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Who Fears Death Kindle Edition

by Nnedi Okorafor (Author)

232 customer reviews

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Now optioned as a TV series for HBO, with executive producer George R. R. Martin!

An award-winning literary author enters the world of magical realism with her World Fantasy Award-winning novel of a remarkable woman in post-apocalyptic Africa.

In a post-apocalyptic Africa, the world has changed in many ways; yet in one region genocide between tribes still bloodies the land. A woman who has survived the annihilation of her village and a terrible rape by an enemy general wanders into the desert, hoping to die. Instead, she gives birth to an angry baby girl with hair and skin the color of sand. Gripped by the certainty that her daughter is different—special—she names her Onyesonwu, which means "Who fears death?" in an ancient language.

It doesn't take long for Onye to understand that she is physically and socially marked by the circumstances of her conception. She is Ewu—a child of rape who is expected to live a life of violence, a half-breed rejected by her community. But Onye is not the average Ewu. Even as a child, she manifests the beginnings of a remarkable and unique magic. As she grows, so do her abilities, and during an inadvertent visit to the spirit realm, she learns something terrifying: someone powerful is trying to kill her.

Desperate to elude her would-be murderer and to understand her own nature, she embarks on a journey in which she grapples with nature, tradition, history, true love, and the spiritual mysteries of her culture, and ultimately learns why she was given the name she bears: Who Fears Death.

Length: 396 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled	Audible book: Audible book Switch back and forth between reading the Kindle book and listening to the Audible book with Whispersync for Voice. Add the Audible book for a reduced price of $7.90 when you buy the Kindle book. Available

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Product details

File Size: 1164 KB
Print Length: 396 pages
Publisher: DAW; Reprint edition (June 7, 2011)
Publication Date: June 7, 2011
Language: English
ASIN: B004XFYIE2
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

X-Ray:

Enabled

Word Wise: Enabled
Lending: Not Enabled
Screen Reader: Supported

Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,390 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #13 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > African
- #28 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > African
- #66 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Fantasy

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Arlene A.

I personally liked The Book of Phoenix and thought that it was ...

January 10, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This is the 1st book in the Who Fears Death series and this one was a hard read. And hard to read in the fact of all the violence against women that takes place in this book. I mean really. Onyesonwu, our heroine, and her friends are set on this crazy life-threatening journey to save their people. This book reminds me so much of the Akata Witch series by Dr. Okorafor but way more ADULT. Sex, female circumcision, rape, the children of rape, it's all in here. So readers beware. I personally liked The Book of Phoenix and thought that it was the better of the two books.

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Christina Wodtke

Do not miss the ending!

December 29, 2017

Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase

Despite the difficult subject matter, I was left inspired and renewed by reading this book. It is a page turner full of wonder and surprise. It is one of the best fantasy novels I've ever read (and I read everything!) But I'm leaving this review mostly to warn you: I was reading on the kindle and the review page come up before the book is finished! If you don't read on after the "rate this book" sign pops up, you will miss the satisfaction of the mysterious and magical afterword. DO NOT MISS IT!

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Writertime

a great combination. Without spoiling some of the later events

July 4, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Top-notch world-building, intriguing magic system. Pacing felt uneven at times, but not enough to disrupt my reading overall. The ending might frustrate some readers, but it's a neat structural choice.

Our main character is strong and flawed, a great combination. Without spoiling some of the later events, I do wish the narrative had interrogated some of her choices a bit more in light of her expressed beliefs and values, particularly regarding rape, consent, and body autonomy.

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An avid reader

A Plausible Parable

August 2, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I love stories and was excited to learn that Nnedi Okorafor loves both reading and writing them. On the strength of my read of "Binti," I tackled "Who Fears Death" as a leap of faith that I can acknowledge now as worthy of my time. My reluctance to read the jacket matter or the reviews paid off more than I'd imagined, as did my habit of allowing the writer to tell their story; my actions couldn't have been a better decision. My recommendation: Read the title page and the copyright page. Then start with Chapter 1 and finish the book. Finally, read the afterword. Next!

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Rajiv M

Beautiful, Fierce, Heartbreaking Fantasy

November 14, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

It was a joy to read my first fantasy novel that broke with the medieval European trappings and unfolded in post-technological, magical Sudan. There are difficult, brutal issues that reflect today's world, and the heroine, Onyesonwu, is an unforgettable force of nature. The usual fantasy tropes are present -- sins of the father, magical apprenticeship, a grand destiny, prophecies fulfilled in unexpected ways -- but they're given new clothes and orthogonal turns, making this book feel both recognizable and new. The ending was mysterious, a bit too much so, for my tastes. I would have loved to have understood more about how the Great Book shaped the world or was shaped by it -- I didn't have a good sense that Onyesonwu had figured out the solution, or if fate was just carrying her along.

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Daniel Hansen

more of this in my life

January 18, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

You gotta read this. Pow right in the kisser. It hooks you by the mouth and drags you through choppy waters. You struggle and pull, but this book yanks you into the net. By the end you are flopping in the bottom of the boat gasping for air and waiting to be super.

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Daisha

It was so good that I ended up sunburnt from being so absorbed ...

December 13, 2017

Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase

I bought this book to read on a camping trip. It was so good that I ended up sunburnt from being so absorbed in the story all day, then stayed up way too late reading by headlamp while the campfire died down at night and everyone else went to sleep. I couldn't put this book down. It's well-written and imaginative with strong characters and a riveting story. The best thing about it, though, is that it's an all-hope-is-lost underdog kind of story that deals with lots of trauma and brokenness, but it is also completely hopeful because of the way the author empowers the characters. This is a powerful and wise book.

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Y.I. Washington

Amazing Storytelling

December 20, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys fantasy from a different perspective, time and place. I can only hope that if it does make it to the big or little screen, that they do it justice.

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Most recent customer reviews

Amazon Customer

The plot is fun but the characters aren't as well developed as I'd ...

The plot is fun but the characters aren't as well developed as I'd like.
My copy came with a 32-page chunk missing - and instead replaced by a previous 32-page chunk from the...Read more

Published 6 hours ago

Barbara

Travel to a place I'll never go

From the very beginning i was in the desert with our characters. Sorcerers, apprentices, and shape shifting.
My new favorite author, competes with the best.

Published 15 days ago

Auda

Amazing!

This book took me a second to get into because I bought the audio CD first and the woman's feigned accent was horrible.Read more

Published 22 days ago

Amazon Customer

Who Fears Great Story.

I couldn't stop reading after I picked it up. This is such a rich tapestry of courage, myth, allegory and metaphor. I long to see the pending television series.

Published 1 month ago

Anton Cancre

I never knew how much I needed this until I read it.

This book just plain killed me. Insightful, gorgeously written, emotionally devastating. Sci-fi, without boggoing down the story in tech.Read more

Published 1 month ago

Karen Henson Jones

AMAZING book.

This is the best book I've ever read in my life. Easy to read, unexpected, beautiful and relevant. It's a masterpiece.

Published 2 months ago

C. E. Dunkley

And it is the story of love, and friendship

Who Fears Death is the story of an Africa far in the future, in a post nuclear apocalyptic landscape.Read more

Published 2 months ago

Brad G.

Captivating for the entire journey

Great setting, interesting characters, amazing fantasy / sci fi world. I Loved this story. Can't wait to read the prequel.

Published 2 months ago

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