Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor is a typical fantasy novel. It has all the required elements (child who has powers, master who refuses to train them and then relents, a prophecy and a journey). But she has turned it on it’s side. The book is a fantasy story told as an future African folktale. It’s a fantasy book for people who might not like fantasy books (and I do believe I’ve mentioned that I’m not a big fantasy fan previously). And Okorafor has done a wonderful job. So who fears death?

Onyesonwu is an ewu, a child born of violence and rape. It is believed that children born of violence bring violence with them and are hated and bullied. Onyesonwu and her mother came to a city after years of traveling through the desert in a future Africa because Onyesonwu was sick and needed a healer. They decided to stay and Onyesonwu found a husband for her mother. As Onyesonwu grows, she finds out that she has some magical powers that manifest themselves during the Eleventh Rite (a painful ceremony of womenhood for 11 year old girls). She tries to get the local sorcerer to train her, but he refuses because she is a woman. But she becomes friends with the socerer’s apprentice/helper Mwita (who is also believed to be an ewu, but actually comes from a loving relationship) and with his help, the socerer decides to train Onyesonwu.

The journey then begins as Onyesonwu, Mwita and 3 of Onyesonwu’s Eleventh Rite companions (and one of their boyfriends) go across the desert to confront the evil sorcerer who is destroying Africa and is also Onyesonwu’s father (and Mwita’s original master). Their journey takes them across the heart of Africa into contact with other sorcerers and they cities/tribes they protect. It is also a learning experience of violence with the Nuru enslaving and killing the Okeke. The Nuru are white skinned and the Okeke are dark skinned. A mating between them is usually from rape and a mixed race child is assumed to be an ewu.

The book is scattershot in its plotting as the characters jump from place to place and time to time without a lot of reason. But that is irrelevant. The characters and the location are the real reason to read this book. Okorafor has created a future Africa that is at times worse and better than present day Africa. And that is what she has captured in this book.  Onyesonwu is a fully realized character and we see the world through her ewu eyes. Being ewu and a sorcerer allows her the ultimate outsider status and we see the world as it is because our view is from outside the story. If you’re not sure you’d be interested, then check out the first 2 chapters online and prepare for a wonderful journey. Recommended.