When I picked up The Death of the Author, I hadn’t read anything by Nnedi Okorafor before, but after reading just a few pages, I had no idea what she had written before. I found myself making a mental note to add them all to my to-read pile. Okorafor coined the term “Afrofuturism” to describe a subcategory of science fiction that is “rooted more directly in African culture, history, mythology, and perspective” than the more “America-centric” Afrofuturism.
Death of the Author is like two books in one, following the story of Zell, a Nigerian-American protagonist who quickly rises to fame as the author of the unexpected hit novel Rusty Robot. It draws us into the novel, which is set in a future society without humans. robots and AI.
Zell, a disabled writer in his mid-30s with a large family, was going through a rough time when the book began, but when he achieved overnight success he learned to be taken seriously by those around him. I had to fight. She always faces pushback when trying new things, like self-driving cars and exoskeletons. The family dynamics and the world she lives in, on the brink of major changes due to technological advances, felt very real, and I found myself much more invested in their drama than the one unfolding in Rusted Robots. Ta. But everything happens for a reason, and the two stories intertwine nicely to create an immersive and thought-provoking story.
