This is an interesting look at the lives of goes fro Nigeria and what would happen if prayers and belief were their currency. Shigidi, a god who manipulates nightmares and who formed from clay from an older, more powerful god, decides to quit his job at the spirit company to go freelance, but his boss has a last request. As he becomes more powerful and develops a relationship with a demon, things spiral out of control.

I enjoyed the story but wasn't completely captivated. I felt like the love story past fell a bit flat, The fantasy aspects (spirit particles, powers, and fights between gods) were fun to read and well thought out. I think someone who is a bit more familiar with the names of these figures who are the center of belief in parts of the world in real life. It was fun to read a story largely centered in and around characters from Nigeria, a rare delight!

This is a face-paced heist in a world of gods interspersed with past looks into the main characters. Shigidi is a nightmare god, hating his life at the Orisha spirit company. Nneoma is an unaligned succubus: older, more powerful, free. They find each other by chance, and form a partnership that frees Shigidi from work at the company. The world building here is awesome and this reads like a comic book series - in a great way! It's easy to imagine this as a blockbuster film full of gods with wild powers and competing interests. The heist storyline was pure fun, although the chapters in the past in between were a touch too long to maintain the momentum. They pulled the excitement down just too far so we had to work build it back up again. On their own, the looks into the past held a lot of interest on the strength of the world building and for sorting out the various powers and motivations. The romance of the main characters was underdeveloped for how much we were told it mattered. It was difficult to invest emotionally. Overall though, this is a highly enjoyable, action-packed adventure.

Shigidi is a minor god - the god of nightmares - and as such, he works for the spirit company, receiving prayers in compensation. He's not happy with his work, but what's a minor god to do? But then he meets Nneoma, an independent succubus, who offers him a partnership and a makeover, and things begin to change. Then Olorun, the leader of the local company, approaches them for a job, and things go a little crazy.

This is an interesting novel, based on the Yoruba mythology of West African, updated for current times. It jumps around in time, so it can be a little hard to follow; be sure to watch the date stamps at the start of every chapter. This quick-moving novel includes a relationship, a quest, and a surprise twist. Suitable for middle school to adult.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Really interesting mystery and exciting world. A fantasy crime story that is original and captivating

Shigidi and The Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi is a new addition to the fantasy heist genre, one that brings a sense of freshness due to its backdrop of Yoruba folktale/myth and a sense of depth thanks to its focus on character, as well as a moving close.

The narrative is set in a world of gods and spirits who have organized themselves into companies and regions and who are, unfortunately, losing power (and even entire gods) as faith diminishes in the world. The titular character is a small-time nightmare god, weak and misshapen and miserable in his life and in his work at the Orisha Spirit Company. All that changes when he meets Nneoma, an ancient and powerful succubus. The two clash over a mortal one night, as Sigidi’s work assignment conflicts with Nneoma’s own purpose, but they soon decide to become partners rather than foes. Nneoma transforms Shigidi into a much more beautiful form (which also has the benefit of breaking his contract with the company) and the two go off to “freelance.” They get pulled back into the orbit of Shigidi’s former company though when the retired chairman Olorun offers them a contract to steal the brass head of Obalufon from the British Museum (guarded by both normal and supernatural methods). It’s no spoiler to say the theft does not go according to plan, as they almost never do in these sorts of stories.

There’s quite a lot to like here, beginning with the two main characters. Both are lonely and miserable when they first meet. But while a desire for companionship is what drives them to partner up, they approach their relationship from different directions, creating a conflict we see early on that continues throughout as Shigidi is persistently adamant about knowing whether or not Nneoma loves him while she is just as persistently adamant in not wanting to give a definitive answer, for reasons that will eventually be made clear. Old almost beyond reckoning, more powerful than most, Nneoma isn’t used to being challenged in any way, but especially in this fashion, and Talabi does an excellent job of using this conflict to heighten tension, enhance characterization, and create some powerfully emotive scenes. Both characters feel fully alive in their hopes and fears, their flaws and strengths, in their slow movement toward learning more about who they are in and of themselves, and who they are (or even if they are) as a relationship.

