general, her writing style is somewhat spare, almost terse. The Desert Magician’s duology has this kind of random, eclectic Alice In Wonderland energy, in which strange and marvelous things happen at random and without foreshadowing. Between the somewhat chaotic events and the bare-bones style, I had a difficult time getting invested in the characters or the story.

This second installment takes a darker turn than the first book. I liked what the story had to say about dehumanizing and othering people who are different, and about modern-day slavery and mass production. I’m not giving this book a middling rating to suggest that it was inherently mediocre, but it was not a great fit for me, in large part because of the style and structure.

I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley prior to this book’s release, but ended up reading it in hardcover after the fact, for whatever that’s worth. 🙂

No matter whether now, 30 years in the future with Brooks or 50 years in the future with Dikéogu, there’s something appropriate about facing a rapidly transforming world as a young man with special resources. A sense of invincibility, increasing autonomy, dangers of isolation, incipient mental coherence, relational insecurity — these are the developmental hallmarks of late teenage boys but also of a world facing a series of existential threats without supervising superpowers.

Another series wrapped this week. The Desert Magician's Duology by Nnedi Okorafor concluded with "Like Thunder" (and plenty of lightning).

Dikéogu Obidimpka had a real good reason to smite some folks with lightning. And dismantling and industry and exploited and killed children. He has realized the job of saving the world never really ends. After leaving to learn more about his powers his path diverged to a town in which he found love and lost his mind. As his estranged parents continue to spout hate and cohorts turn people against the changed what's a person (who can bring the sky down if the mood strikes them) to do?

Reasons to read:
-They really go through it in this one, but they find reasons not to just smite everyone
-Creatures and technology that works in it's own way
-Great wrap up
-Another finished series? Yes please

Cons:
-Any of those green bombs floating around?

Much of the political intrigue in “Shadow Speaker” sets the stage and intensifies in "Like Thunder." Beloved characters witness unspeakable acts and must fight for their own existence in a world rife with growing bigotry toward people with their talents.

I had to DNF this one. The first book was rife with fatphobic comments from the main characters and had some elements that came across as transphobic.

This was unfortunately no different, with some added homophobia from the MCs. No thank you.

This follow up to the revised "Shadow Speaker" in the "Desert Magician's Duology" picks up some years later, and follows Dikéogu Obidimkpa, who fears he is losing his mind. Dikéogu can call the rain as he is a storm bringer, but things haven't been working all that well for him for a while, as his ability to control his gift/superpower is not in control.

Dikéogu has been on his own for some time, and is happy when he reunites with Ejii Ubaid, his best friend and shadow speaker. But she needs help too, and the problems the pair thought they had resolved years earlier really aren't. So, the two, along with Arif, get ready to fight for their world again.

There is much to like in this book: Dikéogu is a fantastic character, and his struggles following the last war, in the first section of the book, are hard reading, as this young man, for all his wonderful qualities, is reviled by his family, and struggles to be treated with respect thanks to the markings on his face which point to his past life as a slave. This section of the story is compelling, and I particularly liked that it's shown as transcipts from his free-flowing thoughts as he tried to live after the first war, even finding some small measure of peace before that, too, is ripped away from him, along with his increasingly scattered mind.

The second half of the book is where the book began to lose me. It concerns his reuniting with Ejii and Arif, and all their new struggles to defeat the evil that they thought they had vanquished before. It's full of action, interesting character moments, including Dikéogu helping Ejii deal with her trauma from the previous war. Unfortunately, I did not feel as engaged during the book's second half, and also was not sure that the romance author Okorafor included between Dikéogu and Ejii worked, as I preferred them as merely best friends.

I loved the mention of Nsibidi scripts in this duology, which indicates some slight connection perhaps between this and the Akata Witch series.

Even though this book did not entirely work for me, I love the future Nigeria conceived of by this author, and continue to be fascinated by its stories that are a mix of identity, magic and technology.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Astra Publishing House for this ARC in exchange for my review.

I really enjoyed this sequel to Shadow Speaker! This installment was more angry, sadder, and broke my heart more than book one. It is a book that will stay with me.

Nnedi Okorafor is one of my auto buy and auto read authors. When I saw this new release, I knew I needed to have it. I was immediately interacted with the writing.

(4/5 stars) After reading the first book in this duology (The Shadow Speaker, my review here), I was looking forward to the sequel. As I mentioned in my review of the first book, I was looking forward to the sequel to see how much Okorafor's writing has evolved since the writing of the first book (2007). I was NOT let down. The second book in this series, following Rainmaker Dikéogu Obidimkpa was rawer and more emotional, but just as beautifully written as the first book in the duology. Like Thunder brings Shadow Speaker full circle in a compelling (and at times heart-wrenching) way.

After the amazing first book "Shadow Speaker" (minus the fatshaming and hat at the end) I was looking forward to the second installment in this duology.

From the start on I struggled, because (and that is my own fault) I wasn't aware that this book is not anymore from the view of Ejii but from her friend Dékuoge. In the first book he was okay for my but I liked the character arc of Ejii a lot more. And somehow I couldn't start liking Deku more after being in his perspective. A big part of this is the rather stormy way of storytelling. Even if this is fitting for Dekus powers I felt disconnected from the stations of his journey.

I also didn't feel to happy that his girlfriend has to die so he can finally move on to Ejii and the war that is brewing. As Deku met Ejiis old friend it was nice to see how they start connecting with each other.

But … I couldn't finish this book. I got to around 60 % and had to dnf it. There was the repetition of the fat hate from book 1. But also how Deku and Arif are making fun of Jollof and her queerness was unbearable for me.

I think there is so much in this story. The attempt on genocide is a powerful motive and gives this story another dimension especially as the Hamas attempt of jewish genocide escalated into a war between Israel and the Hamas. But if the roots of the story are based on hate on the aspects that define myself (being fat and queer) it is not possible for me to continue reading the story as I already struggled with Dekus voice of narrative.

Nethertheless I am very thankful to got the chance of reading this book, so thank you very much!