SciFi/Fantasy Novella Review: Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor

I've had widely varied reactions to Nnedi Okorafor's works (of which I've read 3 Novels, 3 Novellas, and several short stories) - sometimes I've loved them, whereas sometimes I haven't felt they worked for me.  However, none of her works I've read have ever not been at least interesting (and none have been outright bad) in concept.

The Binti trilogy of Novellas exemplifies this for me.  I loved the original Binti, but felt the sequel (Binti: Home) didn't quite work for me anywhere near as much, but left me very interested in the conclusion of the story (it ending on a major cliffhanger may have had something to do with it).  Binti: The Night Masquerade went in a very different direction than I expected, but for the most part, fulfilled my expectations.  I still think the original Binti is the best of the trilogy, but this was a satisfying finale.

Note: Binti: The Night Masquerade is the finale to the trilogy, and is basically no longer a novella in length (it's a little over 200 pages - more than twice as long as the original novella) but I'm reviewing it as a "novella" due to the characterization of the rest of the series.


Quick Plot Summary:  At the end of Binti:Home, Binti had discovered and had awakened the powers of her true heritage....only to find that in the interim, the Khoush people had come into her people's land in order to hunt down and kill her friend Okwu, a member of the alien Meduse race that the Khoush hate.  As Binti rushes back to the scene, she soon finds that only she, with her multi-faceted heritage and blood, can possibly stop the conflict.  But can Binti truly save anyone else when she's still unsure who she herself - part Hinta, part Meduse, part Enyi Zinariya, among many other things - really is?  

This novella is oddly the second story in two weeks that I've read which takes a major swerve partway through to focus on the main character's attempt at self-realization amidst identity issues instead of the outside plot (the other being Impostor Syndrome).  I wasn't sure this one worked as well at first, but I actually do think it works here.*

*Spoiler in ROT13: Gur fgbel yrnirf gur sngr bs gur Zrqhfr-Xubhfu pbasyvpg haqrgrezvarq nsgre Ovagv snvyf gb fgbc gur pbasyvpg (nsgre fbzrbar gnxrf n fubg evtug nf gur gjb fvqrf ner nobhg gb pbzr gb n gehpr haqre Ovagv'f vasyhrapr) va beqre gb qrny jvgu Ovagv'f vffhrf bs vqragvgl.  V guvax vg qbrf jbex va gung vg jbhyqa'g or evtug ernyyl sbe Ovagv gb or noyr gb fgbc gur pbasyvpg fb rnfvyl naq vg'f n irel erny jnl sbe n gehpr gb oernx qbja. 

But again, I do think it works as Binti's journey of self discovery ends in a way that works for her, even if not the rest of the world.  Okorafor has a tweet describing this book as "Binti becomes Home" (after book 1 being "Binti leaves Home" and book 2 "Binti comes home") and that really sums it up more than anything.  Again, I think the first Binti novella works the best because it's the best combination of character work and plot, but this is a worthy conclusion well worth your time.