Akata Warrior

Last updated
Akata Warrior
Akata Warrior.jpg
First edition
Author Nnedi Okorafor
Audio read byYetide Badaki
IllustratorDesigned by Jim Hoover
Cover artistGreg Ruth
LanguageEnglish
SeriesThe Nsibidi Scripts #2
Genre Young adult, fantasy
Set in Aba, Nigeria
Publisher Viking Books
Publication date
October 3, 2017
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint, ebook, audiobook, kindle, audible
Pages477 pp
Awards
ISBN 9780670785612
(hardcover 1st ed.)
OCLC 973806811
813.6
LC Class PZ7.O4157 Ah 2017
Preceded by Akata Witch  
Followed by Akata Woman  

Akata Warrior (retitled Sunny and the Mystery of Osisi in Nigeria and the UK) is a 2017 young adult fantasy novel by Nigerian American writer Nnedi Okorafor. [1] It is a sequel to Akata Witch (2011) and the second book in her TheNsibidi Scripts series; it's followed by Akata Woman (2022). [2] It won the inaugural Lodestar Award in 2018 [3] as well as the 2018 Locus Award for Best Young Adult Novel. [4]

Contents

Plot

Set a year after the events of the first book, it follows Sunny Nwazue, an American-born Nigerian albino girl living in Aba who becomes a member of the secret Leopard society.

Sunny Nwazue has recurring vision of a burning city and while picking up tainted pepper, she is given a comb by Mami Wata.

She disobeys the Leopard rules, and with assistance of Chichi, uses a juju to scare the members of the cult that haunts Chukwu in the university and is sent to the Obi Library basement to face a djinn whom she defeats and reunites with her friends and parents. Then, her father threatens to disown her.

Her spirit face Anyanwu is separated from her after an attack from Ekwensu, who emerges again. Sunny and her friends Orlu, Chichi, and Sasha visit Bola, where she tells Sunny to go to Lagos to meet Udide, who will weave a flying grasscutter to take them to Osisi.

Through the help of Chukwu, they head to Lagos under the disguise of a road trip and meet Udide who weaves a flying grasscutter in exchange for Sunny's story.

After a series of events, Chukwu sees the grasscutter and they escape before the council car comes to pick them.

In Osisi, they defeat Ekwensu to avert an apocalypse and return home to face the council officials, who forgives them. The novel ends with Sunny, Chichi, and Sasha attending the Zuma Rock Festival.

Characters

Reception

The book received several positive reception [6] with most critics praising Okorafor's characters and writings. [7]

A review by the Locus Magazine called it an epic sequel. [8] Brittle Paper praised the novel and also its cover. [9]

Awards and recognitions

Honors

Awards

Sequel

The sequel to Akata Warrior is Akata Woman , which was released on January 18, 2022. [12] [13]

Related Research Articles

<i>Zahrah the Windseeker</i> 2005 fantasy novel by Nnedi Okorafor

Zahrah the Windseeker is a young adult fantasy novel and the debut novel of Nigerian American writer Nnedi Okorafor, published in September 2005. It incorporates Nigerian myths, folklore, and culture. It is the winner of the 2008 Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nnedi Okorafor</span> Nigerian-American writer of science fiction and fantasy (born 1974)

Nnedimma Nkemdili "Nnedi" Okorafor is a Nigerian American writer of science fiction and fantasy for both children and adults. She is best known for her Binti Series and her novels Who Fears Death, Zahrah the Windseeker, Akata Witch, Akata Warrior, Lagoon and Remote Control. She has also written for comics and film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nsibidi</span> Medieval symbol system

Nsibidi is a system of symbols or proto-writing developed by the Ekpe secret society that traversed the southeastern part of Nigeria. They are classified as pictograms, though there have been suggestions that some are logograms or syllabograms.

Anyanwu is the sun goddess of the good fortune, knowledge, and wisdom in the traditional Igbo religion called Odinala. She is an alusi, a tutelary spirit that was created by the Supreme god, Chukwu, to fulfill a specific responsibility related to nature or a principle. They are similar to bisimbi in Bakongo religion and orishas in Yoruba religion.

<i>The Shadow Speaker</i> 2007 novel by Nnedi Okorafor

The Shadow Speaker is a young adult, first-person novel by Nigerian-American writer Nnedi Okorafor, which takes place in the year 2070. It was a Booksense Pick for Winter 2007/2008, a Tiptree Honor Book, a finalist for the Essence Magazine Literary Award, the Andre Norton Award and the Golden Duck Award and an NAACP Image Award nominee.

<i>Who Fears Death</i> 2010 science fantasy novel by Nnedi Okorafor

Who Fears Death is a science fantasy novel by Nigerian-American writer Nnedi Okorafor, published in 2010 by DAW, then an imprint of Penguin Books. It was awarded the 2011 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, as well as the 2010 Carl Brandon Kindred Award "for an outstanding work of speculative fiction dealing with race and ethnicity." Okorafor wrote a prequel, the novel The Book of Phoenix, published by DAW in 2015.

<i>Akata Witch</i> 2011 fantasy novel by Nnedi Okorafor

Akata Witch is a 2011 young adult fantasy novel written by Nigerian American author Nnedi Okorafor. It was nominated for the Andre Norton Award and it is the first novel in her The Nsibidi Scripts series; it is followed by two sequels, Akata Warrior (2017) and Akata Woman (2022).

<i>Binti</i> (novella) 2015 science fiction novella by Nnedi Okorafor

Binti is an Africanfuturist science fiction horror novella written by Nnedi Okorafor. The novella was published in 2015 by Tor.com. Binti is the first novella in Okorafor's Binti novella series.

