Finally, beginning my journey into African mythology with this book, which I'm sure is going to be long & diverse. Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon is as interesting as its title, premise and the cover. Despite its shortcomings, it kept me hooked.

TITLE & THE COVER:
The reasons why I picked this up and flew threw it were the eye catching first appearances. I love the detail of the cover.

Mythology and Fantasy:
As a fantasy fiction enthusiast, nothing gets me going like a good mythology-fantasy blend. In that, the author does a fabulous job of introducing you to an ex nightmare god and a succubus. The unlikeliness of this pair already sucks you in, then the author goes above and beyond to add multiple locations, timelines, iconic elements like heists & much more. This book is almost ready for a TV adaptation.

The World:
The plot takes us around the globe and in different time periods while keeping a fantastical backbone to the worldbuilding. The corporatisation of the Orisha pantheon was hilarious to read, while the notes on colonialism were appreciated. Cameos of gods from other pantheons like Murugan in an epic action scene were quite engaging. The world overall is a colorful, blasting, detailed chaotic environment. Don't believe me? Just read this:
Down on the ground, four bronze horses with flames for eyes were galloping madly behind them, leaving a trail of broken asphalt, sparks, and fire in their wake. A large angry figure rode behind the horses, driving them forward with vicious purpose. A bronze rope that extended all the way to the horses’ strained throats was wound tightly around the imposing figure’s forearm as it rode the back half of a crudely bisected gray sedan, giving chase in a makeshift chariot.
Wole Talabi. Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon (Kindle Locations 66-69). Kindle Edition.
I mean that's a gifted writer, right there.

The Characters:
One of the weakest elements to this story for me were the characters. I did not feel invested in any of them and the main characters got bland to read after a point. In this regard, it felt like the author had too much to fit into one little book. This had too much content fighting for a breathing space. A duology or trilogy might've helped the character arcs more, especially Shigidi's low self confidence regarding his looks.

The Story:
An attractive aspect to the book is its premise of Nigerian gods planning a heist as their freelancing project. However, the excessive packing of too much writing left very less time for the actual heist to happen. Plus by the time it happens, I was already bored. Further, the uneven pacing of the book really put me off. The plot gets extremely slow when Shigidi and Succubus are having a moment or we're in the flashback, but the actually interesting parts are flown through. I think the initial few chapters raise your expectations of the book so much, that it crashes and burn in the end.

Overall, SATBHOO was an entertaining read & Wole Talabi is an author I'm gonna look out for, Despite some bumps, the potential his imagination and creativity holds in this piece, is quite promising to me.

I was hooked from the cover and really glad I was able to read this. It had a strong concept overall and the fantasy element worked with the world that I was looking for. It uses the Gods element perfectly and had that feel that I was looking for. Wole Talabi has a great writing style and left me wanting more.

I loved learning about Nigerian mythology through this book, I knew little about it so finding a book with aspects of the country's mythology was wonderful. There were some parts where the writing didn't work for me, but I think that might be a difference in style. I did however like the story and learning about the mythology, country, and the characters

I was quite taken with Wole Talabi’s Hugo-nominated short story “A Dream of Electric Mothers” so naturally I pounced on his debut novel, hoping for adventure and Nigerian gods and a fun heist. Unfortunately, this turned out to be just… not for me.

Ah, I had such high hopes for this. The idea of gods teaming up in a sort of corporate structure with all its red tape and pitfalls was too good to pass up. Following a lowly nightmare god as he heists his way out of the shadows sounded even better. And while I can’t deny that we get a little bit of corporate culture from the Spirit Company and we get a heist of sorts, the meat of the story is something else entirely. A “love story” between protagonist Shigidi and the hottest creature around. Who’s hotness the author never lets us forget…

Shigidi is an ugly nightmare god who does what he’s told, just a cog amogn many that keep the Orisha Spirit Company’s wheels turning, with no hopes or dreams. That is, until one day he runs across a succubus named Nneoma, who is the sexiest, most gorgeous woman-shaped creature he has ever beheld and who promptly strikes up a bargain with him. Because despite Shigidi’s repulsive exterior, she sees something in him. He’s special and all that.
Their partnership/friendship/romantic relationship keeps going through the centuries, but first Nneoma turns Shigidi into a hot man. I guess so his outside match the beauty she sees on the inside? Shigidi then quits his job at the spirit company and goes rogue, to harvest souls as he and Nneoma see fit, free agents just enjoying immortality together.
Except Shigidi’s past catches up with him and, in order to truly gain his freedom, he needs to accomplish one last feat. A feat that involves breaking into a super highly secured place, stealing a magical object, and not get caught by the myriad of traps along the way, both mundane and magical in kind.

The story unfolds through two view points and follows several timelines. The book actually opens with Shigidi and Nneoma fleeing the scene of their crime, Shigidi bleeding profusely and probably dying, but alive for now. We then get a “x days before” and learn what events have led to this bloody and disastrous scene.
The second timeline, if you will, goes back a lot further in history. On one hand we see Shigidi as he used to be, witness how he met Nneoma, and some of their time together; on the other, we follow Nneoma through the centuries as she does her thing (while being sexy and hot, just in case you forgot) and also while meeting Aleister Crowley and having dealings with him.

