In Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor, you follow a magical journey that you can’t even remotely control. Is there anyone who can?
Location: set in Ghana
Remote Control synopsis
“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?
Book review
I will always read books by Nnedi Okorafor because I know I can expect a fast-paced, well-written, and fantasy-rich story. The setting of her stories and her narrative voice are unique. The premise of the books always intrigues me and I usually find the stories entertaining. Yet I also know that I will be less than satisfied with the plot, even though I enjoyed the journey leading up to it.
And that’s exactly how I felt when I finished this novella. It starts out as a magical folk tale with some modern technology added to it. A girl’s life suddenly changes when she gets her green light. You follow Sankofa on her journey through Ghana as she searches for answers. She doesn’t understand what is happening to her and neither do we. So far so good.
Then – as in the Binti books – the story takes on a new identity. It goes from magical/fantasy to a more modern story with some artificial intelligence, robots, and corporations. I’m not sure which identity it ended with. I feel like I’m missing out on the conclusion of the first theme because the answer to the question of what is going on in the world is suggested to be in the sci-fi corner. This makes the story feel refreshing but not very satisfying.
Every time Sankofa changes her path, there is suddenly a lot of progress, and then the story slows down again. Because this is such a short story, many elements and plot lines are not very detailed. For example, I was only reminded of her role as her Angel of Death when re-reading the synopsis.
Is Remote Control a good or a bad novella? I don’t know. It is entertaining and rich with interesting concepts and cultural aspects. Yet it feels incomplete. The title Remote Control points to the most interesting element of the story: what is the extent of remote control and who is in control? I like that the concept can be applied to both humans and robots. The last few chapters hint at the answer to our questions, but the journey doesn’t take us that far.
Interested?
Get your copy of Remote Control from Amazon.
Book details
Title: Remote Control
Author: Nnedi Okorafor
Publisher: Tor.com
Pages: 160
ISBN (13): 9781250772800
Publication date: 19 January 2021
About the author
Nnedi Okorafor is a Nigerian-American author of Africanfuturism and Africanjujuism for children and adults.
