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: 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.

It is always refreshing to read something new, and this is definitely new. The first thing that jars you is the thick African culture, and the very very interesting developments to the main character Binti.There is no hard science, because a lot of things seem like just magic (cue Arthur C. Clarke) without technical explanation of how it is possible. There are many weird and organic mashups and improbable situations. But all in all a fun and rollicking adventure.