Noor

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a b Murad, Mahvesh (November 16, 2021). "A Familiar-Looking Future: Noor By Nnedi Okorafor". Tor.com . Retrieved February 27, 2022. Nigeria has its problems, but it is a wealthy country and so much of its people’s truest wealth remains untapped because the rest of the world sees the entire continent as “war-torn,” “diseased,” and “poor.” My only hesitation in rating this higher is that the plot meanders quite a bit. This is more or less a “quest” plot, as AO and DNA journey into the desert to avoid the authorities, and there was even one part that reminded me of the Wizard of Oz, when they are sent to meet a “wizard” named Baba Sola who dispenses wise advise while smoking pot with AO. (lol) I’d be hard pressed to tell you exactly what AO and DNA are trying to accomplish, other than to keep one step ahead of the authorities they are convinced are coming after them. The two go from place to place without a clear plan, although at the end they do accomplish something pretty big, but it sort of comes out of nowhere. I really liked the way the author had AO go through some trials (she starts having extremely painful headaches and visions) so that she could emerge on the other side stronger than she was in the beginning of the story. The two also uncover a big secret that Ultimate Corp is hiding, and that realization plays a big part in how the story ends. It also enables Arab readers to add evaluation and review of books, create a virtual electronic library, communicate with readers and authors around the world, and Arabs in particular, and encourage users to read, write and author. As a fan of Nnedi Okorafor, I was very excited to get a chance to read her latest work of science-fiction, Noor. We meet AO, who goes by the initials of her given name as well as the moniker she’s adopted for herself, Artifical Organism, as she’s shopping in a Nigerian market. After a bloody run-in turns her into a target then a fugitive, AO flees her home for the desert in hopes of avoiding capture. There she meets a lone herdsman and his two cows, before deciding to embark into the Red Eye together.

Though there is a not-very-detailed but exceedingly corny sex scene, it reads like a YA novel and the protagonist comes across as a teenager instead of a young woman. (Excerpt from sex scene: "I slightly lengthened my legs, so that he could meet me with perfect sweetness". Really? "With perfect sweetness"???? 🤦‍♀️) That said, there were definitely elements I liked! This is set in a futuristic Nigeria and follows a woman named AO who was born severely disabled and has a lot of biotech components, for which she faces discrimination. It's worth noting that Okorafor is herself disabled which lends added weight to the way that experience is described. Anwuli Okwudili has always been made to feel like she doesn’t belong. In the eyes of society, there’s too much about her that’s machine-powered, and consequently, not organic. So when she retaliates against a group of men who assaulted her, she accidentally ends up killing them, giving the government the perfect reason to hunt her down.This sci-fi novel marks my foray into Afrofuturism, and I’m glad it is helmed by a character as adamant and outspoken as AO. One of the main reasons I was engrossed right from the get-go is how straightforward AO’s demeanour (and subsequently, her voice) is. AO develops some superhero forces enabling her to control devices and AIs. Suddenly, her flight doesn’t seem as hopeless as before. Haunting, yet not scary; harsh and blunt, yet not uneasy. This exceptional account of Sajida's diaspora through a series of events, both beautiful and tear inducing, makes the reader drive up the edge of the bed with astonishing revelations layer after layer.

Ibeh, Chukwuebuka (October 2, 2020). "We Have More News on Nnedi Okorafor's New Novel Titled Noor". Brittle Paper . Retrieved February 27, 2022.I have mixed feelings about Noor. I loved the world-building to bits! Okorafor did such a fantastic job developing everything about AO's augmentations and how they worked as well as the presence Ultimate Corp throughout and their influence over everything and everyone. The social commentary regarding that was excellent and I loved how it was done and all of the twists exposing who they really were and what they were capable of. The story building was seamless. The details here and there would form a grin on my face. Like, the seven up bottles, S-i-n-g-e-r sewing machine (it is still printed like this today!), ordinary life of a Pakistani family, of a Pakistani woman- all these are crafted with accuracy you wouldn’t find much in English books. You can almost picture the household, hear the Urdu words falling from their mouths. And the accurate details of then East Pakistan and now Bangladesh left wider grins on my face. Okorafor has a gift for inner dialogue; her protagonist’s reaction to herself and her environment inspires the reader’s sense of being there.