Binti - Tor/Forge Blog

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“I plead the blood.”

Those were the last words seventeen-year-old golden boy quarterback Clay Tate heard rattling from his dad’s throat when he discovered him dying on the barn floor of the Neely cattle ranch, clutching a crucifix to his chest.

Now, on the first anniversary of the Midland, Oklahoma, slaughter, the whole town’s looking at Clay like he might be next to go over the edge.

NEW FROM TOR.COM

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

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.

Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor

It’s been a year since Binti and Okwu enrolled at Oomza University. A year since Binti was declared a hero for uniting two warring planets. A year since she found friendship in the unlikeliest of places. And now she must return home to her people, with her friend Okwu by her side, to face her family and face her elders. But Okwu will be the first of his race to set foot on Earth in over a hundred years, and the first ever to come in peace.

After generations of conflict, can human and Meduse ever learn to truly live in harmony?

Binti: The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor

Binti has returned to her home planet, believing that the violence of the Meduse has been left behind. Unfortunately, although her people are peaceful on the whole, the same cannot be said for the Khoush, who fan the flames of their ancient rivalry with the Meduse.

Far from her village when the conflicts start, Binti hurries home, but anger and resentment has already claimed the lives of many close to her. Once again it is up to Binti, and her intriguing new friend Mwinyi, to intervene–though the elders of her people do not entirely trust her motives–and try to prevent a war that could wipe out her people, once and for all.

NEW IN MANGA

Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! (Manga) Vol. 1 Story by FUNA; Art by Neko Mint

Servamp Vol. 11 Story and art by Strike Tanaka

As SF/F nerds, we loved the math, science, diversity, and real-life space adventures in Hidden Figures. In fact, we were hungry for more. There are plenty of lists recommending more non-fiction titles similar to Margot Lee Shetterly’s masterpiece, but not many featuring fiction. So we rounded up 5 great science fiction novels sure to grab the imagination of everyone who loved the fiercely talented women of Hidden Figures.

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

Mary Robinette Kowal’s Lady Astronaut series takes place in an alternate 1950s America, where the East Coast was devastated by a meteorite strike. The meteorite wiped out entire cities along the coast, killing millions and causing, possibly, a global warming event. As a result, America jump starts the space race, locked not into a competition with the Soviet Union, but an actual race for humanity’s survival among the stars. The Earth of Kowal’s series still has a lot of the hangups of our actual past (and present)—including, most prominently, the racism and sexism the women in Hidden Figures fought so hard against—and her diverse cast of women must fight to push their way into the front lines of science.

Everfair by Nisi Shawl

Much as the women in Hidden Figures had to deal with the very real legacy of racism in America, the characters in Nisi Shawl’s fictional Belgian Congo must deal with the legacy of colonialism in this alt history steampunk novel. The plot follows a diverse cast of characters in the titular Everfair, a colony created by well-meaning Westerners to create a safe haven for everyone, including escaped slaves. Of course, well-meaning doesn’t necessarily mean self-aware, and we see the Fabian Socialists from Great Britain struggling with their own unacknowledged racism, as they try to force Western values on the colonial inhabitants. Told from a multiplicity of voices—Africans, Europeans, East Asians, and African Americans—Shawl’s speculative novel is an examination of complex relationships in an often ignored period of history.

Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente

If your favorite part of Hidden Figures was how it combined science, ambition, and the personal lives of its leading women, then definitely check out Radiance by Catherynne Valente. Set in an alternate history 1986 where humanity has spanned the solar system, yet talking movies are still a daring innovation due to the patent-hoarding Edison family, Radiance follows Severin Unck as she creates her final film: a documentary investigation of the disappearance of a colony on Venus. Combining love, loss, family, quantum physics, and silent film, this pulpy space opera mystery does its best to unravel the scientific and human mysteries of a fantastical universe.

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

If you love reading about strong women who defy societal expectations because of their love of math and science, then the next book you should pick up is Binti, by Nnedi Okorafor. The titular Binti is a member of the Himba people, who never leave their homeworld. So when Binti denies her family and her people to attend the galaxy’s most prestigious university, Oomza Uni, she has to run away to get there. On the journey, her ship is attacked by Meduse, an alien race, and Binti must use all her resources—her intelligence, her mathematical and communication skills, and a piece of ancient Earth tech—to stay alive.

The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang

Hidden Figures is a story of women of color pushing boundaries to create a scientific future that they have a place in. While that fight is definitely not over, there are potential new conflicts on the horizon as well. Namely: if and when humanity actually creates artificial intelligence, how will we treat it? What will be the relationship between people and artificial entities? These are some of the questions at the core of Ted Chiang’s novella The Lifecycle of Software Objects. Chiang follows two people and the artificial intelligence they created as they deal with the upgrades and obsolescence that are inevitable for software. The question of nature versus nurture is about to take on a whole new meaning.

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New Releases: 7/24/18

5 Sci-Fi Novels for Fans of Hidden Figures