2.5 Stars

This book was about Zelu, an author who became famous overnight because of a book about robots she wrote when she was in a really dark place. And yeah, she got all the praise and money, but because her feet didn’t work and she was Nigerian, people still had to be awful to her. Like, of course. Welcome to Earth.

The most prominent issue was her family. Her close family, her distant family, everybody. Just toxic. Her rich aunt and uncle in Nigeria were okay, maybe, but the rest? Horrible. Her extended family was the kind that you never meet, but somehow they still talk shit, demand money, and bring nothing but negativity. We’ve all got at least one or two of those, right? But her close family? Her parents and siblings? They were next-level bad. No support, no acknowledgment, no help. Just… awful. Her siblings especially were straight-up bitches. I hated how they treated her.

Zelu herself? I loved her at the start. She was smart, strong-willed, and sensitive. I rooted for her (well, not until the end, though). I hated how selfish she was in the end. I am a mother; I couldn’t relate to her choice.

I enjoyed 2/3 of the book (well, not much for the robot part, though). The last third was wonky. I felt it was rushed, the space thing just came out of nowhere, and I don’t know, 'weird' in a bad way, in my opinion. The ending left a bad taste for me. The story about Ijele and Ankara didn’t spark my interest. Their ending was just too abrupt. I’m really not a fan of how this all wrapped up. But at least, i agreed with Zelu: "Fuck Patriarchy".

(When I first finished the book, I rated it 3 stars. Two days later, when I sat down to write this review, I realized I’d already forgotten most of the plot. So… I dropped it to 2.5 stars.)

Note: Thanks to William Morrow and the author for this ARC.

Death of the Author is one of the most ambitious books I've read in recent memory: a unique blend of hot sad girl lit fic and sci-fi that exams identity, creation, AI, humanity, disability, collectivistic family dynamics, the relationship between an author and their work, and so much more. I think, in many ways, Okorafor's ambition paid off. Especially in the first half of the book, I was so impressed with her ability to craft a story that felt both current and uncharted.

Though our main character, Zelu, was deeply flawed (and often stressed me allllll the way out with her decisions), I also found her intriguing and even relatable at times. Seeing her navigate being a disabled, Nigerian-American, up-and-coming author while processing deep-seated guilt and trauma and seeing how Rusted Robots connected to her experiences and her relationship with her Nigerian culture was my favorite part of the book. Sometimes the difficult relationship between Zelu and her family was frustrating to read, but I appreciated the complexity that Okorafor brought to the family dynamics. I feel like it got me to take a step back from my American views and put myself in the shoes of traditional Nigerian cultural norms, approaching the topic with curiosity in place of judgment.

Now, what didn't work for me as much...well, honestly, the second half of the book just felt a bit weaker than the first half. Throughout the interviews included in this story, it felt like suspense for something big was being built up. And, yes, we see Zelu experience many difficulties—and make her life more difficult based on impulsive decisions—following the success of her debut novel. But the build up didn't pay off for me, and I was left feeling unsatisfied. I didn't love the ending overall, though I can appreciate the themes around creation, the impact of storytelling, and the relationship between writer and reader. The ending felt a bit too abrupt for me, and I found myself wondering why we had been meandering through certain scenes in the second half that, really, didn't feel like they added much to the overall story. I enjoyed most of my experience reading this book, but in the end, I don't think I'm walking away with too much that I personally will return to. Though, as someone who doesn't usually read sci-fi, I did enjoy easing into it with a unique read like this.

✨ Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! ✨

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor is a mixed third and first person-POV literary sci-fi metafiction about the relationship between author, story, and who is being written about. Zelu is an Igbo-Yoruba Nigerian-American professor who lost her job after a situation with a student. Instead of searching for more work in academia, she writes a sci-fi novel that earns her a million dollar advance but also puts her in the spotlight in ways she’s not used to. On top of that, her family is very unsupportive when she’s approached by a small team to try out a pair of bionic legs that will let her walk again.

