This story has a different tone than Shadow Speaker, but this makes it even more interesting. We are learning Dikeogu's story and seeing him find his way in this new and dangerous times.

Okorafor definitely writes younger characters that reach for her readers and draw them into their world, which is what keeps me coming back to her works.

Like Thunder is the second half of the Desert Magician’s Duology, and the follow-up to the utterly excellent Shadow Speaker. Like that first book, Like Thunder is a story within a story, as the whole duology is a tale of a possible future, and a lesson to be learned, told by the Desert Magician himself.

But it is not the Desert Magician’s story, no matter how much that being meddled with the characters and the events that they faced. Just as Shadow Speaker was the story of Eiji Ugabe, the titular shadow speaker herself, Like Thunder represents her best friend Dikéogu Obidimkpa’s side of the events that followed.

Shadow speaking is but one of the many transformations and strange, new powers brought into this world after the ‘peace bombs’ were dropped and the oncoming nuclear catastrophe was transformed into something survivable for the human population.

A survival that seems to be more contingent on the adaptability of not just the humans of Earth, but also the sentient populations of ALL the worlds that have become interconnected after Earth’s ‘Great Change’ caused a ‘Great Merge’ of several formerly separated worlds.

The story in Shadow Speaker very much represented Eiji’s perspective on the world, as Eiji’s first impulse is always to talk, and to listen. An impulse that combines her youthful belief that people CAN be better if given the opportunity, and is likely a result of her talent for speaking with not just the shadows of the dead, but directly into the minds of other people and animals.

Her talent is to see others’ points of view and to project her own. She’s young enough to believe that if there is understanding, there can be peace.

Like Thunder is not Eiji’s story, and it shouldn’t be. Instead, it’s a kind of mirror image. Just as Eiji’s talent leads her to foster peace and understanding, her friend Dikéogu’s talent is violent. Dikéogu is a stormbringer, someone who brings all of the violence of nature and all of the violence visited upon him in his scarred past to every encounter with his friends, with his enemies, and with his world.

And within himself.

The world through which we follow Dikéogu in this concluding volume of the Desert Magician’s Duology is the direct result of Eiji’s peacemaking in her book. Because, unfortunately for the world but fortunate for the reader enthralled with their story, Eiji didn’t really make peace because peace is not what most of the people present for the so-called ‘peace conference’ had any desire for whatsoever.

And have been maneuvering in the background to ensure that the only peace that results in the end is the peace of the grave. Someone is going to have to die. Too many people already have. It’s only a question of whether Dikéogu and Eiji’s feared and reviled powers will save the world – or end it.

Escape Rating A-: As much as I loved Shadow Speaker, I came into this second book with some doubts and quibbles – all of which were marvelously dashed to the ground at the very beginning of Dikéogu’s story.

Eiji and Dikéogu were both very young when their adventure began, but by the time they met they had both already seen enough hardship and disaster to fill a whole lifetime for someone else. But Eiji was just a touch older than Dikéogu, and the differences between her fourteen and his thirteen mattered a lot in terms of maturity.

In other words, Eiji was definitely on the cusp of adulthood in her book, making adult decisions with huge, literally world-shaking consequences, while Dikéogu frequently came off as a whiny little shit, an impression not helped AT ALL by the higher pitched voice used by the narrator for his character.

Dikéogu had PLENTY of reasons for his hatreds and his fears – but that doesn’t mean that they were much more enjoyable to listen to than they were to experience. Less traumatic, certainly, but awful in an entirely different way.

But Like Thunder takes place AFTER the events of Shadow Speaker. (This is also a hint that neither book stands on its own) Whiny thirteen becomes traumatized fifteen with more experience, a bit more closure for some of the worst parts, a bit more distance from terrible betrayals – and his voice drops. (This last bit, of course, doesn’t matter if you’re reading the text and hearing your own voice in your head, but matters a lot in audio.)

