Binti: The Night Masquerade is a science fiction novella written by Nnedi Okorafor. The novella was published in 2018 by Tor.com, and it is the final novella in the Binti trilogy that began with 2015's Binti and 2017's Binti: Home.[1] When the full collection Binti: The Complete Trilogy was published, Okorafor added another short story titled "Binti: Sacred Fire".
| Binti: The Night Masquerade | |
|---|---|
 First edition | |
| Author | Nnedi Okorafor |
| Audio read by | Robin Miles |
| Country | Nigeria |
| Language | English |
| Series | Binti Trilogy |
| Genre(s) | Science Fiction |
| Publisher | Tor.com |
| Pages | 208 |
| ISBN | 978-0-7653-9313-5 |
| Publication date | January 2018 |
| Preceded by | Binti: Home |
Plot
editBinti comes back home exploring her abilities as a harmonizer and must find a way to stop a war waged by the Khoush from destroying Okwu and his race of Meduse.
Reception
editThe Night Masquerade received a starred review from Booklist. It recommended reading Binti and Home first, but went on to praise Okorafor's "painterly imagery" to reach a satisfying ending to the trilogy.[2] In Locus, Liz Bourke called it an uplifting novella that was deeply compelling thanks to vivid and unadorned prose and strong pacing.[3] AudioFile also praised the vivid imagery as well as the resilience of the characters as performed in the audiobook, calling it unique and refreshing.[4]
On the other hand, reviewing the novella for NPR, Amal El-Mohtar had mixed feelings, saying "After loving Home as much as I did, I wanted more from this, more rigor, more thoughtfulness, more craft." She felt annoyed with the story at times as a casual reader, but from an academic perspective, she found the limits of narrative thought-provocative.[1] Publishers Weekly also had a mixed review with the "dizzying array" of incidents and inadequate foreshadowing, but ultimately felt the work was "vivid, funny, and memorable."[5]
It received nominations for Best Novella in 2018 from the Hugo Awards, the British Fantasy Awards, and the Nommo Awards.[6][7][8]
Series
editReferences
edit- ^ a b El-Mohtar, Amal (January 27, 2018). "Binti's Story Is Finished — But Don't Expect Completion". NPR. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
- ^ Austin, Tiffany (December 1, 2017). "Binti: The Night Masquerade, by Nnedi Okorafor". Booklist. American Library Association. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020.
- ^ Bourke, Liz (December 2017). "Liz Bourke Reviews Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor". Locus.
- ^ Budries, Kate (June 2018). "BINTI THE NIGHT MASQUERADE by Nnedi Okorafor Read by Robin Miles | Audiobook Review". AudioFile.
- ^ "Fiction Book Review: Binti: The Night Masquerade". Publishers Weekly. December 4, 2017.
- ^ "2019 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Awards. World Science Fiction Society. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
- ^ "2019 British Fantasy Awards Winners". Locus. October 20, 2019.
- ^ "Announcing the 2019 Nommo Award Winners". Tor.com. October 25, 2019.
- ^ Lapointe, Annette. "A book review by Annette Lapointe: Binti: The Complete Trilogy". New York Journal of Books. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
- ^ Jones, Tadiana; Capossere, Bill; Nyman, Jana (February 8, 2019). "BINTI: The Complete Trilogy: Diverse opinions for a story of diversity | Fantasy Literature: Fantasy and Science Fiction Book and Audiobook Reviews". fantasyliterature.com.
- ^ "Why You Need to Read: "Binti: The Complete Trilogy"". aquavenatus. February 6, 2019.
- ^ Eddy, Cheryl. "Read an Excerpt From Nnedi Okorafor's Sequel to Her Award-Winning Space Adventure, Binti". io9. Retrieved 2017-02-08.
External links
edit- Binti: The Night Masquerade title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database