I’m also a fan of Talabi’s structural choices. He begins in media res, with a pedal to the metal (literally) chase scene where, as Shigidi and Nneoma’s driver says, they’re being pursued by “four living statues and one pissed-off giant.” Oh, and Shigidi is badly wounded and near to dying. Did I mention the heist did not go smoothly? We then flash back to before the Shigidi and Nneoma meet and then get brought up to present time. That progression however is also interrupted by other flashbacks that fill in other parts of the story, mostly involving Nneoma’s past. I found the bit by bit revelation of just who Nneoma is and also why she’s like she is to be highly effective, while also allowing Talabi to heighten suspense by shifting away from present time to dip into the past.

The background, meanwhile, is richly fascinating. It’s been a real pleasure over the recent years to read beyond the usual Western mythos (both via English-writing authors and authors in translation) and Talabi’s world of Nigerian gods and spirits is yet another example of the too-long-delayed reward of opening publishing to ever more diverse voices, settings, and styles.

The novel moves apace, feeling shorter than its 320 pages, and has a number of effective set action scenes, as well as some nicely tense conflicts that involve more talking than violence (OK, sometimes a little violence). And along with the quest for self-knowledge, the love story, and the action narrative of the heist, Talabi works in some thematic exploration of faith and culture and of the “transience” of the modern world. And of course, one can’t center a heist on an African artifact kept in the British Museum without reference to the appalling history of imperialism, colonialism, and racism that put it there. One of the most powerful scenes in the book comes when Shigidi sees just how much plunder resides in the galleries, a moment when the veil of fantasy is swept aside for a better view of the bitter ugliness of reality.

Filled with action and tension. An impossible heist under pressure. A fresh mythos. Two characters compelling in their own right and as a couple. Funny at times, deeply moving at others. Sharply, vividly written throughout. An interesting structure. An exploration of both character and societal themes. As I said above, there’s a lot to like here. I’m already looking forward to Talabi’s next work.

5.5 / 10 ✪

https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2023/07/30/shigidi-and-the-brass-head-of-obalufon-by-wole-talabi-review/

After finally finishing this, I checked around, and The Brass Head of Obalufon has actually gathered quite a lot of praise from its early reader. Readers that stuck it out, had more patience than I, or simply connected with the tale better. Unfortunately, that was far from the story I experienced.

Instead, I found something that was obviously a full-length debut, with strange, often dramatically uneven pacing, such that I had long since last interest in the plot before it had really even begun.

See, we spend the first several chapters introducing our main characters—three of them—which seems perfectly reasonable. Only in doing so, we jump back and forth between timelines, often losing the threads of the overarching story between them. These long, sometimes vague glimpses might’ve been interesting had they followed some further kind of hook, but the early car chase didn’t wow me enough that I was willing to stow it for the first 40% to focus on the characters’ backstories. That, and by the end of them I had truly lost the plot—so much so that when I went back to find it it ruined whatever optimism I had for this.

Which is a shame, as the ride past the halfway mark begins in earnest, with some twists and turns that caught me completely off-guard. So. If you can power through to this point; or you can forgive a 300 page urban fantasy for building its characters up like a 1000 page epic fantasy; or maybe you connect with the story right from the outset such that one or two bumps (no matter how profound) doesn’t ruin your time—maybe you’ll like this one. A significant amount of people apparently do, as it boasts a 3.88 currently on Goodreads, quite a bit higher than I’d’ve expected from a debut that disappointed me so. So maybe don’t judge this book fully on my review, but take it like the one dissenting opinion that it is.

Thank you to NetGalley and DAW for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon follows two storylines: the story of Shigidi and Nneoma and then they heist they are hired to do. The chapters alternate timeline and are indicated by the headings - paying attention to that helps the story become easier to follow.

I really enjoyed the punk rock nature of these Gods/Godlike characters and how the world in which they live functions through corporations. A capitalist-esque God society really tickled me. The heist was the most fun portion of the story. Additionally it is conveyed through extremely vivid descriptive language. You can truly picture what people look like or what they are wearing. I found that very interesting and it reminded me of some classical literature (going into extreme detail about clothing.)

Centering around African deities, this story offers a refreshing pantheon of Gods that strays from the Greco-Roman canon.

A problem I foresee with readers of this book is that considering Nneoma is a succubus (as other people have pointed out) there are moments of dubious consent.

