Binti: The Night Masquerade: The Night Masquerade (Binti, #2)

by Nnedi Okorafor

Winner of the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award for Best Novella! Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs. Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti's stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach. If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself but first she has to make it there, alive. PRAISE FOR BINTI "Binti is a supreme read about a sexy, edgy Afropolitan in space! It's a wondrous combination of extra-terrestrial adventure and age-old African diplomacy. Unforgettable!" Wanuri Kahiu, award-winning Kenyan film director of Punzi and From a Whisper "

• ISBN10: 0765393131
• ISBN13: 9780765393135
• Publish Date: 16 January 2018 (first published 22 September 2015)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 31 May 2024
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Tor Books
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 240
• Language: English

Reviews

[nannah]

Ah, unfortunately The Night Masquerade is my least favorite of the trilogy, but I still love Binti and am very glad to have gone on this journey with her.

Representation:
- the MC and her family are Himba, indigenous people from parts of Namibia & Angola
- a love interest and some secondary characters are nomadic people described as “old old Africans”

Binti has discovered the Khoush are attacking her family and Okwu, so Mwinyi helps her rush back home. But finding harmony between the Khoush and the Meduse may be more difficult than she imagined, and in the attempt much of what she loves may be destroyed.

Binti’s story is an amazing journey with so much packed into its small size. I honestly can’t believe all that’s discussed: cultural identity, colonialism, prejudice and intolerance, the concept of otherness, among others. That’s a lot for three novellas! There’s definitely a reason why they’re as popular as they are.

So why was this my least favorite novella in the trilogy? I don’t actually mind the mystery behind the edan being what it was, I don’t mind that so many concepts weren’t actually explained or fleshed out (how DOES Binti’s otjize heal the Meduse, anyway?), and I don’t mind -- after some contemplation -- that Binti’s character seemed to regress in maturity. After all, she physically and mentally bonded with New Fish, who was very young.

I think one reason it failed to captivate me as much was that consequences didn’t seem to stick as they have previously. For example, people came back to life (multiple times!). The story also had to kind of double back on itself to reason its way out of plot holes and sticky situations -- in a “but wait! actually it was okay, because [enter entirely new magical thing or concept] sort of way.

But this isn’t huge. I really love these novellas, and every one of Nnedi Okorafor’s stories that I read makes me just that much more eager for her next one.

A mostly satisfying ending to a very unique and delightfully short trilogy. Had some unexpected surprises, which is always nice.

[cornerfolds]

Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!

Review to come!

[leahrosereads]

Brilliant writing, setting, and characters. I loved Binti's intelligence, sense of self, and her love of family and tradition, all while having a need to explore a future for herself.

Like most novellas, I wish this was longer. But, I have two more books to immerse myself into this story and world.

[adamfortuna]

This short story packs a bunch of original ideas into a familiar narrative - girl going off to school. The school, however, is on another planet and consists of diverse beings, and the route there is interrupted in ways I didn’t see coming. I love the idea that this short story sets up a longer series - one I plan to check out.

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of Binti: Home in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Home is the second novella in the Binti trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor. It takes place about a year after the events in Binti. That means it’s been a year since Binti resolved the war between two races. A year since she arrived on another planet. A year since she started class at Oozma University. A year since she’s been home.
There’s a short story in between the first novella and the second, called The Sacred Fire that I would absolutely look into.



This was a beautifully written novella. Binti was so lost and confused – as many in her position would be. She’s had to learn to be herself thousands of miles from home, having lost the support structure she grew up with. She knows she turned against her culture in some ways, while desperately clinging to what she has left.
If that wasn’t enough, she also has the trauma of what she went through to get here, and the physical changes brought onto her because of her proximity to it all. So, of course, Binti is lost and confused. It makes perfect sense.
Binti’s search for finding peace within and for herself was beautifully written. She has so much to balance in her life, and while some of it may seem to surreal to put ourselves in her shoes, many other elements feel so familiar that it aches.
The revelations about Binti’s culture and her family was fascinating. It explains so much about her character; who she is and why she has made some of the choices in her past. It put an interesting light on the whole situation.
I’m very much looking forward to reading the third novella in the series, The Night Masquerade. I have a lot of questions that still need answers, and I’m counting on the final novella for all of that.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[lisacee]

Such a short book, but a beautiful and moving one. I can't wait to read the next one.

[Mercy]

3.5

[celinenyx]

There is a lot I like about Binti. The titular main character is the first of her people to go to a prestigious intergalactic university, knowing that she might never be able to return. Her space journey takes a twist when the murderous Meduse board the ship.

Binti is imaginative, and I thought the main character and her backstory were interesting. My only issue with Binti is sadly such a major one, that it impeded my enjoyment on of the story as a whole. The writing is curt, to the point that I felt it almost impossible to imagine any of the scenes described in the novella. With science-fiction, I need more than the occasional pointer. I can't fathom all sorts of devices - which are crucial to the plot - when the descriptions are so sparse. Comparatively, there is no emotional impact when bad things happen, because there has been too little precedence. We are told that Binti cares about a character, but they are never shown to have an actual interaction.

I'm sad that the other Binti stories are novellas as well. For me the story would have worked better if it had been fleshed out more.

[luddite]

This is essentially an origin story spread across 3 novellas - or one novel, if you look at it my way. And it's such a good arc from an origin story perspective. one which gets a good end in this book. Deals with chaotic beginnings, a vast universe, and a learn-as-you-go approach to universe dynamics by employing a personal lens to keep the story grounded.

Fun read.