There are three different ways the story is being told and the more the story goes on, the more unclear it is who is actually telling the story. The main story is the one following Zelu’s author career starting when she’s at her cousin’s wedding and learns she has just lost her job and goes through her deal, her struggles to write the sequel, and more. The second part is the various interviews with the people who knew and loved Zelu including her mother, sister, and partner, Msizi. The third is from the POV of Ankara, a robot designed to look human who is one of the stars of Zelu’s novel. Zelu’s are the most linear and the most clear cut for what the story is, but layers get pulled back in the interviews and in the chapters from Ankara, which really sell the metafiction aspects.

As we talk more and more about AI and what place it has in society, it’s important for us to discuss what positives it could have for the disabled. For Zelu, AI comes in the form of exo legs, a pair of bionic legs that earn her the name ‘robot woman’ and give her the ability to walk for the first time since she was twelve-years-old. Nnedi Okorafor really explores the complexity of Zelu’s decision to accept the legs through her family acting as if she should have considered them first and how people would view her and the way the disabled are not supported in modern Nigerian society. The legs don’t remove Zelu’s disability; they’re more of a tool that gives her more movement than her wheelchair.

What I really liked was how Zelu is so stubborn and firm in her beliefs and she is going to do what she is going to do. I sometimes feel like there is a fear of writing an unlikable female lead and to that I say ‘screw it. We can’t win anyways. Give me all of the messy, stubborn women who make mistakes and believe they’re right anyways.’ It wasn’t surprising at all when Zelu got cancelled because it felt less like an ‘if’ and more of a ‘when’ but I was on her side from beginning to end. If I was in her place, I would be upset, too, if my purposefully Nigerian characters were Americanized to the point that they felt unrecognizable.

Content warning for depictions of racism, sexism, and ableism

I would recommend this to fans of metafiction with a sci-fi angle, readers looking for explorations of the intersection of technology and having a disability, and those looking for a literary story that features a novel within a novel

4.5 stars rounded up to 5

Death of the Author was my first novel by Nnedi Okorafor but certainly won't be my last. Wow, what an experience!

Zelu, a disabled woman who prefers writing over pursuing a traditional career, has always felt like an outsider in her large Nigerian family. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she is fired from her university job and receives yet another rejection for her novel during her sister’s wedding. Disheartened, she decides to write something purely for herself, crafting a far-future epic about androids and AI battling in the ruins of human civilization, which she titles Rusted Robots. When she finally shares her unconventional novel, it sets off a transformative journey that propels her to literary fame and forces her to confront the consequences of her work. This metafictional narrative, blending sharp commentary with profound emotional depth, explores the intersection of storytelling, identity, and the power of fiction to reshape the future.

This was captivating. I really had no idea what to expect going into it, and I'm glad I requested this one! I like that the novel is split, with half of the chapters focusing on Zelu's story and the other half on Rusted Robots. Okorafor writes characters beautifully. You can feel Zelu's pain and frustration—at the world, at her family, at herself. Everyone felt very real, rather than like caricatures, which always drives me crazy in novels and films. Highly recommended if you're into sci-fi or books about books/writing.

Honestly, I wish I could read more of Rusted Robots as well.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Zelu has reached the bottom of rock bottom. During her sister’s wedding, she is promptly fired from her teaching job while simultaneously receiving news her latest book was rejected… again. Zelu can’t seem to catch a break. Wheelchair bound after a terrible childhood accident, she is forced to move back in with her parents. While wallowing in her own self pity, Zelu writes a sci-fi book she calls Rusted Robots. After sending it to her agent, she is published and rocketed into stardom. Zelu’s life is turned upside down and we get to watch from the sidelines.

This book was AMAZING. I thoroughly enjoyed to two separate narratives with the primary story and the book written by the author. This book had me desperate for more page after page. I love Okorafor’s genre bending work. Not only is she capturing and amazing story about family expectations, navigating fame, and living life to the fullest, but also, found family, fighting for your life, and doing what you can to hold everything together. I honestly don’t think Okorafor can write a bad book. 5/5 stars obviously!!

Zelu as at her younger sister’s wedding when she gets fired and has her book rejected yet again. She then proceeds to write one of the most successful novels of all time, Rusted Robots. The reader is also transported into the world of Rusted Roots.

