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Binti

Written by: Nnedi Okorafor
Narrated by: Robin Miles
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Publisher's Summary

Winner of the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award for Best Novella!

Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs.

Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti's stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach.

If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself — but first she has to make it there, alive.

Praise for Binti
"With her rich, lyrical voice, narrator Robin Miles effortlessly moves among such emotions as anticipation, fear, resignation, and fortitude with just the slightest adjustments in breath. Her prodigious range elevates this short novella into a resonating performance that will linger long beyond its mere two-plus hours." – School Library Journal

"Binti is a supreme read about a sexy, edgy Afropolitan in space! It's a wondrous combination of extra-terrestrial adventure and age-old African diplomacy. Unforgettable!" — Wanuri Kahiu, award-winning Kenyan film director of Punzi and From a Whisper

©2015 Nnedi Okorafor (P)2015 Macmillan Audio

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What listeners say about Binti

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Beautiful Myth

I was surprised by how invested in the story I was considering how short it is. The analogous sci-fi narrative is brilliant and the connections to other myths and hero’s journey stories is compelling. Innana and Wakanda

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  • Overall
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Meh

First off, if you're reluctant to spend a credit on such a short listen, know that Book 2 and Book 3 of this trilogy are, for the time being, available on Audible Plus for free. So by spending a credit on Book 1, you're actually getting like 12 hours worth of story.

Having said that, the story is not great. Beyond the main character, there's a staggering lack of depth, which I suppose I should expect from a novella. The secondary characters and the setting are severely underdeveloped, to the point that certain decisions and plot points are almost comically questionable.

Also, if you're a fan of sci-fi, you might find that some of the more science-y aspects of the story/setting leave much to be desired. For instance, the author is just like, oh and by the way, the spaceship isn't really a spaceship; it's a giant living organism and all the people travel inside of it. Meanwhile, I'm like, wait what? where do these giant creatures come from? how do they survive in deep space? how do humans pilot them? what do they eat?

It kinda feels like the author wrote an interesting, if simple, story about an interesting character, and then her editor was like, this is cool but I want you to rewrite it and I want it to be in space. And the author was like, but I don't know anything about space. And the editor went, I'm sure you can just make some stuff up, right?

For what it's worth, the narrator does an excellent job with the material. I'm a sucker for any narrator with an accent different from my own, so it was a pleasant listen even though the story didn't do much for me. I might listen to Books 2 and 3 if I run out of credits and I need something to hold me over.

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