Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor

"She's the adopted daughter of the Angel of Death. Beware of her. Mind her. Death guards her like one of its own."

The day Fatima forgot her name, Death paid a visit. From hereon in she would be known as Sankofa----a name that meant nothing to anyone but her, the only tie to her family and her past.

Her touch is death, and with a glance a town can fall. And she walks--alone, except for her fox companion--searching for the object that came from the sky and gave itself to her when the meteors fell and when she was yet unchanged; searching for answers.

But is there a greater purpose for Sankofa, now that Death is her constant companion?

Everywhere Sankofo goes, death follows. She grew up like any other little girl, although she was rather sickly. She loved playing outside, being told stories about the stars, and sitting on her tree. Her name used to be Fatima but she forgot it when she lost everything. Now she is Sankofo. Her touch brings death. She journeys to find what is hers with her fox companion. To remember who she is and take back what was lost.

I think the less you know about Remote Control the better. This is an Africanfuturism and Africanjujuism novela. Basically, they are both subcategories of science fiction and fantasy centered in African culture, respectfully. You get a lot with a book under 200 pages. You get a journey of grief, resolve, love, pain, and hate. I loved the ambiguity of the story and the ending as well. You didn't really know what was happening with Sankofo and where Okorafor was going to take her character. This may be a drawback with others. 

Surprisingly, the topic of big tech corporations and AI robots was brought up in a fascinating way. The interwoven nature of fantasy and sci-fi elements was nice to read about especially with the African landscape. I loved the way Okorafor described the world, characters, and journey Sankofo took. I loved the slow and steady pace of this novella. The style of writing was pure perfection. I'll definitely have to read more from this author in the future. Highly recommend!

Have you read anything by Nnedi Okorafor?