Binti: The Complete Trilogy Hardcover – February 5, 2019

I've had this series on my reading pile for ages and finally started it. Yet another one where I am chagrined that I put it off since Binti was a sensational start to a series.~~~~Binti~~~~The far future of space travel, aliens, and a main character who courageously bucks her family and tribal traditions to reach for her dreams attending university on a distant alien world was a lush and colorful backdrop. And, then the action came with an alien attack, a mysterious artifact plays in, and the courageous heroine, Binti really shows what she is made of.The author wrote a complex character who is vulnerable, particularly since she is the only Himba away from her village and draws sneers from a more outgoing tribe and suspicions from aliens for her foreign ways and, an unprecedented experience (not-spoilering with too much about this). Binti was easy to get behind and cheer on and understand what she was experiencing the way the author wrote her.When the novella ended, it was in a good place to set up for the next book in the trilogy. I also read the side short story "Sacred Fire" that takes place between Binti and Home for an interesting side adventure for Binti and other characters introduced in the first book.~~~~Home~~~~After the events in Binti and the short interlude of Sacred Fire, I was glad to return to the fabulous sci-fi fantasy world Nnedi Okorafor created.Binti is still studying at the university and mixing among aliens and some humans. Her friends are few and include a dreaded Meduse part of the race who she acted for and ended up receiving some of their DNA. Her efforts with her harmonizing gift and mathematics skills are showing promise, but she still feels off. It is time to return home to earth, to her Himba tribe, to her family roots and hopefully find herself. Okwu the Meduse goes with her as the first Meduse peacefully on earth. Naturally, home is complicated and way far more than she imagined.Binti is introspective, unsure, but also determined to find her way. She is at a crisis point of trying to hold onto pleasing family and tribal tradition with also reaching for the bigger world she feels is her destiny. I ached for her struggles and wanted to bop all those who just piled more guilt and grief on her.The mysterious meeting in the desert and some answers led to more questions. Unlike Binti, Home ends on a big cliffhanger. I need Night Masquerade right now. Can't wait to see what comes next and I wholeheartedly recommend this series.~~~~The Night Masquerade~~~~This is a trilogy that must be read in order and should be treated like a three-part story.Binti is Himba tribe from far future Africa. The Himba was isolationist, traditional, and rooted. Binti respects all this, but she is a person who needed more. Her journey to university brings her first encounter with change and turmoil that leaves her different and further experiences when she returns home and spends time with the desert tribe changes her more. The Night Masquerade calls on her to set aside her personal crisis as she is changing rapidly to try to broker a peace between two warring races.The Night Masquerade dug deep into the emotions of Binti and me, the reader. I felt her struggle and distress over as she is tossed into a maelstrom of change and how it is changing her forever. Okwu her Meduse friend and Mwindi the desert tribesman seem to be the only ones who stand by her when family and tribe are scornful and shocked and then blame for what comes because Binti is a catalyst for many others. I was overwhelmed by my emotions at one point because the author wrote poignantly and drew the reader in deeply.As to the worldbuilding, it was already amazing, but I was enchanted by the blend of mysticism, legend, and sci-fi.All in all this was an amazing third and final leg in the story. I can't recommend the series enough. Sci-Fi lovers should definitely give this unique story full of diversity, alien contact, and coming of age a go.

Binti is a young girl of the Himba people. She's got an ability to harmonize things and with it an innate sense for maths. Despite her young age, she's already a Master Harmonizer and destined to take over her father's business. Binti, however, wants more. She sets out on an adventure which will take her to a university on a distant planet and back. During this time she grows both as a person and becomes so much more than she could ever have dreamed of.To me this was a vivid tale of coming to age, as well an adventure set in the future. Even though Binti herself is peaceful, her surroundings are not always so. It was also nice to get a glimpse into a culture that is far from what I'm used to.

