Death of the Author

Hardcover, 448 pages

English language

Published Jan. 16, 2025 by Gollancz.

ISBN:: 978-1-3996-2295-0
ASIN:: B0CY8VCSNV
ISFDB ID:: 3394110
Goodreads:: 187735396

(1 review)

The future of storytelling is here.

Life has thrown Zelu some curveballs over the years, but when she's suddenly dropped from her university job and her latest novel is rejected, all in the middle of her sister's wedding, her life is upended. Disabled, unemployed and from a nosy, high-achieving, judgmental family, she's not sure what comes next.

In her hotel room that night, she takes the risk that will define her life - she decides to write a book VERY unlike her others. A science fiction drama about androids and AI after the extinction of humanity. And everything changes.

What follows is a tale of love and loss, fame and infamy, of extraordinary events in one world, and another. And as Zelu's life evolves, the lines between fiction and reality begin to blur.

Because sometimes a story really does have the power to reshape the world.

2 editions

Zivan reviewed Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor

Review of 'Death of the Author' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This Okorafor novel is set in the US with glimpses of contemporary and future Nigeria. It is rooted in Sci-Fi and technology, rather than her previous novels that are closer to fantasy and magic.

Zellu is an interesting disabled character; she is both vulnerable and oppressed and fiercely independent and privileged.

It is interesting to see the parallels between diasporas. Much of what defines Zellu and her family as Nigerian Americans could have been written about a Jewish family.

But the most important thing about Death of the Author is that it deals with humanity as a story telling species and addresses how this effects AI. However, it takes a very long time to get there.