Like Thunder
The Desert Magician's Duology: Book Two
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4.8 • 13 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
This brand-new sequel to Nnedi Okorafor’s Shadow Speaker contains the powerful prose and compelling stories that have made Nnedi Okorafor a star of the literary science fiction and fantasy space and put her at the forefront of Africanfuturist fiction
"An epic collision of new tech and elemental magic—suspenseful, immersive, and chillingly relevant. Another stunning feat of imagination from Nnedi Okorafor." —Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House
Niger, West Africa, 2077
Welcome back. This second volume is a breathtaking story that sweeps across the sands of the Sahara, flies up to the peaks of the Aïr Mountains, cartwheels into a wild megacity—you get the idea.
I am the Desert Magician; I bring water where there is none.
This book begins with Dikéogu Obidimkpa slowly losing his mind. Yes, that boy who can bring rain just by thinking about it is having some…issues. Years ago, Dikéogu went on an epic journey to save Earth with the shadow speaker girl, Ejii Ubaid, who became his best friend. When it was all over, they went their separate ways, but now he’s learned their quest never really ended at all.
So Dikéogu, more powerful than ever, reunites with Ejii. He records this story as an audiofile, hoping it will help him keep his sanity or at least give him something to leave behind. Smart kid, but it won’t work—or will it?
I can tell you this: it won’t be like before. Our rainmaker and shadow speaker have changed. And after this, nothing will ever be the same again.
As they say, ‘Onye amaro ebe nmili si bido mabaya ama ama onye nyelu ya akwa oji welu ficha aru.’
Or, ‘If you do not remember where the rain started to beat you, you will not remember who gave you the towel with which to dry your body.’
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The impressive finale to Nebula Award winner Okorafor's Desert Magician's Duology (after Shadow Speaker) turns the focus from Ejii Ugabe, the girl who saved the world, to her mysterious companion, Dikéogu Obidimkpa.The story is presented as an audio file of his hazily pieced together memories, recorded to keep himself sane. After the event known as the Big Change, which altered the laws of physics and gave certain people (or Changed Ones) special powers, Dikéogu discovered he could control the weather. Upon learning he was Changed, his fearful parents sold him into slavery, though Dikéogu managed to escape. Years later, as part of a specialized team to take down child slavery on chocolate farms, Dikéogu kills his former slaver with a lightning strike. Eager to explore his rainmaker powers and seek further revenge, he separates from his team to seek out his parents. From there, he embarks on a fast-paced, violent journey through the sinister sides of post-Change Africa, trying to outrun ever-growing anti–Changed One sentiment. Dikéogu's perspective lends greater depth to Okorafor's apocalyptic Saharan world, offering a pessimistic counterpoint to the first novel's optimism. While this is less vibrant and more devastating than its predecessor, readers will be just as enthralled.