This is a spectacular work of meta-fiction that makes stark commentary about our world and society. With rich description and deep character development, it is hard to not be blown away.

I recommend this book to anyone and everyone. I am going to lobby for it so hard at my book club!

Thank you to William Morrow and Net Galley for the DRC. All opinions are my own!

4 stars

I think Death of the Author is a very good book, I can understand people giving it 5 stars, but it also wasn't really the type of book I was expecting or usually read. I did enjoy it, but it felt much more like contemporary/literary fiction than the sci-fi I was expecting both having read the Binti series and knowing DotA had been picked up by multiple SFF subscriptions boxes. There definitely is a strong sci-fi storyline and I thought the way the two stories weave together at the end was interesting, but for most of the book that didn’t feel like the focus.

3.5 stars.

This is more lit fic than sci-fi, so definitely manage your expectations. There was A LOT of family drama and family trauma, which put me off from giving this 4 stars or higher.

The dual narrative with Zelu's life and Zelu's novel was confusing to read, but mostly because you don't get enough time to stew in the sci-fi world that Zelu created. The sci-fi story chapters were too short to be immersive for me. I could feel myself settling in to read a chapter about robots in a post-human world, and then BAM, Zelu's family drama would be the focus for the next chapter.

But if you like lit fic with immigrant family themes and breaking out of the immigrant child mold of parental and familial expectations, then you might like this.

Zelu isn't a likable character. She's honest to a fault, she's mean at times, and she keeps it real. Despite being annoyed by her shortsightedness, pettiness, and (sometimes) immaturity, I actually liked how Nnedi Okorafor created such a real, authentic character that isn't just a mishmash of tropes.

This novel felt like I was reading about a real person instead of a fictional FMC. That's how masterful the author was in pulling this off.

But while I enjoyed reading this and I liked Zelu's journey as a disabled Black author who shot to stardom overnight, I was expecting more from the Yellowface comp. There were bits and pieces of satire on author behavior and social media, but it wasn't the point of the story. I was definitely let down, but it didn't deter me from liking the novel for what it was.

This isn't the type of book I'd usually pick up, but I did like the big subplots that branched out from the main storyline: robot legs, whitewashed Hollywood movie adaptations, being a one hit wonder, and fandom galore.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for this arc.

could not read the book, it would never load or scroll properly on my device. giving 3 stars for Nnedi Okorafor's previous work being high quality.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for giving me early access to this book! All opinions are my own.

This book has cemented Nnedi Okorafor as a must buy author for me. “Death of the Author” is easily one of the most beautiful and well written books I have read this year. This is a book within a book, of an author who writes a famous science fiction novel and how it affects her life. This isn’t really a science fiction novel, nor is it just a plain fiction novel, but rather a masterfully woven story that blends multiple genres. For sure a must read! 5+⭐️

Rarely can I make myself read science fiction, but Nnedi Okorafor’s Death of the Author caught my attention from the beginning, and never once did I consider not finishing. What’s more, I started recommending it after having read only the first 13%.

On one hand, Zelu is a paraplegic Nigerian American aspiring novelist, who in one day is fired from her adjunct teaching job in a university and receives the tenth rejection letter for her literary fiction novel. She blames herself for the childhood accident that confines her to a wheelchair and feels the outcast among her large family of parents and siblings, all of whom are high achievers.

Feeling lost and alone amidst extended family at a wedding in Tobago, she sits down to her laptop and starts to write and write and write. What comes out is not her usual realistic-based literary fiction that has failed, but a sci-fi novel she names Rusted Robots. All but one human being has already died, and the lone survivor has little time to live. Mankind has left behind robots to repair the world that killed them, but Ankara, the scholar “Hume” (with Humes being the most humanoid of the robot types) soon learns of another threat that could wipe out the robots as climate change wiped out humanity. Much to Zelu’s surprise, Rusted Robots is an immediate smash hit!

Can Ankara save the robot world? Can Zelu survive her poor family relationships, her own poor self-image, and the twists and turns of her overnight fame as the book becomes a film she detests, fans turn against her, and her agent and publisher increasingly pressure her for the next two novels required by her Rusted Robots contract?