This book was such a fun and wild ride, it is a fantasy heist book like nothing I have ever read. If American Gods and Oceans 11 had a baby it would be this book.
Ancient gods have been forced to form corporations to maintain their existence after other organized religions have dwindled their supply of prayers and souls. The old gods are still requested, just not with the same frequency as before missionaries came and changed their lands. These corporations have pacts to not infringe on each other’s territories like the colonizers did before. Like most struggling corporations or countries, the gods in power have been unfairly distributing prayers and have become corrupt, putting entire companies at risk. The Orisha spirit company that represents the Gods of Yoruba is one such company. To restore balance to the company an artifact must be taken back from the British Museum and returned to its rightful owner, Olorun, the original Orisha God. Shigidi, the nightmare god, teams up with Nneoma, an ancient succubus that predates the “fall” (from the bible) and Aleister Crowley, who is a three lifetimes old wizard, to break into the secure location and obtain the artifact. This book was fast paced and incredibly informative. I had no prior knowledge of Yoruba Gods, and I enjoyed learning about them in such a fun and exciting way. I was fully invested in Shigidi and wanted to see what would happen to him on the pages. I highly recommend this book for fans of speculative fiction, but I think that readers of all genres can still have fun with this book. I look forward to reading more from Wole Talabi in the future.

turns out religion is also capitalism in this debut novel, and i love a bit of capitalism infused heists in my novels. this was a really fast-paced read, and i really loved that we were picking up a new pantheon of gods that weren't greek, roman or egyptian.

the writing was pretty solid and the author wasn't shy about using nigerian slang, which i found really immersive as the meaning was always able to be picked up from context clues. there were a few times that it felt a bit explainy rather than demonstrative, but that was easy to move past. the premise and the setup for the heist was literally crazy creative as well, and the eventual reveal of what the heist was for was a little predictable but i really like that in a heist novel.

one of the main problems i had with this book was that the timeline shifts around a lot, but that the dates and times at the top of each chapter were not overly helpful in putting the timeline together. i think it would have been better if it was listed as the date and then X amount of time before or after the main storyline, to help keep track of where we were in the overall arc of the book, but that wasn't overly detracting. the way the timeline moved to introduce new information was very good, it was just keeping track of that that was hard.

there is definitely some issues with dubious consent in this book just because of who nneoma is and what she needs to do to survive as well. i don't really have any other feelings about it other than it is definitely there and definitely bordering on if not being rape in some scenes, but i do wish the author spoke a bit more in the book about the morality or lack thereof of the sex magic and how that impacted the prayer system overall. it was a cool concept that got a big bogged down focused in the heist part of the novel instead.

this was a solid read, and i did quite enjoy it. the problems it has feel like debut problems, which definitely make me interested to see if the ending will spurn the sequel it has obviously been set up for.

This has a great concept, and the world building was amazing. The book was excellently paced, with a well executed plot and the heist was well thought out. Character wise I'd love to see as much care put into all of them as there was into Shigidi and Nneoma.
I was really off put by Nneoma being the only female character that actually mattered to the story, especially coupled with the fact that every other chapter seemed to be another rape perpetrated by her. I felt the sex scenes kept us from seeing much actual relationship building.

My thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

“Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon” is a contemporary fantasy heist that takes place in a world where the realms of the gods is run like a corporation, with individual gods as the grunt workers answering prayers. Shigidi, a nightmare god, has few followers remaining. When he has the opportunity to be remade, he takes it. Along with his partner Nneoma, a succubus, he is assigned to take on a heist to reclaim the Brass Head of Obalufon from the British Museum on behalf of his employer. Sounds amazing, right? I was excited too.

There are a lot of great things in this book. It contains some of the most beautiful descriptive writing I’ve ever read. It meditates on the nature of godhood and immortality. The worldbuilding is some of most creative I’ve ever read. However, I just can’t get past how the nature of Nneoma’s powers make the sex scenes extremely uncomfortable to read; this is especially a problem because of the sheer number of them. About every other chapter, there’s a sex scene that’s used in place of actual character or relationship building moments, and more often than not they feature Nneoma coercing someone who doesn’t actually want to sleep with her. I find this particularly troubling because she’s the only female character of any importance. It’s a shame because there is so much other good stuff to be had in this book. Additionally, the other points of view that are not Shigidi and Nneoma also feel very halfheartedly written; it feels like the author spent so much time and effort developing really clear and well-developed narration styles for the two main characters and pretty much neglected to make anyone else remotely interesting.