Binti: The Complete Trilogy is a compilation of three young-adult science fiction novellas centered around Binti, a teenager torn between upholding the traditions of her family and African tribe and wanting to learn more about the universe around her. Her family is well-known and respected in her tribe for their astrolabes- a device that serves both as a translator and navigation tool. Binti is one of the best crafters of astrolabes in her family and people from all over come to buy them due to their quality. Yet wanting more, she applies to prestigious Oozma University, a university on another planet that accepts beings from all over the cosmos so long as they show exceptional aptitude. She is accepted due to her prodigious mathematical ability and leaves for the university despite the umbrage she receives from her tribe and family. She departs on a living spaceship for the University. But on the way, the ship is attacked by an alien race known as the Meduse, a warrior race of jellyfish-like beings who believe in honor. Binti watches as the Meduse kills almost everyone except for her. The story focuses on Binti's attempts to mediate peace between the Meduse and Khoush--another African tribe that looks down on the tribe Binti is from due to their customs--while also trying to fit in and keeping a hold of her identity. What I really enjoyed about the story is the interplay of science fictional tropes and African mythology. Nnedi Okorafor, the author, is Nigerian-American and you feel the pride and love she has for Africa. All of the tribes within the story are portrayed in a respectful manner, showing how their history informs their beliefs. Binti's tribe,the Himba, for example are very introspective and feel a deep connection to the desert land they inhabit. So much so that the women of the tribe create a mixture from the desert clay and several plant extracts called ootize that the women use to cover themselves. And while in less deft hands this would be just interesting details, the ootize becomes a symbol of Binti's struggle between tradition and progress. It is because of the ootize that she is able to broker peace between the Meduse and Khoush. And yet she feels naked without it and is very self-conscious when it thins on her body. She feels isolated from her tribe and family, since leaving the Himbalands is considered an unclean act. And there is tension between her, her family, and her tribe when she reconnects. Furthermore, when she begins to have PTSD-induced panic attacks, she finds comfort in the desert of the planet where the university is built. Thus, the various cultures of the tribes is not just window-dressing but a way of understanding character motivation. And there is no character more deserving of understanding in the story than Binti. Binti is a wonderfully complex character. She is born with an innate ability to tree, to go into a mathematical-induced trance. In this trance, she becomes calm and focused. Due to this ability and her ability to craft astrolabes, she is considered a 'master harmonizer' by her family and tribe. Able to understand see all aides of a conflict, a master harmonize is meant to inspire peace. Yet Binti inner psyche is anything but. As mentioned briefly, she is torn between family tradition and wanting to learn about the universe. She worries that her tribe considers her unclean, tainted due to leaving her lands. That she has lost her identity. This fear is amplified as Binti, in an attempt to gain trust of the Meduse in order to serve as an ambassador, is painfully infused with Meduse DNA without her consent. This turns her plaited hair into translucent blue tentacles similar to the Meduse and is connected to the Meduse hive mind. And as we watch the story unfold from her perspective, we see how conflicted her emotions become as one of her few friends at the university is one of the very Meduse that was present on the ship. She feels torn between wanting to be a unifier, to feeling rage against what has happened to her and her classmates. And it forces her to question her identity. Especially as her transformations leave her feeling isolated from everyone around her. All in all, Binti: The Complete Trilogy was a great read. Really enjoyed it.

I was disappointed with this read. I had read some really great reviews about it and was looking forward to disappearing into this unique world. It took me quite a few days to read when normally I would zip through something like this in a single sitting. My problem was I kept loosing interest in it. It grabbed my attention, then it got boring and lagged, then it grabbed my attention again, but once again lagged. It did that through the whole trilogy for me. Other people may feel differently, but it was a very up and down read for my taste. I'm not sure what it was, but I think it had something to do with a lot of info dumping for world building. I felt that sometimes things were just a little OTT and distracted from the story. The cover is awesome though. Overall, I enjoyed a fair chunk of the read, just not as much as I thought I would based on the blurb and reviews.

I bought this book on the basis of online recommendations. I was hoping for a mature, complex, novel but instead ended up with a book better suited for young adolescents. Weak plot lines and gossamer thin character development result in a lightweight and disappointing read.

not a bad read. a bit repetitive about the hair etc but still a good read

The protagonist is a 17 year old girl from the Himba tribe in Namibia, who is the first person from her tribe to ever get a place at the Oomza university on a far away planet. On her way to the university her ship gets attacked by the Meduse, and she only survives because of her edan - an ancient civilisation's artefact she found years ago, and whose purpose is still unknown.But she is forever changed ...This year I've been trying to read books from a more diverse list of authors - non-European/non-White, queer, disabled, etc. - and Nnedi Okorafor was recommended to me more than once. I can see why now. I really enjoyed reading this book; it's a different perspective; I've learned new things about African tribal cultures; and it covers themes like belonging, tradition and identity. It's also incredibly refreshing to read a science-fiction book with a protagonist steeped in a completely different cultural tradition. Finished it yesterday; two more books of the same author are already on the way.

Beautiful story, unfolding over four acts. Binti starts her journey witnessing a tragedy, which will always haunt her and which at the same time also physically changed her. She loses friends and finds new unexpected ones, and when she finally goes back home, with the hope of embracing her family again and possibly bringing peace among old enemies, she's not as welcome as she had hoped. But she finds out about another part of her family and she is again physically changed as well as intellectually and emotionally touched in discovering truths she'd never known of. Her world, her identity are once again hugely expanded. She's learned to accept changes and growth less reluctantly by now. And then her world see to end, crushed and burned in the fire of hate and prejudice. It's a heartbreaking part of the story. Tragedies upon tragedies. But there's hope and new life growing from the roots of ancient trees, deep down on her ancestors' land and far away up in deep space. The unthinkable happens, yet another new self rises from the ruins, soon ready for new fantastic adventures, and the story ends on a hopeful, serene note. I loved this trilogy so much, I loved reading about Binti, I was crushed at her sufferings and incredibly delighted to see her story take a final happier turn. All the characters around her are so alive and amazing too, unforgettable and as fascinating as the events they take part in or that evolve around them.