Dikéogu’s life experience, particularly after he was sold into slavery by his own uncle at the age of twelve, have taught him that the world is pain and strife and that he has to defend himself at all times and that people will believe ANYTHING if it allows them to stay comfortable and maintain their illusions and their prejudices.

He learned that last bit from his parents, Felecia and Chika Obidimkpa, the power couple of THE West African multimedia empire. They betrayed him into slavery, they betrayed him by pretending he was dead, they betray him every single time they broadcast a program filled with ridiculous nostalgia for a past that never was and disallows and disavows Dikéogu’s existence as a stormbringer, a ‘Changed One’ with powers granted by the ‘Great Change’ they hate so much.

It’s no surprise that his parents are in league with his enemies.

What is a surprise, especially to Dikéogu, is how much of his story, how much of his trauma and how many of his tragedies, are directly traceable to that first betrayal AND his inability to deal with its consequences to himself and the magic he carries.

So, very much on the one hand, Like Thunder is a save the world quest with a surprising twist at its end. A twist at least partly manufactured, and certainly cackled over, by the Desert Magician. And absolutely on the other hand, it’s a story about a young man learning to live with the person he has become – and very nearly failing the test. ALL the tests.

Whichever way you look at it, it is compelling and captivating from the first page – or from the opening words – until the very last line of the Desert Magician congratulating themself on a tale well told and a heartbreaking but ultimately hopeful message delivered.

Like Thunder (The Desert Magician's Duology #2)
by Nnedi Okorafor
The second book in an African Science fiction story. The book shows the nature of understanding, acceptance and divergence that causes and heals conflicts. The passing on of leadership, and heroic processes from elders to youth. This book shows that heroes although helped by the past have to make their own decision, to live or die. Your only choice is what you are willing to die for. Its an amazingly self analyzing book, looking at your own prejudices and ideology over and over again as the characters face a very dynamic, swiftly changing world that has conflict with ideology.

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 second book in the duology was just as good as the first one [you MUST read that book first, or all that happens in this book will be tremendously confusing], though much, much different. Still set on Earth [in the not-so-distant future], it is several years after the end of the first book and many things have changed from that time. This time it is the story of Dikéogu Obidimkpa [a Rainmaker], who was a companion to Ejii [who is a Shadow Speaker] in the previous book and has been on his own since they parted at the end of book one, and well, things are REALLY not going well for him [he is, he believes, losing his mind] and so he goes looking for Ejii to see what she can do and if they can continue the mission they thought they'd accomplished already all while finding more of his powers and all he can do and be all while fighting a world that thinks people like himself and Ejii do not belong.

This book is MUCH angrier, sadder and much more heartbreaking than book one. Be prepared to ugly cry. Be prepared to be supremely angry. And be prepared to have a very hard time putting this down [much like book one, I had to force myself at night to stop and go to bed] because once you get started, it is very, very difficult to walk away.

SO. WELL. DONE.

Thank you to NetGalley, Nnedi Okorafor, and Astra Publishing House/DAW for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

**I cannot say enough about the narrator of this book [Délé Ogundiran] as well. She is just fantastic and I would listen to her narrate just about anything, and in the case of these two books, she really brings them to life and I highly recommend listening to them because of this. She is absolutely one of my all-time favorites. **

Like Thunder is the sequel to Shadow Speaker in which I saw great things but it did not manage to grab me. I struggled with the same things in this book. I can see what Okorafor wants to do but the book never grabs me.

In this book we follow Dikéogu, the boy that Ejii meets during her travel in the previous book. This book is set up in two different sections. The first half is all about what happened with Dikéogu after the ending of Shadow Speaker. What was his path so the speak. Initially filled with rage for slavery and those that wronged him, the aftermath of that brings him in a town where he meets a girl who manages to settle him. I think he managed to feel a sliver of happiness there.