Wole Talabi has woven a fascinating story that is based in Nigerian Yoruba traditional mythos, updated with a very modern twist. Talabi's is a strong writer, and effectively creates a layered story with some interesting twists.

Shigidi is a disgruntled minor deity, the god of nightmares, who's drifting aimlessly from one low rent faith-inspired hit job to the next in service to a spirit company. And I do mean "company" -- once an invincible creature of the dark, Shigidi is an underappreciated cog in a dying corporation. The spirit company is a re-imagined pantheon, organized to capture spiritual resources (faith) for the benefit of the members -- but complete with a board of directors, middle management, and a corporate culture that's slowly destroying what passes for Shigidi's soul.

Our nightmare-bringer meets a succubus, Nneoma, who has her own issues. The two partner up and go independent. This brings new problems, and the two eventually are hired to carry out a heist. The job: retrieve a sacred brass head containing an aspect of the Yoruba sky god from the spirit-world version of the British Museum. This obviously doesn't go smoothly or well, and quickly becomes a question not of success, but survival.

Underneath this part of the story is another layer, in which Shigidi and Nneoma struggle with inner tumult and angst. Making a living isn't the only part of divinity which turns out to be tougher than you'd think. Their inner lives as just as turbulent, and Talabi's exploration of them lends a level of sophistication and depth to the story. Shigidi's struggle is not just to survive and prosper, but to figure out who and what he is -- think of a living nightmare with a bit of an existential crisis overlayed on a deadly game of divine cops and robbers.

I enjoyed Talabi's style, and found his writing evocative and vivid. The Yoruba cultural aspects took a little bit of time to get a grip on, but added flavor to what otherwise might have been a standard and pretty one-dimensional plot. The interaction of different pantheons and traditions is well-done and fun; this reminded me a little of Dion Skye's "The God Market", but a bit deeper. Altogether, a great debut novel from a talented author.

"It's more than hope. It's certainty."

This story bounces through time and around the globe, in the hands of the main character, god (albeit a lesser one) Shigidi.

The plot moves quick, magic is definitely an important feature, and the heist from the gods/mafia makes an interesting climax.

My favorite character was Nneoma. I felt like we got a truly round look at her character motivation and emotional journey. Her love for her sister is the epitome of the story.

Overall, the tale reminds me of American Gods. An odyssey of godlike proportions.

"His shoulders slumped with the weight of the realization. He didn't know how long he had been kneeling there before Nneoma's hand touched his shoulder. He loved all of her with all of him."

Realy enjoyed this book and I think it will have a good audience at my library. Definitely will be ordering.

3/5 Stars

TL;DR - Gods hate their jobs, too. A heist novel the likes of which you’ve never seen, with gods and spirits and all manner of magic and mayhem. An intriguing take on faith and belief, in which religions are run like companies and the deities are the begrudging employees. Rich in Yoruba lore with a sprinkling of other pantheons, this book is entirely unexpected and refreshing. However, it’s lacking in character depth and has some uncomfortable dubcon elements, making it a solid middle-of-the-road book for me.

Big thanks to DAW and NetGalley for providing the ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review!

***Trigger warnings for dubious consent and rape.***

First and foremost, the trigger warnings. Nneoma is a succubus, and she goes HARD on the seducing and beguiling shtick. The whole book includes scenes where she manipulates sexual desires to have her way with people (hence the dubcon warning), and at about 54% of the way through the book, she straight up rapes a guy who repeatedly tells her no. Please be aware of this and see to your own well-being first.

‘Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon’ by Wole Talabi is the story of the Yoruba orisha of nightmares, Shigidi, and his succubus lover, Nneoma, as they fight to find their place in the cut-throat world of spirit business - literally. Gods and spirits alike work for “spirit companies”, each religion or belief system their own corporation, forever vying for human prayers and souls to keep their bills paid and their lights on spirit-side. One part heist novel, one part urban fantasy, one part cosmic and existential exploration, this book follows the two main characters through multiple POVs as they come together unexpectedly and get roped into godly business they ultimately can’t escape.

