Paperback, 94 pages
Published Sept. 22, 2015 by Tor.com.
Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs.
Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti’s stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach.
If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, …
Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs.
Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti’s stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach.
If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself — but first she has to make it there, alive.
Es casi más un cuento largo que una pequeña novela, pero me gusta la imaginación puesta al servicio de unos pocos recursos bien usados. No sé si la autora o yo no manejamos bien el tema de la culpa y la violencia, porque matar a un montón de gente, pasa como desapercibido a fin de cuentas... O por ahí Binti odia mucho más de lo que es consciente a su opresor.
A friend on Bookstagram recommended this to me as I was wanting a good sci-fi book and she said this was one of her her favorites.
I agree. This was so well-written and interesting!
Definitely recommend to sci-fi lovers.
there were so many fresh ideas in this book and I really enjoyed Binti's perspective, and how the main "superpower" is understanding one another.
I wasn't a big fan of the "mathematical trance" thing, idk it felt weird. If it had just been meditation, it would have been more convincing for me.
In a lot of ways, I wish this was a more fleshed out novel. It's still great as a novella, but I wanted more.
I also did this with my high school creative writing class, and all of my students thought it was pretty good. A lot of my students got mad at me for not having them read the others, which I think is a good indicator of how enjoyable it is.
Too short, I would love to learn more about Binti's universe. On to book 2.
Binti is a short but profound story about a girl who leaves Earth to pursue an education at one of the most esteemed schools in the universe. Both a bildungsroman and sci-fi romp, there's a great deal of depth and tension to keep you invested all the way through.
If you enjoy science fiction, intergalactic travel, or Afrofuturist novels, you'll love this one.
At 16, Binti is the first of her people to leave the safety of home to study mathematics at the unparalleled Oomza University. When her transport ship is attacked and all her future classmates are killed, Binti alone stands between a war that would span the entire galaxy.
This short novella is sharp, poignant, and intense – with complex world building.
Short but sweet, a coming of age story about a girl from the desert who leaves to go to the Galactic university and finds herself confronting aliens of many kinds. A great wee parable about the importance of negotiation, de-escalation and the sharing of culture between peoples.
This was a cute and charming story about a Himba girl, first of her tribe to be accepted to a distant university due to her mathematical brilliance. She sneaks away from her family (who do not believe she should go) and travels to the university via space ship ... but the ship is attacked by the Meduse, a race of aliens who have been at war with humans (some humans? the university? It's a bit unclear who or why).
I enjoyed the unusual worldbuilding and the character of Binti very much, and would be interested to read more. However, there were elements that just seemed to make no sense at all. In particular, why on earth would the Meduse - whose technology seems to far surpass humanity's, and who can literally change the genetic structure of Binti with apparently no effort at all - why do they magically seem to …
This was a cute and charming story about a Himba girl, first of her tribe to be accepted to a distant university due to her mathematical brilliance. She sneaks away from her family (who do not believe she should go) and travels to the university via space ship ... but the ship is attacked by the Meduse, a race of aliens who have been at war with humans (some humans? the university? It's a bit unclear who or why).
I enjoyed the unusual worldbuilding and the character of Binti very much, and would be interested to read more. However, there were elements that just seemed to make no sense at all. In particular, why on earth would the Meduse - whose technology seems to far surpass humanity's, and who can literally change the genetic structure of Binti with apparently no effort at all - why do they magically seem to be healed by the mixture of clay and perfumed oil that Binti's people cover their bodies with? Why? This makes no sense at all, there can't be anything in clay and oil that they couldn't easily analyze and duplicate through science, unless it's some weird magic thing, which makes this not a science fiction story at all but pure fantasy, and that's not the way it's being presented. Also how is everyone at the university totally okay that they murder every student (every COMPLETELY INNOCENT student) on the entire ship except Binti, and all the university has to say is "oh, sorry we took your thing, come take it back and oh why don't you stay as an exchange student?) Like, that is not how people work. There could have been a lot more interesting reaction and politics or negotiation here, but instead it felt completely deus ex machina.
I'm still interested to read the sequels, because I really did like the worldbuilding and Bindi herself, but the utter lack of coherent logic was pretty annoying.
Binti is about restitution and amends, bravery and voyage, halting a cycle of violence and miscommunication...in space. The tech is described with the surety and shorthand of familiarity to say you don't need more, for Binti knows what she's doing.
The pacing was strange and dreamlike. I don't normally read novellas and this one felt far too short of an exploration for such a rich world as was hinted at in the text. Luckily for my satisfaction there are sequels which I will be exploring, as I have been intrigued and want to linger longer here. There is just enough explanation of technology as to be satisfying without being hard sci-fi. I'll have to see how the later books handle it before I can say whether this is due to the brevity of the text or if it's a stylistic choice that will persist in the series. Overall I liked …
I loved that this is a sci-fi/action novel in which the driving conflict is not resolved by force or technology, and I love the picture it paints of the interstellar-cosmopolitan university. I wanted more character development--a bit more of Binti ethnicity and excellence, but mainly a few other fleshed-out characters--but I'm also mindful of how short a book this is. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series and wonder if it will scratch that itch.
Amazing, original, unlike anything I've read before.
I loved that this is a sci-fi/action novel in which the driving conflict is not resolved by force or technology, and I love the picture it paints of the interstellar-cosmopolitan university. I wanted more character development--a bit more of Binti ethnicity and excellence, but mainly a few other fleshed-out characters--but I'm also mindful of how short a book this is. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series and wonder if it will scratch that itch.
I've been putting off reading this solely because it's a novella. They need to be written in a very specific way, otherwise they end up being not enough. I think that's ultimately what happens with Binti. The story is great, the ideas put forward are unique & interesting, and the writing is nuanced & engaging.
But then what? There are a number of really cool things to explore here, but instead you get precisely one line about them.
- Living ship, designed to have breathing bladders
- The concept of harmonisation
- The specifics of Himba culture
Are just a few pieces you'd want to know more about, but can't due to this format. Perhaps these things will be explored in the following two novellas - but there in lies my point. Why is this three novellas and not three parts to an actual story? If it's not self contained …
I've been putting off reading this solely because it's a novella. They need to be written in a very specific way, otherwise they end up being not enough. I think that's ultimately what happens with Binti. The story is great, the ideas put forward are unique & interesting, and the writing is nuanced & engaging.
But then what? There are a number of really cool things to explore here, but instead you get precisely one line about them.
- Living ship, designed to have breathing bladders
- The concept of harmonisation
- The specifics of Himba culture
Are just a few pieces you'd want to know more about, but can't due to this format. Perhaps these things will be explored in the following two novellas - but there in lies my point. Why is this three novellas and not three parts to an actual story? If it's not self contained it's not a novella.
Rtc
