Lagoon

Paperback

English language

Published by Hodder & Stoughton Ltd.

ISBN:
978-1-4447-6275-4
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
869786976

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3 stars (23 reviews)

When a massive object crashes into the ocean off the coast of Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous and legendary city, three people wandering along Bar Beach (Adaora, the marine biologist- Anthony, the rapper famous throughout Africa- Agu, the troubled soldier) find themselves running a race against time to save the country they love and the world itself… from itself.

Told from multiple points of view and crisscrossing narratives, combining everything from superhero comics to Nigerian mythology to tie together a story about a city consuming itself.

‘There was no time to flee. No time to turn. No time to shriek. And there was no pain. It was like being thrown into the stars.’

1 edition

Memorable characters

4 stars

I was first attracted to Lagoon on Audible by the dramatic cover art which incorporates a myriad of sea creatures into the title word. The book is expertly narrated by Adjoa Andoh and Ben Onwukwe who between them portray many Lagos residents, a smattering of aliens, and also several magical beings from Nigerian folklore. From her initial chapter, spoken as a swordfish who is vandalising an oil pipeline, Okorafor doesn't let up for a minute. The science fiction storyline of alien invasion is fairly standard, but her inventiveness and understanding of human nature makes Lagoon a cut above the norm. I could easily visualise each location from their detailed descriptions and would love for it to be possible to visit that beautiful underwater world!

There are some fabulously memorable characters populating this frightened yet vibrant Lagos. Father Oke is great and so true! I sympathised with poor overlooked Philo and …

Starts well, but then...

3 stars

Content warning Does reference some later chapters.

So much potential

2 stars

Content warning Whole book spoilers

Review of 'Lagoon' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Ich möchte inhaltlich nicht so viel sagen, nur dass man sich als Europäer darauf einstellen muss vieles nachzuschlagen. Es gibt zwar ein Glossar mit Erklärungen, aber etwas Wissen über die Mythologie wird vorausgesetzt. Daher öffnete dieses Buch mir ein paar kulturelle Türen, worüber ich froh bin.

Die Autorin springt relativ häufig in kurzen Kapiteln zwischen verschiedenen Figuren hin und her. Dadurch entsteht keine große Bindung zu den Figuren, allerdings wird einem somit Lagos näher gebracht.

Ansonsten: Spannende Sci-fi Story, mit etwas mehr Fokus auf Fiction und einer Stadt als Protagonistin.

Review of 'Lagoon' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

I really enjoyed this book. I'd call it a good alien fantasy book. It is a bit of a "Laimes lācis" story and it's that because it looks at the alien invasion only in a good light. Still, it's fun because it's full of small tales that surround the one big event. The Pidgin-English was a bit of a challenge for me at times, but other than that it's a light read.
("Bear of Luck" is a cartoon where a bear that comes out of the TV helps a lazy village clean itself up and the villagers somehow transform into hardworking ones by that.)

Review of 'Lagoon' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Three strangers on a beach; a marine biologist, a famous rapper and a soldier. Each has their own troubles but their world is about to change. A sonic boom hits the surface of the lagoon in Lagos and a wave swallows them up.

The narrative follows a collection of Nigerians in the wake of a life-changing event. Told mostly in third person, it occasionally veers into first person accounts from otherwise unknown characters. We hear the thoughts of the poorest to the most privileged, painting a picture of the political landscape against which first contact occurs. Let’s face it, there’s no reason why aliens would always pick America to announce themselves to. It’s refreshing to read science fiction interwoven with different cultures.

My favourite parts must be the few chapters told from the perspectives of some of Lagos’ creatures; a tarantula on a busy highway, a bat who is unfortunate …

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