First off, I’m not Yoruba, nor do I have any experience with the beliefs therein, so I can’t speak to whether or not the representation is accurate or respectful.

That said, I really, really enjoyed the overall mythos of this book. Gods doing human stuff in the modern era is legit one of my favorite tropes, and I was so incredibly refreshing to read about the Yoruba pantheon, as even I’m getting bored of Greco-Roman- and Scandinavian-inspired stories. The story is mainly set in Nigeria, and it was really interesting to read about a part of the world I’m not overly familiar with.

For me, the overall premise of this story’s world is the highlight of this book. The concept that religions are run like companies and the deities are their employees is really creative, and I liked seeing how different gods fill different roles in their “company”, and how faith and souls are used as currency and the subsequent economies and business strategies that arise from this. The idea that many gods are just minimum-wage drones like the rest of us is, frankly, hilarious to me, as well as deeply unsettling on an existential level, and I enjoyed floating in that liminal space for the duration of this book.

The plot is somewhat unconventional, and it totally worked in terms of structure. The story jumps all over the place, back and forth through time, and it’s not nearly as confusing or jarring as I was worried it might be. Even though the chronological order is all mixed up (jumping from 2017 to 1977 to 2016 to 1909, etc), each new time/place we jump to progresses the story forward in terms of relevant information and exposition. They’re not exactly flashbacks, per se, but rather a continuation of the main story in a well thought out, timey-wimey way. Really cool.

Three main things took this book down a few stars for me.

Mainly, the so-called “sex magick”. I’m deeply uncomfortable with the dubcon in this book, and while yes, it does make sense for the character, it’s still not something I was enthused to read about. It’s an interesting concept, that sex is inherently spiritual and can be harnessed for magical means, but the way it was presented in this book just overall did not work for me. Blame it on my ace-spectrum ass, but still, it hampered my enjoyment.

Second, to a lesser but still prominent extent, the main characters. Shigidi and Nneoma are interesting, sure, but really only in premise and rarely in execution. I was very interested in early-book Shigidi, when he’s just a low-level orisha trying to meet his soul quotas, and I did like being in his head to explore the morality of a god when interacting with mere mortals, but it felt like after he met Nneoma and they partnered up, he lost his appeal. Nneoma is interesting in concept, but not in execution. I didn’t really even feel much for her when her big backstory wound was revealed. Therein is the problem - I didn’t feel much of anything for these characters, but maybe that’s fitting - these gods don’t seem to feel much for us humans, so I guess it’s only fair.

Lastly: above, I said that the plot structure was cool, and it was, but the plot itself was pretty standard for a heist novel. There were a few little twists and turns here and there, but overall, a solid “meh” in this department. The bulk of the book takes place in the past, and while I enjoyed both parts, I really feel like the stuff that took place “present day” was lacking in tension and intrigue compared to the backstory chapters.

One last nit-picky thing: there are a LOT of adjectives in the prose, and at times it makes it overly-wordy and kind of clumsy to get through. Other times, there are descriptions and phrases that just don’t make sense, and while I didn’t stop to jot any down (they weren’t egregious enough to warrant it), they were distracting and I often found myself thinking, “What does that even mean?”.

Final Thoughts:

This book was fun and thought-provoking, but it ultimately lacked the depth of character and complexity of plot that I was looking for. Perfectly nice for one read-through, but not enough to warrant me buying a physical copy.

Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon is the debut novel of acclaimed Nigerian SF/F writer Wole Talabi. Talabi's short fiction has been fantastic when I've read it, so I was super excited to read this novel - his first work of published long fiction (at least in the US). The novel promises an urban fantasy story inspired in large part by West African/Yoruba myth, but featuring myths, deities, magics, and beings from other myths as well. Indeed the story follows a West African Nightmare God (the eponymous Shigidi) as he breaks free of a corporate structure of godhood and embarks on a heist of the British Museum alongside a Succubus he loves, and if that's not a hook that interests you, well...you have different tastes than mine.