Some parts of this book were fun enough, first and foremost the Nneoma and Crowley story line. Shigidi’s beginning was also super interesting, as we watch him do his work as a nightmare god, which is both terrifying and intriguing.
What didn’t work so well for me was both the heist and the supposed romance between our two protagonists. The latter actually fell completely flat for me for several reasons:

First of all, the opening chapter of the book has Nneoma confessing her love for Shigidi, something he has been asking her for ages and she has always refused to say out loud. So any possible tension that could have existed is immediately taken away. We know these two love each other. And even if she hadn’t said it right on page two, it is so obvious, it makes me think Shigidi is stupid for not seeing it himself.
The second problem – and that one didn’t just ruin the romance for me – was the almost 80s pulp level of male gaze and the way women were described. I swear to you, every single female character wears a “bodycon dress” at some point, and they are always described in minute detail. Their lovely, silky skin, the gorgeous boobs, said bodycon dress hugging their curves, etc. You get the idea. Male characters – with the exception of Shigidi inspecting his new hot body – are described in various ways, though not usually so hyper-sexualized. I had no problem with Nneoma being described as this otherworldy beauty because, well, she’s a succubus, that’s literally her job. Being sexy to whoever she’s trying to seduce at the moment. But the obejctifing descriptions continued and were just a bit too much for my taste. Your mileage may vary, of course.

The second thing that didn’t work for me, although it clearly did for others as many reviews state, was the heist. I love heists, especially when in a fantasy setting. What I don’t love so much is learning about the job, the stakes, the trouble we might run into along the way and then things going almost smoothly for most of the actual heist. I have to throw in that something definitely does go wrong (see Shigidi’s bleeding in chapter one) and that was the most exciting and thrilling part of the entire book for me. But it also sadly remained the only exciting part. After the heist itself is over – and I’m not telling whether our two love birds are successful or not – a whole slew of other problems comes along. And those just ended up reading like sappy Hallmark movie level romantic clichés to me. I’m not trying to sound mean and I am sure if the build up for the romance had worked for me, I would have enjoyed the ending a lot more, but as I didn’t care in the first place any confessions of true love just fell flat.
I see what Talabi was doing and I find the idea of Shigidi and Nneoma’s bond as such lovely, I just didn’t feel it, if you know what I mean.

Unfortunately, what I’m taking away from this reading experience the most is the way women were described and handled (Bechdel test failed, btw, unless I missed something). I’ll gladly read more of the author’s short fiction but I will tread with caution when it comes to his next novel-length work.

MY RATING: 4/10 – Not so great

Brisk and fun, with some nice showy set pieces. A welcome departure from mythological pantheons that are overrepresented in Western publishing at the moment.

I requested this copy as part of the 2024 Nebula packet.

I recently dove into Wole Talabi’s godpunk novel Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obulafon.

The novel opens with a chase on the streets of the “spirit side” of London. Shigidi, recently the Yoruba peoples’ god of nightmares, is in a cab with the Succubus Nneoma. He’s lost an arm and they’re being chased by a giant on a makeshift chariot being pulled by enchanted bronze horses. They’ve just stolen the Brass head of Obalufon, a relic which has been displayed at the British Museum and hope to deliver it to the powerful Yoruba god Olorun. At last Nneoma confesses her love for Shigidi. From here, the novel goes back in time to tell us how we reached this point.

In Talabi’s cosmos, gods live on prayers and worship. The gods of the world have separated themselves into corporations that control different parts of the world. Christianity and Islam are the megacorps of this world. The Yoruba gods are a sizeable, but smaller company fighting to survive and some gods have already faded away. When we reach back in time, we find that Shigidi is a rather ugly god who people pray to so he’ll give their enemies nightmares bad enough to kill them. One night, while on the job, he meets the succubus Nneoma. Although she comes from the Christian side of the cosmos, she’s an independent contractor, doing what succubi do, using sex to steal souls. She encourages Shigidi to go independent with her. When he agrees, she reforms him into a beautiful god. It looks like things are going to go well, but as with many indie operators, they find they have to work in a world dominated by the corporations. They fall afoul of some of the wrong gods, they begin to owe favors to others, and at last, Olorun comes to them with an offer they can’t refuse, steal the Brass Head of Obalufon and they’ll have it made.

Talabi takes us on a wild ride that ranges from Nigeria to Malaysia to London, weaving the elements from the distant and near past that brought Shigidi and Nneoma to the point we meet them at the start of the novel. Infamous spiritualist Aleister Crowley even comes along for part of the ride. Along the way, we see human-like jealousy, love, anger, and vengeance writ large as only the gods can do. I thought this was a fun novel and it’s made me curious to learn more about the Yoruba gods and their influence on world culture.

I received this title for consideration via the Nebula Awards voter packet. Shigidi, a former nightmare god, and Nneoma, a freelance succubus with a long history, are in debt to the sky god Oluron, who calls in that debt to demand they steal a powerful artifact from the British Museum... This was fast-paced and a great load of fun. It's a heist novel with a lot of chewy Nigerian worldbuilding. I loved Nneoma and was invested in how their relationship would play out. Highly recommended!

This Nigerian story is a whirlwind adventure! It follows an orisha and a succubus on a heist to reclaim an ancient artifact from the British Museum. While a bit scattered, the writing is vibrant, and the imagination is boundless. The succubus character is handled well, despite some reservations. Overall, it's a fun read and the cover is stunning!

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley as part of reading for awards nominations. It was an interesting book, with great worldbuilding, but all the jumping around chronologically kept throwing me out of the flow of the narrative and I didn't quite connect with either main character as strongly as I wanted to.