As Ankara’s story continues between chapters of Zelu’s story, which takes on a bit of a sci-fi twist of its own. Add to these narratives, intermittent chapters based on a journalist’s interviews with Zelu’s family members. Throw in a university medical researcher and his assistants, the richest man loosely based on Elon Musk, social media and AI, a hodgepodge of robot species, and a totally unexpected but perfect ending. The components add up to a book unlike any I’ve read before—one that leaves me in awe of the author’s accomplishment.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow/HarperCollins for an advance reader copy of this highly recommended new novel by Nnedi Okorafor.

I tired a couple times to at least complete this book, but it never worked out for me. It’s a shame because I can tell it’s really well written, but the style wasn’t for me. It is one I may revisit sometime, since it may do better when I am in a different mood.

Note: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this book is simply just not for me. I don’t think the Sci-Fi aspect of this book was incorporated well. I didn’t really care for the FMC or her family. I DNF this book at around 30%. Personally just didn’t draw my attention but thank you for the opportunity!

Overall Thoughts: I liked (most) of this.

I’m finding it extremely hard to put into words how I feel about this book. Okorafor touches on many topics in this novel, including AI, cancel culture, cultural identity, and what it means to be human. I liked being in Zelu’s head, and I loved the “Rusted Robots” chapters. Okorafor writes Africanfuturism so well. The Nigerian culture was rich and a large part of this book. Similarly, Zelu’s disability was a major part of this story. Okorafor didn’t shy away from the sometimes brutal reality of being a disabled individual. The final chapter of this book had me reframing my entire outlook of the novel. I think this will be a book that is reread a lot.

Ultimately, a couple aspects of the story didn’t quite work for me. Like most novels that have a “book within a book” I tend to connect much more with one storyline. In this case, I was more interested in the “Rusted Robots” excerpts, than the general fiction chapters where we follow Zelu. Zelu was a very real, flawed character. I liked reading from her perspective, but I am not sure if she had a complete character arc and showed growth by the end of her story. I also struggled immensely with most side characters being absolutely horrible to her. It seemed like they had no respect for Zelu or her work, which personally was very hard to read. My interest in the plot wavered throughout this book, and I often felt like it was a little meandering, especially in the middle section. I suspect a lot of people are going to love this novel, but I don’t think it was the perfect fit for me. To reiterate though, that ending does have me curious about revisiting it at some point.

What an absolutely incredible book! It had its low points and weak portions, but in its entirety, it's a perfect science fiction novel.

This book refuses to be put into a box, quite like its protagonist, Zelu, a paraplegic literary writing professor who is fired from her job and ends up writing a runaway science fiction novel, which is interspersed as part of this novel. Most of this novel is about the journey that the characters undertake, both to a destination and through their fears.

A book-within-a-book. To be more specific, a scifi book within a litfic book. This made it so difficult to judge objectively, which is what makes it fantastic. The style of book-within-a-book is difficult to execute, simply because we're told so much about how good a book is within a book, and that ends up meddling with our own judgment. Most of all, it takes talent to write two genres of books with different styles of writing and different internal voices for characters, something many authors cannot accomplish well. The scifi book has incredible worldbuilding but suffers from slightly simplistic prose. Then again, popular books tend to have simplistic prose to appeal to a broad demographic, which actually adds believability to the novel. The litfic book has great characterizations, albeit a convenient plot at times, but this a scifi book overall, which requires a little suspension of disbelief. All this happens in the backdrop of Nigerian culture and mythology, which permeates through both books. Nnedi Okorafor writes Africanfuturism, and the genre is cultivated at its finest in this book.

At its core, this book is about creation (and creators), individualism, conformism, and our innate human instinct to assign meaning to everything. Where should the meaning of the text come from? The author’s intentions or the readers' myriad interpretations? Who gets to tell the stories of whom? Who gets to tell stories? Where do stories go when the author dies?