The result is.....uneven, but largely enjoyable. The novel's setting is utterly fascinating, with the gods and deities of each religion reimagined as having formed corporate boards that negotiate and compete for influence (with mortal faith giving them power), such that the African gods are struggling to maintain power amidst everything else...and our heroes struggle for freedom from this corporate structure after they've escaped. The heist of a relic of West Africa with deific power (the eponymous Brass Head) is well done, and the way the two main characters (Shigidi and Nneoma) are built up through frequent flashbacks, along with a famous magician they pick up along the way, works pretty well. There's even some themes of fighting foreign and colonial influence interwoven throughout the story. That said, the constant flashbacks, the in media res beginning, and the way it all plays out made this a bit less fulfilling than I would've hoped in what seems to be the start of what should be a longer series.



----------------------------Plot Summary--------------------------
Shigidi was just a low level and nightmare god in the Orisha spirit company, abused constantly by his superiors (his boss Shango's wifes, who were put in charge thanks to Nepotism) and generally unhappy in his job - being called by worshippers to kill people in their sleep while they're suffering from a nightmare he inflicts upon them. He hates his physical form (he thinks it ugly) and his life and even his job, but sees no hope of it ever changing. Until one day he gets called to a job featuring two women in bed, one of which he is to kill....except the other is a Succubus named Nneoma, a woman there for the very same soul. And when Nneoma offers to transform him and change him in a way that he can be free...his life finds itself drastically changing.

Months later, Shigidi's and Nneoma's freedoms have been threatened by the Orishas and they find themselves obligated to help Olorun, the original founder of the Orisha spirit company, in order to keep that freedom. So when Olorun offers them full freedom in exchange for one last special job - a heist of a lost West African Relic containing hidden power that's held in the British Museum - the two of them have to take it. Yet the job will require them to fight through defenses in both the mortal and spirit worlds and to face near impossible odds especially as Olorun only gives them a single day to breach the Museum's mortal, magical, and godlike protections......
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This novel starts with what's usually more of a TV trope - the in media res opening cliffhanger - and honestly, it's a trope that's silly and pointless in that medium and silly and pointless here since it never justifies that choice. But it's the start of a narrative that does keep jumping back and forth in time, as it first starts telling a narrative that leads to that opening chapter cliffhanger and intersperses within that narrative chapters that flash back to its characters' histories to explain how they go up to this point in their development. And that narrative largely works, although there's at least one flashback which feels kind of pointless even there dealing with Nneoma seducing a mortal who gets away which doesn't really seem to serve any purpose.

But again in large part this novel works due to a combination of things: its characters and its setting. Its characters mainly consist of Shigidi and Nneoma, a pair of fascinating supernatural beings with their own desires and worries. For Shigidi, he was once seemingly an ugly (physically) god whose powers weren't fun - killing people with nightmares - and who was bossed around by an asshole boss and his flunkies, who got there solely due to their relation to him (a relatable problem to have). And so when Nneoma suggests and shows him that there's more out there, he delights in that freedom...and more seriously, falls for Nneoma for showing him it, and worries about her failing to reciprocate. Shigidi is smart and creative and the way he tries to get past a life that many office workers in our world deal with every day makes him really easy to root for. For Nneoma, well she may be a succubus who fell from Heaven after siding with Lucifer in Christian theology (despite her name, she comes from there rather than African myth), but she once had a beloved sister, who was lost when that sister chose supporting the one she loved in a dangerous endeavor over fleeing with Nneoma. And so she's absolutely afraid of following her sister's example in admitting to love, and desperate to remain free to go anywhere without obligation...and is thus terrified at her fate being bound to Shigidi now and at her possible feelings for him. Her system of doing everything through debts and paying them back - sometimes lethally - is a lot of fun even as you're rooting for her as a literal spirit sucking Succubus.

These characters combine with a setting that is fascinating, where the different theologies all exist alongside each other - and the gods of each form essentially corporate entities (the Christian one is mentioned as being the followers of Yeshua) that struggle within their own agreed upon rules to build their faiths - faiths they rely upon in order to stay in existence and in power (with falling belief, the Orisha office Shigidi works in is often without power for example). This setting is fascinating and really fun and well done, and sets the stage for an excellent heist and a plot that has some fun adventurous moments, as our heroes run into beings of myth dedicated to stopping them - like a couple of giants taking a bunch of statue horses out for a chariot ride....It's not a serious plot, despite it hitting on some serious themes through it all (a heist involving the British Museum features some natural internal commentary about the stealing of cultural artifacts from colonized peoples for example), but it works and is enjoyable throughout, and the story is not long enough to ever outstay its welcome, despite the above-mentioned problems.

