Goliath (Onyebuchi novel)

Last updated

Goliath
Goliath (Onyebuchi novel).jpeg
First edition
Author Tochi Onyebuchi
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genres Dystopian, science fiction
Publisher Tor Books
Publication date
January 25, 2022
Pages336
ISBN 9781250782953

Goliath is a 2022 science fiction novel by Nigerian American writer Tochi Onyebuchi. [1] [2] [3] It is his first adult science fiction novel and it was first published in New York on January 25, 2022 by Tor Books. [4] [5]

Contents

Background

In an interview by NPR, Onyebuchi stated most space movies on TV mostly show white people who are on spaceship terraforming Mars and that he had the idea of the novel when he thought about what happened to the all the Black and Brown people that were never depicted. [2] [4] He also noted that anime like Gundam Wing and Ghost In The Shell had inspired the novel. [6]

Reception

The book received generally positive receptions from book reviewers and readers alike. [1] It was a New York Times editor's choice and one of the most anticipated books of 2022. It was recommended by several media outlets including USA Today , Bustle , Buzzfeed and Polygon . [7] [8] [9]

A review by TheNew York Times noted that the book has "an ingenious premise", [10] another review by Publishers Weekly called the novel a "gorgeous work". [11] Beth Mowbray in a review for The Nerd Daily praised the novel stating that "in Goliath, Onyebuchi creates an alternate future which certainly reflects the issues of our own day and time." [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afrofuturism</span> Cultural aesthetic and philosophy

Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic, philosophy of science, and history that explores the intersection of the African diaspora culture with science and technology. It addresses themes and concerns of the African diaspora through technoculture and speculative fiction, encompassing a range of media and artists with a shared interest in envisioning black futures that stem from Afro-diasporic experiences. While Afrofuturism is most commonly associated with science fiction, it can also encompass other speculative genres such as fantasy, alternate history and magic realism. The term was coined by American cultural critic Mark Dery in 1993 and explored in the late 1990s through conversations led by Alondra Nelson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Scalzi</span> American science fiction writer

John Michael Scalzi II is an American science fiction author and former president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He is best known for his Old Man's War series, three novels of which have been nominated for the Hugo Award, and for his blog Whatever, where he has written on a number of topics since 1998. He won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 2008 based predominantly on that blog, which he has also used for several charity drives. His novel Redshirts won the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novel. He has written non-fiction books and columns on diverse topics such as finance, video games, films, astronomy, writing and politics, and served as a creative consultant for the TV series Stargate Universe.

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

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">Charles Yu</span> American writer

Charles Chowkai Yu is an American writer. He is the author of the novels How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe and Interior Chinatown, as well as the short-story collections Third Class Superhero and Sorry Please Thank You. In 2007 he was named a "5 under 35" honoree by the National Book Foundation. In 2020, Interior Chinatown won the National Book Award for fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Wells (author)</span> American horror writer

Daniel Andrew Wells is an American horror and science fiction author. Wells's first published novel, I Am Not a Serial Killer, was adapted into a movie in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">N. K. Jemisin</span> American science fiction and fantasy writer

Nora Keita Jemisin is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. Her fiction includes a wide range of themes, notably cultural conflict and oppression. Her debut novel, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, and the subsequent books in her Inheritance Trilogy received critical acclaim. She has won several awards for her work, including the Locus Award. The three books of her Broken Earth series made her the first author to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel in three consecutive years, as well as the first to win for all three novels in a trilogy. She won a fourth Hugo Award, for Best Novelette, in 2020 for Emergency Skin. Jemisin was a recipient of the MacArthur Fellows Program Genius Grant in 2020.

<i>The Three-Body Problem</i> (novel) 2008 science fiction novel by Liu Cixin

The Three-Body Problem is a story by Chinese science fiction author Liu Cixin, the first novel in the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy. The series portrays a fictional past, present and future wherein Earth encounters an alien civilization from a nearby system of three sun-like stars orbiting one another, a representative example of the three-body problem in orbital mechanics.

Fonda Lee is a Canadian-American author of speculative fiction. She is best known for writing The Green Bone Saga, the first of which, Jade City, won the 2018 World Fantasy Award and was named one of the 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time by Time magazine. The Green Bone Saga was also included on NPR's list, "50 Favorite Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of the Past Decade".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suyi Davies Okungbowa</span> Nigerian author

Suyi Davies Okungbowa is a Nigerian fantasy, science fiction and speculative writer and academic. He is the author of various novels, including The Nameless Republic epic fantasy trilogy, beginning with Son of the Storm. His debut was the godpunk fantasy novel, David Mogo, Godhunter. He has also written works for younger readers under the author name Suyi Davies, including Minecraft: The Haven Trials. His work is heavily influenced by the histories and cultures of West Africa and Nigeria, and discusses themes of identity, challenging difference and finding home. WIRED referred to him as "one of the most promising new voices coterie of African SFF writers." He is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Ottawa.