I didn't love Zelu's character, but found her so compelling and believable—she is amazingly well-written. She is a magnificent, adventurous, endearing character even while being realistic and annoying. It takes talent to write a character who could realistically write another character. Zelu's family and friends are so realistic—I can tell having grown up in a collectivist culture. Some brilliant characters within the scifi novel too—I mean, sometimes characterization suffers for worldbuilding, but everything works well here.

4.5 stars rounded up, this book is way too engrossing for anything less, but the ending was so good that I'm going to be thinking about this book for years. It may feel like too much at times for some readers, so I'd recommend this only if you're into scifi or new styles of storytelling.

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow books for a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved following the intertwined stories of Zelu, Ankara, and Ijele. At first, I wasn’t sure what to expect as the narrative shifted between them, but it all came together beautifully. The story is a rich blend of hopes, dreams, fame, strong family dynamics, and love.

The character development for the two main protagonists was just enough to keep me engaged, though I found myself wishing for more depth with some of the supporting cast.

That said, the ending felt perfectly satisfying, even after I wasn’t sure where the journey would lead. This is a story that lingers with you—a testament to its heartfelt and thoughtful storytelling.

5 🌟

I just finished this, and I'm truly so stunned that I'm close to speechless. What an absolute treeat of a novel - truly, one of the most beautiful things I've read this year. The characters are so real that they leap off the page. Zelu is amazing - messy, human, glorious. The story within a story had me hooked from the get-go. I really did not want this to end, and yet here I am. I'll be thinking about this one for awhile.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This was my first Okorafor and it did NOT disappoint. I love the way the story/stories were woven together. How the connected and paralleled. Every character was so beautifully flawed.
Death of the Author expertly addresses themes of family, culture, grief, anxiety, and pressure so flawlessly without beating you over the head with them. This novel is a beautiful journey. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the chance to review an eARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an eARC.

This is a story within a (better) story that took me entirely too long to read. I don't like to know what books are about before I read them so therefor I didn't know what to expect from Death of the Author. My first Nnedi Okorafor and I have mixed feelings about it.

Zelu is a disabled Nigerian woman who is going through it when we meet her. Her life is a mess and she has recently been fired from her job and rejected by another publisher. On the edge, Zelu goes home to write something completely different from what she has done before and to her surprise it is a massive hit. She is catapulted into a new world of fame and we watch as she refuses to compromise who she is in order to do what she wants.

We see Zelu interact with her overbearing family and the people that love her. We also bounce back and forth between chapters of Zelu's life and the novel that she has written, Rusted Robots.

Personally I liked the Rusted Robots chapters better. I don't know what my issue is with Death of the Author, but I still recommend that anyone interested should give this a try. It just was not my favorite, but I'm still glad I read it.

If you’re looking for a book that will grab your attention and refuse to let go, Death of the Author is it. Nnedi Okorafor takes us on a wild, thought-provoking journey with Zelu, a disabled Nigerian writer whose life is falling apart when we meet her. Fired from her university job and reeling from yet another publishing rejection, Zelu decides to write something just for herself. What she creates—an epic, far-future story about androids and AI in the ruins of human civilization—ends up changing her life in ways she never imagined.

This book does so much, and it does it *so well*. It’s over 400 pages, but not once did I lose focus or feel like the story dragged. Okorafor masterfully intertwines multiple subplots—family drama, romance, disability pride, Nigerian culture, and even Zelu’s hero journey as a writer—all while keeping everything crystal clear. The timelines and world-building fit together so naturally that it feels effortless.

One of the most powerful themes is how storytelling transforms both the artist and the audience. Zelu sheds so many versions of herself as she crafts her novel, and by the end, she’s completely redefined who she is. Okorafor brilliantly brings the story full circle, delivering an ending that’s both satisfying and deeply moving.

And let me just say, this book is *everything*. It’s a love story (the romance is *chef’s kiss*), a bold celebration of disability pride, and a story about finding your voice even when you feel like an outsider. As someone who’s been a fan of Okorafor for a long time, this feels like her most ambitious and deeply personal work yet.

If you’re into speculative fiction, complex characters, or stories that stay with you long after the last page, you need to read Death of the Author. It’s not just a book—it’s an experience.