The story ends in a way that's sweet in some ways and completes one arc of Shigidi's journey as he learns who he wants to be, finds love, and makes all of that the new core of his identity, without still fearing what he used to be will come back, but at the same time, the story does feel a little incomplete, with hints at more in the end. So hopefully a sequel will come sooner rather than later, because despite starting this review a little negative, I did have a good bit of fun here, and I would really love to see more of this setting.

This book reminds me of Neil Gaiman's American Gods in many ways. It is dark, sometimes disturbing and follows the lives of former Deities in a modern world. When belief if a currency, how do you earn your way? Our main characters are a former spirit from an African pantheon and his companion a succubus. To pay off their debt they must complete a high risk mission. It is a fascinating dive into cultures and belief systems that are rarely used in modern urban fantasy novels. I liked it quite a lot. I would have enjoyed a faster pace in the beginning but all in all a very good book. Thanks to netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow - what a ride! I learned much about Yoruba and orishas in this fantastical tale of Shigidi and Nneoma's adventures.

I like how Talabi's gods weave in elements of culture and faith with commentary on the state of contemporary religious culture. In that sense, this novel is a bit reminiscent of Gaiman's "American Gods" with warring factions and petty bureaucracy.

Those who enjoy serendipity and fable will appreciate this collision of elements which include Yoruba deities, Aleister Crowley and the British Museum.

I'm grateful to the publisher, DAW, and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an ARC, and am eagerly awaiting future publications by Talabi.

In Wole Talabi’s exciting fantasy adventure, Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon, the spirit world has fallen on hard times. With dwindling followers to make faith offerings, the companies of the gods have to make do with diminished income, and their powers are not quite what they used to be. Shigidi is an ex-god of dream and nightmare who, before his transformation, had been reduced to taking orders of prayers to kill enemies of the faithful. He did this by entering the minds of victims to find their worst nightmares and intensifying them to the point of killing the dreamers. In his small and ugly human form, he felt like the reject of the gods, given the worst assignments, barely able to earn his keep.

That all changed when he met the spirit succubus Nneoma, who transformed him physically into a perfect human form and partnered with him as freelancers of the spirit world.

................
The story gets into high gear when the ruler of the gods demands that Shigidi and Nneoma recover a crucial artifact, the brass head containing a god’s special power, from the British Museum, a place protected by formidable spiritual forces. So there is a heist adventure at the center of Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon, but this is enriched and deepened by the high stakes for all involved. For Shigidi and Nneoma, it becomes a powerful test of their relationship and Nneoma’s ability to feel love, an emotion she has come to distrust because of deeply buried secrets in her centuries-old history.

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Talabi is especially good at visualizing and giving a tactile sense to all the elements of his story, especially the spiritual places and the passage from human to spiritual realities. When Shigidi, still the nightmare god at that point, embarks on an assignment, he speaks an incantation that suddenly produces a wind that wipes away the room he is in, plunging him into absolute darkness, an ocean of nothingness. When Aleister Crowley describes his own quest to control beings from another world, he imagines an abyss, a formless plane of churning forces filled with all possible forms that can be shaped by human magic into creatures that can create or destroy. When Olorun takes on human form to meet Nneoma and Shigidi in a hotel bar, he dresses in a way to blend in but yet his body flows with electric white spirit particles, as if there was a star burning beneath the surface of his skin. The writing never draws undue attention to itself but always serves to make more vivid and immediate the physical reality of each scene, even when it is taking place in a spiritual realm.

Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon blends so well the elements of a fast-paced thriller, the action of mighty gods fighting through different levels of reality and a powerful love story that has to shatter beliefs rooted in thousand year-old trauma. Wole Talabi has made a name for himself recently as a master of shorter works of fiction (like his novelette, A Dream of Electric Mothers) but this debut novel makes clear that the longer form only gives greater scope to his considerable talents.

I found the story compelling. The protagonist was sympathetic as someone with disabilities forced into a situation requiring her to succeed against odds. I would like have more insight into the dragons as personalities. I enjoyed the erotic components of the story except being the love/lust being over the top; sort of bodice ripper mixed in with otherwise YA. I was let down by the abrupt reversals at the end so much so that I'm not waiting for the sequel.