<i>Gideon the Ninth</i> 2019 science fantasy novel by Tamsyn Muir

Gideon the Ninth is a 2019 science fantasy novel by the New Zealand writer Tamsyn Muir. It is Muir's debut novel and the first in her Locked Tomb series, followed by Harrow the Ninth (2020), Nona the Ninth (2022), and the upcoming Alecto the Ninth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tochi Onyebuchi</span> American science fiction writer

Tochi Onyebuchi is an American science fiction and fantasy writer and former civil rights lawyer. His novella, Riot Baby, received an Alex Award from the American Library Association and the World Fantasy Award in 2021. He is known for incorporating civil rights and Afrofuturism into his stories and novels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Science fiction podcast</span> Genre of media

A Science fiction podcast is a podcast belonging to the science fiction genre, which focuses on futuristic and imaginative advances in science and technology while exploring the impact of these imagined innovations. Characters in these stories often encounter scenarios that involve space exploration, extraterrestrials, time travel, parallel universes, artificial intelligence, robots, and human cloning. Despite the focus on fictional settings and time periods, science fiction podcasts regularly contain or reference locations, events, or people from the real world. The intended audience of a science fiction podcast can vary from young children to adults. Science fiction podcasts developed out of radio dramas. Science fiction podcasts are a subgenre of fiction podcasts and are distinguished from fantasy podcasts and horror podcasts by the absence of magical or macabre themes, respectively, though these subgenres regularly overlap. Science fiction podcasts have often been adapted into television programs, graphic novels, and comics.

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) 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.

<i>Beasts Made of Night</i> 2017 fantasy novel by Tochi Onyebuchi

Beast Made of Night is a 2017 young adult fantasy novel by Nigerian-American novelist Tochi Onyebuchi. It is the first book in a duology set in a magical world inspired by Nigeria.

<i>War Girls</i> 2019 novel by Tochi Onyebuchi

War Girls is a 2019 science fiction novel by Nigerian-American author Tochi Onyebuchi. The novel depicts a post-apocalyptic future world that has been environmentally devastated by nuclear conflict and global warming. The North American and European powers responsible for the devastation have escaped to colonies in space and exploited the nations left on Earth for their scarce remaining resources. In the novel, characters Ify and Onyii navigate a Nigeria torn apart by a resurgent Nigerian Civil War. The novel explores themes of colonialism, climate change, war, and posthumanism. It is an Africanfuturist work of climate fiction.

<i>Riot Baby</i> 2020 adult novella by Tochi Onyebuchi

Riot Baby is a science fiction novella written by Nigerian American author Tochi Onyebuchi published in 2020.

Xiran Jay Zhao is a Canadian author, Internet personality, and cosplayer. Their debut novel, Iron Widow, became a No. 1 New York Times Best Seller and won the 2021 BSFA Award for Best Book for Younger Readers.

<i>Iron Widow</i> 2021 novel by Xiran Jay Zhao

Iron Widow is a 2021 young adult science fantasy novel by Canadian writer Xiran Jay Zhao. The novel is a mecha reimagining of the rise of China’s first and only female Emperor Wu Zetian set in the nation of Huaxia, a futuristic reinterpretation of Medieval China.

Michael Moreci is a comic author and novelist writing in the science fiction and horror genres. Notable original works include critically acclaimed military horror comic series Burning Fields and space comic series Roche Limit, which was included in Paste's "Required Reading: 50 of the Best Sci-Fi Comics". Moreci has written two Star Wars-inspired space opera novels - Black Star Renegades and We Are Mayhem.

References

  1. 1 2 Brown, Alex (January 25, 2022). "A Story of Resistance, Not Surrender: Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi". Tor.com. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 read, Beth Mowbray·Books··3 min (January 24, 2022). "Review: Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi". The Nerd Daily. Retrieved March 21, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. "Gentrifiers Invade City From Outer Space". New Haven Independent. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Philpott, Lily (January 16, 2020). "The PEN Ten: An Interview with Tochi Onyebuchi". PEN America. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  5. Becca Caddy (January 2, 2022). "Sci-fi in 2022: the biggest movies, TV shows and books you need to know about". TechRadar. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  6. "In 'Goliath,' only the rich and white can escape to space as the Earth collapses". NPR.org. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  7. "9 New Books We Recommend This Week". The New York Times. February 10, 2022. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  8. VanDenburgh, Barbara. "5 books not to miss: John Darnielle's 'Devil House,' new Danya Kukafka thriller". USA TODAY. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  9. "40 fantasy and science fiction books you should read in 2022". Winter is Coming. January 30, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  10. Markovits, Benjamin (January 25, 2022). "They Left a Broken U.S. for Outer Space. Now They're Coming Back". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  11. "Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Book Review: Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi. Tordotcom, (336p) ISBN 978-1-250-78295-3". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved March 21, 2022.