Review: "Remote Control" by Nnedi Okorafor, 2021

Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"Remote Control" by  Nnedi Okorafor, 2021

A science-fiction Afrofuturism (or AfricanFuturism) novella follows a young girl in a near-future version of Ghana who has the power to "snuff" life and becomes the "Adopted Daughter of Death."

Though classified science-fiction, Remote Control is the kind of narrative that seamlessly blends various genres; a coming-of-age tale and, a road novel, a survival story with elements of fantasy. The novella explores solitude and grief, told through the eyes of Sankofa/Fatima, as she travels between Wulugu, Ghana, Lagos, and places in-between.

I can easily see this story adapted to a PG-13 Netflix-level superhero-type movie. The characters are interesting and likable enough for me to want to invest more of my time in this "universe" the author is building.  

I get a sense that "Americans" or "American corporations" are the baddies in this series (at least, I think this will be a series given the way things ended.)  Whenever Sankofa encounters someone with a (USA) American accent or objects of an American origin, something terrible happens in the story. Just a theory...

Coming in at about 156 (Kindle) pages, it's an easy-breezy read that you can consume in an afternoon. 

I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars.

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