The 76th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Worldcon 76 in San Jose, was held on 16–20 August 2018 in San Jose, California, United States.

<i>Binti: Home</i> 2017 science fiction novella by Nnedi Okorafor

Binti: Home is a 2017 science fiction novella written by Nnedi Okorafor and published by Tor.com. Binti: Home is the sequel to Okorafor's Binti from 2015, and is followed by Binti: The Night Masquerade, published in 2018.

The Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book is an award given annually to a book published for young adult readers in the field of science fiction or fantasy. The name of the award was chosen because a lodestar is "a star that guides or leads, especially in navigation, where it is the sole reliable source of light—the star that leads those in uncharted waters to safety". The nomination and selection process is administered by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), and the award is presented at the Hugo Award ceremony at the annual World Science Fiction Convention, or Worldcon, although it is not itself a Hugo Award.

<i>Binti: The Night Masquerade</i> 2018 science fiction novella by Nnedi Okorafor

Binti: The Night Masquerade is a science fiction novella written by Nnedi Okorafor. The novella was published in 2018 by Tor.com, and it is the final novella in the Binti trilogy that began with 2015's Binti and 2017's Binti: Home. When the full collection Binti: The Complete Trilogy was published, Okorafor added another short story titled "Binti: Sacred Fire".

Africanfuturism is a cultural aesthetic and philosophy of science that centers on the fusion of African culture, history, mythology, point of view, with technology based in Africa and not limiting to the diaspora. It was coined by Nigerian American writer Nnedi Okorafor in 2019 in a blog post as a single word. Nnedi Okorafor defines Africanfuturism as a sub-category of science fiction that is "directly rooted in African culture, history, mythology and point-of-view..and...does not privilege or center the West," is centered with optimistic "visions in the future," and is written by "people of African descent" while rooted in the African continent. As such its center is African, often does extend upon the continent of Africa, and includes the Black diaspora, including fantasy that is set in the future, making a narrative "more science fiction than fantasy" and typically has mystical elements. It is different from Afrofuturism, which focuses mainly on the African diaspora, particularly the United States. Works of Africanfuturism include science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, horror and magic realism.

<i>Remote Control</i> (novella) 2021 novella by Nnedi Okorafor

Remote Control is a 2021 science fiction novella by Nigerian American Nnedi Okorafor. It is Okorafor's first novella after the Binti Trilogy and is set in the same universe as Okorafor's Who Fears Death and The Book of Phoenix.

The Binti trilogy or Binti Series is a trilogy of Africanfuturist science fiction novellas by Nigerian American author Nnedi Okorafor. Beginning with Binti and ending with Binti: The Night Masquerade, it follows the heroine Binti as she leaves Earth to attend a prestigious university in space.

<i>The Book of Phoenix</i> 2015 science fantasy novel by Nnedi Okorafor

The Book of Phoenix is a 2015 science fantasy novel by Nigerian American author Nnedi Okorafor. It is a stand alone prequel to Who Fears Death, it won the 2018 Kurd Laßwitz Preis for Best Foreign Fiction Book and was a finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award.

<i>Ikenga</i> (novel) 2020 fantasy novel by Nnedi Okorafor

Ikenga is a 2020 middle grade fantasy novel by Nigerian American writer Nnedi Okorafor. It is Okorafor's first book to feature male protagonist and was nominated for the 2021 Edgar Awards. The novel follows Nnamdi, a boy who can access superhuman powers with the help of the Ikenga.

<i>Akata Woman</i> 2022 fantasy novel by Nnedi Okorafor

Akata Woman is a 2022 young adult fantasy novel by Nigerian American author Nnedi Okorafor. It is the sequel to Akata Witch and Akata Warrior and the third book in her The Nsibidi Script series. It debuted on the New York Times Best Seller list following its release in January 2022.

<i>Noor</i> (novel) 2021 novel by Nnedi Okorafor

Noor is a 2021 Africanfuturist science fiction novel by Nigerian American author Nnedi Okorafor. The novel was published on November 9, 2021, by DAW Books and is the fourth adult novel written by Okorafor. It is a finalist for the Locus Award for best science fiction novel.

<i>Kabu Kabu</i> Short story collection by Nnedi Okorafor

Kabu Kabu is a speculative fiction short story collection written by Nigerian American writer Nnedi Okorafor with stories in both Africanfuturism and Africanjujuism styles and themes. The collection was first published in 2013 by Prime Books.

References

  1. "Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor: 9780142425855 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  2. 1 2 "The Nsibidi Script Series - Nnedi Okorafor". nnedi.com. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  3. 1 2 "2018 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Awards. 2018-03-15. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  4. 1 2 "Locus Young Adult Award". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  5. "27". Akata Warrior.
  6. Akata Warrior.
  7. Alter, Alexandra (2017-10-06). "Nnedi Okorafor and the Fantasy Genre She Is Helping Redefine". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  8. "Gary K. Wolfe reviews Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor". Locus Online. 2017-11-11. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  9. "The Bewitching Book Covers of Okorafor's Akata Witch and Akata Warrior". Brittle Paper . 2017-01-18. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  10. "Notable Children's Books of 2017". The New York Times. 2017-11-27. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  11. "The Best Young Adult Books of 2017". The B&N Teen Blog. 2017-12-14. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  12. NNEDI., OKORAFOR (2022). AKATA WOMAN. VIKING CHILDREN'S BOOKS. ISBN   978-0-451-48058-3. OCLC   1246726914.
  13. "Akata Woman by Nnedi Okorafor: 9780451480583 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2021-08-21.