Binti
Ratings97
Average rating3.9
Contains spoilers
This was alright - I definitely kept picking it up and wanting to read it and I finished it pretty quickly (I mean it’s under a hundred pages long so how could you not). Now that I’ve finished it though I feel a little underwhelmed.
It was interesting but felt a little simple. I feel like the resolutions were rushed and too easy. The inciting incident was exciting but then everyone holds hands and makes nice.
I also wanted more things explained. I don’t care at all about math so I truly did not want more math, but they kept saying that they were using math and equations to do things but that tells me nothing. I don’t care to understand the math itself but I’d like to understand how it was being used to accomplish anything.
Not entirely sure if I’ll continue the series. It’s short and an easy read so maybe I will but I don’t currently feel compelled to do so.
It started out so good - Namibian girl! her hair smeared with clay! going to a space university! - and then it turned into how to get away with mass murder. A shame, really.
I LOVED the beginning of this but ended up finding the actual story a little underwhelming by the time I reached the end. However, Binti is a wonderful character with lots of courage, tenacity, and heart, and I would be interested in reading more about her since she was easily my favorite part of the book!
Full Review: http://www.fantasybookcafe.com/2016/07/mini-review-binti-by-nnedi-okorafor/
Where other authors can barely eke out a strong plot in 400+ pages, Okorafor manages to ace world-building, an alien species, and a character-driven plot in a mere 89 pages. I loved the main character in this book and can't wait to pick up the next Binti novella!
Contains spoilers
it’s a pretty good but but id only say okay. The beginning was a really good build up and I always love a good alien + human becoming friends story, but it kinda went too quickly for me? But this was my first novella so maybe I’m just not a novella person.
Too much happening for a novella, and serious middle-book syndrome. Still, I like the world-building and the protagonist.
What an interesting story. Can't wait to read the rest of this series.
Was nice to get out of my comfort zone a bit character wise.
What a wonderful little book. Had me captivated from start to finish. Binti was such a wonderful character and the story was so engaging. Highly recommended.
I tend to like beginnings. When I read Binti I didn't feel it needed a sequel. So, for a long time I postponed reading the sequels, because I worried that that feeling would make me not appreciate it.
In the end I did like it. I still prefer the first novella, but this was good too.
This year I decided that one of my goals would be to try some sci-fi. This one is pretty short so I thought it would be a great place to start.
Binti is human. Her people are the Himbu. She has never been to another planet. She has never even been away from home. All that is about to change.
Binti has been accepted at Oomza University. It is the most prestigious school in the galaxy. She will be the first of her people to go there.
What should be a simple trip to a school in another galaxy quickly becomes so much more.
I listened to this one and I thought it was great. I loved the story, Binti, and the brief glimpse of the other races left me wanting more. I also loved the way it ended. I have to read the next one with an ending like that!
I loved the narrator too!
A brilliant, highly original sci-fi novella.
A beautiful story that examines and celebrates both what makes us unique and what makes us the same . This is a very short story but t packs some brilliant punches!
Hmm. An odd one; a 4 star beginning with a 2 star ending. The world-building in the first third of the book is very good, basing itself on a largely unfamiliar culture and managing to integrate this into a futuristic setting well. Once the story moves out into the universe however, the wheels come off rapidly.
The first clue that something unsatisfactory is happening is when an entire swath of characters and experiences are skimmed over in what feels like a paragraph. Granted, they are soon after all killed off, but this does give the impression that the author is not really interested in building relationships, or, indeed, padding out the plot with anything that doesn't directly relate to the milestones.
From this point on, the plot doesn't so much have holes, as gaping chasms. The behaviour of the characters bears no resemblance to real-life in any shape or form, unless you are incredibly naïve. The fact that a horrific terrorist event has no negative consequences whatsoever is unbelievable to the extreme. Just because something is YA, but this doesn't mean that events needs to be that unrealistic.
So, in word: disappointing.
For my first experience in Science Fiction, I really enjoyed this read. It was very easy to follow for the most part. It did take a little getting use to the technology and mathematical aspect but I still really enjoyed it. I can't wait to read the next two.
Worthy successor to the first novella, this further development of Binti and her relationship to her family and culture is a welcome read, with several surprises discovered along the way! Looking forward to the third volume in this series!
I found this novella to have a slow start, but was engrossed in the last half. A must read sci-fi series, I've already gone to the next book.
3.5 Stars
I had been expecting, from the blurb, for this to take place at Oomza University but it's mostly focused on Binti's journey to get there, which is eventful and historically important in this universe. Some of the elements felt a little convenient and deus ex machina-esque, which I can forgive as it's only a 96 page novella and going into great detail about the source and significance of some of those elements would take time.
The obvious racism Binti faces is something that we can see around us now, on our Earth, in our time, and for that I feel it's an important read to experience some of the micro-aggressions as Binti does.
It only took me a couple of hours to read and it is well worth the effort. I'll definitely continue the series as Nnedi Okorafor has managed to make Binti a character to invest in despite the short form of the story.