I’ve read Okorafor’s work before, and her writing style absolutely shines in this one. I think this will be a solid four to five stars for her fans. I did stop after chapter 1.

Thank you to NetGalley and DAW for the ARC.

Nnedi Okorafor has been on my radar/tbr for years, and after reading this I am truly disappointed I didn't start reading sooner. Absolutely gorgeous writing, vivid imagery, and characters I fell in love with. I can't wait to read the other books in this universe - it stood on its own, but it made me so hungry for more.

I quite enjoyed Firespitter - although I didn't realize until the intro that its a sort of prequel to Who Fears Death, and in some respects a strange prequel as its the MC's Mother's origin story!

And its not filled with references or missing introductions or anything, I just had a sense that readers of Who Fears Death might have got MORE from this story.

Firesplitter reads as a sort of biographical folklore (which is what its supposed to be so, yeah) but just a caution that its not really a 3 act structure raising of the stakes work of fiction - though it does have some full on scenes and what I really enjoyed is the Culture of the world really showed through, reading this you have a strong sense of who people are and how they do things (and where the dangers lie).

This does create a strange sense while reading however, where you're not too sure what to cling to in the story, a bit like the opposite of Chekov's Gun, where there are quite a few things going on around the place and these are all vivid and interesting moments but because its more of a character biography - there is some 'payoff' but again I think the real payoff is fans of the OG books getting more material in this fascinating world.

This book really does give us African fantasy vibes, if you liked the Wakanda movies you will definetly love this book full of strong African culture

Nnedi Okorafor does it again!

As someone who loves all of Nnedi's work, I immediately requested this as soon as I possibly could. There are no words to describe the wonder of the world building, the absolute mastery of the storytelling. In this novella we are told the story of Najeeba, a (then) 13 year old girl who receives the "Call" to go and gather salt. In this world, salt is life. Najeeba experiences a series of incredible events that culminate in the discovery of who she is, and who she will yet become. This is a story of growing into who you really are, of discovering what it means to go beyond society's boundaries, and most of all, the power that a woman holds.

I cannot recommend this novella enough, and I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy! As always, all my thanks to both Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

This novella is well-written, and the imagery is fantastic. It’s a nice, quick read introducing you to the way of life on Earth in the future. There are mentions of ancient tech that is found and sold at markets, and people of African descent and those of Arab descent. The world described seems to be very desolate and harsh, but humans have adapted to the desert and travel long days and weeks to make their living. The novella starts when the main character is 13 years old, and she is only beginning to realize what society’s strict gender norms will mean for her personally. Cue mysticism, juju and redefining what it means to be female in a patriarchal world. I am team Najeeba, all the way, always.

It is possible to read this without having read the earlier book, “Who Fears Death”, but both stories are set in the same world, and there does seem to be a vague-ish spoiler right at the end. Just an FYI. I’m sure I will have forgotten it whenever I get around to reading about Najeeba’s daughter in said book, knowing my brain. 😁

Thank you to NetGalley and DAW Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for my honest feedback. I look forward to diving into more of Okorafor’s work!