The second half of the book is more of a continuation of the plot from the first book. The covenant breaks and something comes to our side of the portal, sucking people dry of their soul. Dikéogu searches out his old friends to figure out how to stop this.

Again, what I struggled here the most with were the characters and some of the writing. I managed to settle into the first half and found a new appreciation of Dikéogu. But I hate that he found something for himself and that had to be axed for the plot and for him to be able to get together with Ejii at the end of the book. Which was one relationshp that was incredibly forced. There was more interesing tension between Dikéogu and Arif on the page than there ever was between Dikéogu and Ejii.

Sometimes I felt that I was skimming the surface of a story, being dragged along with all these events. But never finding myself immersed in it.

Like Thunder was a perfect follow up to The Shadow Speaker. While I still had some issues with the fatphobia in the characterization of the antagonist, it was a solid read.

We open on Dikéogu directly after his time in Ginen. He travels with Jaa’s husbands and a few official agents as they find the various farms where children have been made into slaves – including the chocolate plantation where he had been just a year earlier. After busting up a few such places, and freeing a lot of kids, Dikéogu splits off from the main group to get some additional rainmaker training from Gambo.

Eventually, he feels too restrained, and decides to go after his parents. A short time after striking out on his own, he finds himself in a city. He initially only plans on staying as long as it takes to fix his electronic device… but then, he falls in love with the girl who fixes it for him.

After many months, a group of vampire-like beings called The Adze strike the city, killing Changed Ones and educated women… including his girlfriend. He leaves in a fury, and travels alone for a while. He doesn’t remember most of what happens during this time, and later refers to it as his “lost year.”

By the time he comes to, the peace treaty that he, Ejii, Jaa, and their entourage had negotiated with Ginen has ended. No one has seen Jaa, Gambo, or Buji. No one expects good things to come next.

At this point, Dikéogu meets back up with Ejii in her hometown. We also re-meet Arif, one of her friends from home. They are both Shadow Speakers, but they use their talents differently. They also meet another Changed One named Lifted, and a runaway queen from Ginen named Jollof. Together, they travel and try to stop Chief Ette (of Ginen) and The Adze (who are working for him) from destroying Earth.

I won’t go into too much detail past that point, as there is a lot of action and some death involved.

If you like Nnedi Okorafor’s other writings, or Africanfuturism in general, this one should be up your alley.

As a afro-futurism girlie, I'm mad that we were not given this series years ago. Even with this being her first books, this series is still before it's time. I don't want to leave this world.

Thank you to Astra Publishing House and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

"Like Thunder" by Nnedi Okorafor, the concluding installment of the Desert Magician duology, is an immersive journey through hardships, heartaches, and the unwavering spirit of Dikeogu. As he navigates his own challenges after the events of book one and before reuniting with Ejii, his narrative unfolds with vivid imagery, perilous quests, and Okorafor's signature infusion of West African mythology.

The story captivates with its rich exploration of Dikeogu's character, highlighting the complexities of his personal struggles and growth. The emotional depth and resilience exhibited by the characters make the journey not just an epic quest but a profound exploration of identity and destiny.

Okorafor's storytelling prowess shines through in her ability to seamlessly blend the mystical and the earthly, creating a world where West African mythology breathes life into this post-apocalyptic setting. While the final battle against a tyrant threatening Earth was pretty anti-climatic as far as conclusions go, the emotionally charged journey to get there was very engrossing.

"Like Thunder" offers readers a unique blend of fantasy, mythology, and poignant human experiences. The Desert Magician duology, with its vibrant characters and captivating storyline, is a fitting addition to Okorafor's impressive body of work.

First I want to thank NetGalley and DAW for allowing me access to an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Like Thunder is the second book in the Desert Magician Duology. If you haven’t read the first book, Shadow Speaker, then please go do that before reading any further. I don’t want to spoil too much of the first book, but it is important to note that this Duology changes perspective in the second novel. The first book is from the perspective of the shadow speaker Ejii and this, the second book, is from the perspective of Dikéogu a companion of Ejii in the First book.

