was unfortunately rather disappointed by this book. I read and enjoyed the Akata Witch books a few years back and was excited to see my library had a different book by this author. I don't know if it's the book or if my tastes have just changed, but this one just didn't do it for me in the same way.

I don't know, it was often kind of confusing and could have used an edit to make the plot more streamlined. I was a little frustrated by all the A names (I know this is minor but it added to my frustrations). It got weird and interesting towards the end but then what should have been a big event is dismissed in a few lines. The plot keeps jumping around and randomly changing pace. There is just too much happening for the page count and a lot gets lost or forgotten. Don't get me wrong, chaotic books can be interesting. This one just has too much and struggled to resolve itself properly.

A disclaimer for this part: I do not live in Lagos (although I do live in Africa). As much as the city obviously means a lot to the author (as shown through some of the characters), something felt off to me. I know she was born in and grew up in the USA and I feel like it shows to some extent. I have seen similar sentiments from other reviewers, but others enjoyed it. Don't get me wrong, it's not book breakingly bad or anything, but it also didn't quite feel right either...

I had such high hopes for this book and maybe that's why it let me down... If this book sounds interesting to you I wouldn't say not to read it, but rather to be aware that you are going into something that is strange, chaotic and frustrating at times ( )

Okorafor is an amazingly engaging author who crafted a well-paced, thought provoking contemporary science fiction classic with Lagoon. With out giving too much away, this book explored issues of tribalism, technological advancement, and how we view others as "aliens." The book had elements of African mythology that was very captivating. Check this one out! ( )

I picked this up despite the fact that alien invasion stories don't appeal to me at all. So in the beginning, I read with interest for some of the writing and ideas, but also a measure of detachment. As I got farther along, I realized she was really writing about people and the vibrancy of cities and change and tradition and community and then I got more into it. There's a lot to love about this story, its images and ideas and people and plotline. I think I would've enjoyed it more if some parts were more developed and others left for a different story. But I'm outside my genre too, so, grain of salt. I love the brain behind this writing and I'm looking forward to reading more. ( )

Good story of various Nigerians and a guy from Ghana involved with extraterrestrials who come to bring good changes to Lagos but a lot of chaos happens first. This is my second from the author. ( )

Science fiction is about encountering the other; and in this novel, First World readers get a taste of what that is really like, as it's set in Lagos (Nigeria) - and that's going to unsettle people before you even get into the science fictional bit. Aliens splash down offshore from Lagos and emerge from the sea. They look like us - when they want to. When they don't, that's when the problems start.

This is written in short chapters; indeed, I understand it started life as a film treatment. This may account for the characters being fairly broadly drawn. As for the setting; I have met and worked with a number of people of Nigerian heritage over the years, and whilst I cannot say this is accurate, it has an atmosphere that I could imagine as 'Nigerian'. It also possesses a wit that I wasn't expecting.

We write our science fiction to suit what we know. Western science fiction is highly technocratic - the aliens land in spaceships, they have super-science and they have a tendency to think like us, even when the author is trying hard to make them Alien. Okorafor does exactly the same; by being herself of Nigerian heritage, she taps into West African ideas, society, folkways and myth. Her aliens shapeshift, and manipulate water, and tap into specifically African themes and concerns. Some of the establishment brand the aliens 'witches', though this word means something a bit different in an African context. Many make a distinction between 'witchcraft' - a natural ability, often not necessarily under the control of the individual, that is a force of nature that can only be mitigated, not defeated - and 'sorcery' - a learned magical discipline, applied deliberately against people you wish to target. So by branding the aliens "witches", Okorafor sets them into a particular place.

The description of the shape-shifting feels science-fictional and unusual. Equally unusual is the use of Pidgin English and a smattering of Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba words that the user is left to figure out for themselves (until they find a limited glossary at the back of the book, so they can check their answers). Some might see this as making no concessions to Western readers; I took this as further evidence of science fictionality. The ending is positive, with Nigeria about to take its place in world affairs as the nation that made First Contact - after all, why should we assume that the aliens will land on the White House lawn every time? ( )