Nnedi Okorafor’s Like Thunder is set to release on November 28, 2023.
Many thanks to DAW for providing an ARC for review!
Picking up where Shadow Speaker left off, Nnedi Okorafor dives back into a post-apocalyptic, juju-infused Africa in Like Thunder.
Where Shadow Speaker promoted peace and prosperity, even on the brink of war, Like Thunder is fueled by rage: the product of an expired three-year treaty, slavery, and genocide. Perspectives shift in this harrowing Africanfuturist sequel, following the first person POV of Dikéogu Obidimkpa, a Rainmaker capable of bringing down lightning and manipulating the weather. Told through introspective and personal audio files, Like Thunder is immediately more engaging when compared to its predecessor, as it is, in many ways, an oral history of Dikéogu, Stormbringer.
I am a rainmaker, but mostly it rained on me.
– excerpt from Nnedi Okorafor’s Like Thunder
The peace treaty forged at the Golden Dawn has expired, and fear seeps into the narrative, real and raw and overwhelming. Our narrator is slowly losing himself, his sanity, and all that makes him whole, and it’s propulsive and captivating. In writing the history and experiences of Dikéogu, Okorafor excels at generating interest and emotion, starting from the beginning by offering up memories of Dikéogu’s enslavement – a horrific thing brought about by his own parents, too conservative to accept their Changed son for who he is or what he stands for. Instead, they’d rather get rid of him. Pretend he died. It doesn’t work, of course. Instead, it fuels Dikéogu with rage and hatred. He escaped the cocoa plantations, but his best friend didn’t. Hundreds of other children didn’t. He remembers every name. Every face. Every single child sold to profit the wealthy. He will never forget, and his journey begins with war on a personal front.
One doesn’t survive just by surviving.
– excerpt from Nnedi Okorafor’s Like Thunder
Teaming up with Jaa’s husband Gambo, an aejej, Dikéogu embarks on a mission to cut down every cocoa plantation – to put an end to child slave labor – while simultaneously receiving training on his latent magical ability. What better way to learn to control the storms (internal and external) than from a man intimately familiar with the whirlwind? Gambo was a storm who lost himself, one that returned to humanity with Jaa’s help, which makes him the perfect traveling companion for our rage fueled Rainmaker.
If you’re looking for concrete details on Dikéogu’s teachings, though, you may not find them. Unlike its predecessor, Like Thunder is not really a coming-of-age book. It is a book about profound loss. It is a book about tragedy. It is a book about man-made destruction and environmental collapse. It is a book about prejudice and conservatism. It is a book about genocide. It is equal parts harrowing and hopeful and mysterious, and it is full of important lessons: on love and loss, politics and warfare. Within these pages, Okorafor knows no bounds. She doesn’t sugarcoat anything. But she does leave room for change. For relationships. For moments of meaning and peace. We witness Dikéogu speak with gods, fall in love, unlock his full potential, hunt monsters, and commit murder. We witness him love and lose – both himself and others. We witness trauma, pure and simple. Okorafor weaves Dikéogu’s tale with magic and mysticism and enough tension to propel it forward indefinitely.
Can I trust you? I don’t think I can. I don’t think I can trust anyone anymore.
– excerpt from Nnedi Okorafor’s Like Thunder
Because Like Thunder is an oral history – and an emotional one at that – I don’t want to dive too heavily into the specifics of the plot. There are a lot of wonderful things contained within and Okorafor continues to prove herself as a vivid and imaginative craftsman when it comes to worldbuilding. When Dikéogu loses it all, only to find himself back in Kwámfá with Ejii about halfway through the novel, things unravel, just a bit. Pacing speeds up considerably, and the conclusion to this duology falls victim to the very same thing its predecessor did: things are wrapped up too quickly. The main villain continues to be nothing more than a vile, traditionalist fat man, even in a different body. The language surrounding women and queer relationships are sometimes questionable, though there are a handful of characters that can and do draw attention toward the problematic nature of words and assumptions. There is a hint of a potential polyamorous relationship, but it unravels before it can even begin. And, while the conclusion – and Dikéogu’s fate – are fascinating and frightening in equal measure, the resolution was a bit too quick for my tastes.
While I personally believe that Like Thunder could have benefitted from a bit more length to wrap up plot points with the same attention to detail given to character building, Okorafor pens a story that is compelling from beginning to end. It’s full of little criticisms and impactful statements on the world and its inhabitants. It’s fascinating in scope and scale, and it does incredible things that pair technology with African juju, all while making a strong political statement. Characters jump off the page in this delightful yet introspective Africanfuturist novel.
Best to know where you’ve been to know where you need to go.
– excerpt from Nnedi Okorafor’s Like Thunder
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