The Desert Magician duology takes place in a changed future Earth that has been broken, and the barriers between our world and others has thinned enough to allow passage between them. The majority of the events take place in Niger and Nigeria a generation after the Earth and its people were changed. Some people were changed more than others, and they are referred to as Changed Ones. Changed Ones come in a variety of types each with their own special abilities. Dikéogu, our subject for this book, is growing into his power as a rainmaker, and after the events of the first book he has joined up with Gambo, a powerful windseeker, to train his abilities. Part of that training includes facing Dikéogu’s past and the hurt he still carries with him.

I am a huge fan of Nnedi Okorafor, and if you’ve read any of her other books, you will definitely find some commonalities between this duology and other books she has written. I really enjoyed this series as a whole, but I think I much preferred Ejii’s story over Dikéogu’s. This being the second in a duology it is absolutely necessary to finish the story, and my only real detractor is that I don’t particularly like Dikéogu. He is quite often rash and selfish, but he is also young and has a great burden placed on his shoulders, so I try not to judge him too harshly. This second story also digs even deeper into the themes of division and how we grant or withhold personhood to other people. This is a fundamental topic in science fiction and no matter the era it continues to be relevant.

I really enjoyed both of these books, and the series is a must-read for any serious sci-fi fan. If you haven’t read anything by Okorafor before, I suggest reading Remote Control as well and of course Binti. Okorafor is a master of storytelling and crafts beautiful tales of Africanfuturism that will keep you looking for more like it. I hope you read this series, and I hope this helped you find a new book to dive into. Happy Reading!

In Shadow Speaker we followed Ejii Ugabe's hero journey to find the killer of her father as she learned to use her strange powers. She is known as a shadow speaker, one who can see well in the dark and read people's thoughts and emotions. Along the way she met the rainmaker Dikéogu Obidimkpa. He'd been imprisoned as a chocolate slave due to his parents shame of his manifesting strange powers. Like Thunder concludes the quest of these two changed people in a dystopian 2070s West Africa.

Picking up shortly after the end of the first book, in Like Thunder Dikéogu Obidimkpa is our narrator and with the aid of government agents, is freeing the other chocolate slaves. After the initial quest to free the slaves is completed, he begins to train under a mentor before suffering a mental breakdown and wandering in a fugue state. This time is lost to him, but as he heals and recovers some of the pieces return. Eventually he comes back to himself and finds love, but while he enjoys this return to normalcy, greater powers are at play. In the city, the changed are other-ized by being called cockroaches and begin to disappear alongside those speaking for understanding and acceptance. Is it genocide?

It is a darker story than the first volume, with much of the happiness of the first adventure undone. Our heroes face greater challenges and both endure trauma and loss. But they are older and wiser and still deeply committed to creating and sustaining peace. Both books look at the divisions between youths and elders. As well as the courage and strength it takes to stand up for one's beliefs.

I recently finished Like Thunder, the sequel to Nnedi Okorafor’s Shadow Speaker. This book takes place a few years after that one, and Dikeogu is telling the story. He has power over rain and lightning and storms in a changed future Earth with portals to other worlds.

As the story starts, the war between worlds that they averted in the first book is on the horizon in West Africa. Dikeogu is more powerful than ever but struggling to control it. It was nice to see some of the characters from Shadow Speaker return. The author’s worldbuilding is always so intricate and interesting, and that’s true here. There are no infodumps- it’s all seamlessly worked into the story. Once the plot got to a certain point, I didn’t want to put it down.

Overall, I liked it! You can read it as a standalone, but it does work better if you read the first book. It comes out November 28. Thank you to DAW and Netgalley for the eARC.

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Astra Publishing House, DAW. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Africanfuturism, Fantasy, SciFi, African Fantasy
Audience: Young Adult
Language: Medium (some cursing)
Spice Level: Medium (fade to black)

The post nuclear war where the gateway opened between worlds that introduced magic is fascinating as always. I feel like Shadow Speaker set the tone, and Like Thunder continues in the same vein. If you loved one, you will love both of them.

This is epic fantasy because the team of kids is saving the world. But there are personal elements because the tragedy hits close when their families and friends may die or be harmed. We have friends who separated in the first book get reunited. Some evil is dispelled. And heroic deeds and sacrifices are made.

The style of storytelling is interesting. In ways, it feels a bit remote to me. As a frame story, the Desert Magician, is telling us the tale—he's mostly present speaking to us in the beginning and end. Also our main character, Dikéogu, cycles through madness and love and trauma. Seriously, there's a lot going on. And teenage angst is part of the drama, which is about the only thing that makes this fit as young adult.

I've enjoyed this duololgy.

Happy reading!

I was really excited to receive an ARC of this book. I have previously read two of the author's books including The Shadow Speaker and couldn't wait to have to story continue. Like Thunder picks up in 2077 and is narrated by Dikeogu. He is travelling across the Sahara, he has lost time and his mind. His journey eventually reunites him with Ejii. The pact between the worlds is about to expire and war is imminent. Can the Rainmaker and Shadow Speaker save the worlds again?

I am so happy that this book is told from Dikeogu's point of view. We get more detail of his life that were touched upon in The Shadow Speaker like his life with his parents and his life as a slave. It was also interesting to see his relationship with Ejii from his point of view since we saw her point of view of the relationship in the first novel. The author again does a fabulous job of transporting the reading to a futuristic Africa and includes more new technology, some vampire like creatures and unique animals.

I don't think you necessarily have to read The Shadow Speaker to enjoy this book but I would highly recommend it. If you do not read it, I think you will be missing out of some background information but more importantly you will miss out on a fabulous story.

I adore Nnedi Okorafor and have read a few of her books this past year. One of which was the first part of this duology, Shadow Speaker. I appreciated reading the conclusion and following Dikeogu but I didn't enjoy it as much as Ejii and Shadow Speaker. This is mainly because I don't like aimless characters, which Dikeogu very righlt was after his horrific experiences, but I personally would have cut the first half of the book and would have started once the pact with Chief Ette crumbled, where the action is. I know that means I'd be cutting half of Dikeogu's character development and we don't want that! I will continue to read Nnedi's books because she is an incredible author and I want to read everything she's ever published. Even with the slow first half, I would still recommend because the overarching story of the duology is incredible and I really enjoyed it.

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book.*

While I really enjoyed book one of this duology, the second book did not manage to grab my attention and hold it. I found the change of focaliser exhausting, the world building and story felt all over the place and I had trouble paying attention and remembering things. This is probably a me-problem, but I feel like Okorafor crammed too much into this tiny book and it shows. Sorry :(

A good book, for sure. The pacing wasn't always perfect, but the world, the characters, and the writing kept me engaged. Worth reading.

This was an interesting sequel to Shadow Speaker, it takes place a few years after the first book and centers around Dikeoju, Ejii's friend and companion from the first book. The book, much like it's companion, is a character study above all else. While there is action, it is often outside the periphery of our main character and the focus is always on his tenuous grasp with reality. While there were things I really liked about the book, I did not find this to be my favorite of Nnedi's books.

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.

I reread Shadow Speaker before reading this novel. This novel feels more like an oral story than the first one, which I think fits the idea of a tale told to us by the desert magician more than the first novel. I believe the duology works stronger together than either book apart. Together they tell a story of the destruction and damage and loss that can result from trying your hardest to resolve an issue peacefully when the other side only wants to fight. And what that resulting conflict can take from a person, how it can change them, and how you cannot stop genocide without fighting back. Rereading Shadow Speaker and then reading Like Thunder during the genocide of Palestinians was eye-opening and Dikéogu's pain and how he dealt with that pain felt very real.