This has a really interesting premise (story-within-story) and layers sci-fi on top of literary fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! This book was released on January 14th, 2025 by William Morrow in the US.

Full Rating: 4.5 stars rounded up

Nnedi Okorafor’s Death of the Author is a breathtaking exploration of identity, autonomy, and the power of storytelling. At its heart is Zelu, a Nigerian American, paraplegic author grappling with the intersections of her disability, creative ambition, and cultural identity. Interwoven with chapters from her bestselling debut Rusted Robots and interviews with her family, Zelu’s journey reflects an intimate yet universal struggle for self-determination amidst societal and familial pressures.

Zelu’s character is richly drawn, capturing her frustrations, vulnerabilities, and triumphs with poignant realism. Her decision to pivot from literary fiction and academia to science fiction after a cascade of personal and professional setbacks feels both inevitable and revolutionary. Rusted Robots—a story of self-aware machines rebuilding a post-human Earth—is a perfect metaphor for Zelu’s life, filled with echoes of her quest to reconstruct and define herself after the life-altering trauma of the childhood accident that left her paralyzed. The narrative deftly explores how Zelu’s paraplegia shapes her sense of independence and identity, particularly through her relationship with her wheelchair, autonomous vehicles, and the exoskeleton study she participates in.

The novel’s nuanced approach to disability is deeply resonant. Okorafor parallels the empowering and dehumanizing aspects of assistive technology, crafting a story that acknowledges the layered complexity of navigating the world as a disabled person. Zelu’s swimming scenes, where she feels free and untethered, are especially striking, offering a reprieve from her struggles and underscoring her profound resilience.

While Zelu’s personal arc is captivating, the chapters from Rusted Robots add a rich meta-textual layer. Ankara’s journey from isolation to leadership as a Hume robot mirrors Zelu’s quest for recognition and autonomy, emphasizing the transformative potential of community and storytelling. The novel’s exploration of identity—be it racial, cultural, or technological—is seamlessly integrated into a larger conversation about belonging and self-expression.

That said, the novel’s ambition occasionally works against it. The sprawling scope, particularly in the final third, leaves some plot threads unresolved and could have benefited from tighter editing. Still, these minor issues do little to detract from the book’s emotional and intellectual impact.

Okorafor’s prose is as introspective and emotive as ever, blending sharp social critique with poetic reflections on identity, family, and resilience. Death of the Author is an extraordinary achievement—a layered, deeply human story that cements Okorafor as a master storyteller and a beacon of contemporary speculative fiction. This is a book to savor, ponder, and revisit.

📖 Recommended For: Fans of introspective speculative fiction, disability justice narratives, and multi-layered storytelling; readers interested in the intersections of technology and identity; N.K. Jemisin, Octavia Butler, and Rivers Solomons readers.

🔑 Key Themes: Identity and Autonomy, Cultural Heritage and Family, The Power of Storytelling, Humanity and Technology.

Content / Trigger Warnings: Drug Use (minor), Gun Violence (minor), Alcohol (minor), Suicidal Thoughts (minor), Sexual Content (minor), Mental Illness (minor), Medical Content (severe), Gore (minor), Suicide (minor), Ableism (moderate), Death of a Parent (severe).

This book was something new and unique stylistically. I ahem never read a meta novel before. This was also my first read of anything from Okorafor. I feel like I need to re-read this before I can attest to having any firm opinions on it. I just started my sci-fi journey this year, and this may have been a poor choice with how novice I still am with the genre. It was very much a "I'm not sure if I'm following, but I am enjoying my confusion" with this one.
I can safely say that I LOVED the intersectionality and disability rep in this.
I can't wait to read more from this author.

3.5- this was definitely a premise unlike anything I have ever read before! It was an interesting experience with the meta novel, the book within the book, which timelines mirrored each other in a lot of unique and interesting ways. Overall, I enjoyed the unique experience and perspectives as it related to disability, gender, race and culture, and the intersection between all of these identities for the main character. I enjoyed the relationships in this novel, although they also made me frustrated at times as well (like family does)! I thought it was just a little too long and the pacing and plot were drawn out in a lot of ways, and the science fiction portion of the story could sometimes feel dense and inaccessible. Overall I think this is more family drama/fiction than it is a science fiction novel, so with different expectations I may have enjoyed more.

Thank you to Willam Morrow and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review

I would like to thank Harper Collins for providing digital copy of this novel. This was absolutely brilliant. Death of the Author is hard to pin down to one genre. It's about an author, the story she writes, the people that support her, and the crossing of lines between reality and science fiction. Zelu is an adjunct professor at an university who is fired from her job after an incident with students. This event propels her to write the story she wants to write, one of humanoid robots called Humes who face off against AI creatures called NoBodies in a posthuman world. In the story, robots carry the digital DNA of their creators. To Zelu and her family's surprise, this story becomes a commercial success. We see how her relationships and life in general change with fame. At the age of 12 an accident forever changed her life as she became wheelchair bound. But an experimental procedure finds her relating with the protagonist of her story to a degree she never imagined. The chapters can be grouped into chapters about the author Zelu, chapters belonging to the book she wrote, and interviews with her loved ones. The placement of the chapters is perfect within the story as the distinct formats connect in interesting ways to what is going on in the story. For example, an interview may reveal an anecdote that is important for what happens to a character in the next chapter. An event in the fictional novel written by the author may draw parallels to what is going on in the author's life. This novel touches on so many pressing issues of our time. It is a commentary on the pros and cons of automation. It also explores academia, particularly how adjuncts often feel taken advantage of by the system. It examines social media “cancel culture." Another key theme is African diaspora. Through that lens, the author explores maintaining one's culture and how children born outside their parent’s country of origin often face criticism from relatives who are native to that county. She delves into misogyny and ableism and how these manifest in different cultures. She plunges into the publishing industry and the pressure to write the next book in the series—pressure that may come from both fans and agents. Ultimately, I loved the character of Zelu. She is one of the more fully realized characters I’ve read in a while.
Death of the Author is clever, thought provoking ,and fun. It has so much to say about so many diverse topics and it does it in a way that it’s always in line with the story and helps move it along. Superb.

I really love Okorafor's work and was excited to try her new book, since it's a bit different than her other books. I did like it, but I think it wasn't in the right mood whilst reading it.

I found Zelu to be really frustrating and that took me out of the story. I did like how Okorafor intertwined Zelu's story and Rusted Robots throughout the book. I think others might enjoy this one - it just wasn't my favorite.

"What good was love if she could only see it through a window?"

I was completely blown away by this unique storyline. There are so many twists and turns and I thoroughly enjoyed the "book in a book" concept. Death of the Author was a very well written sci-fi with a splash of romance, pinch of family drama and hint of humor. Zulu is a headstrong girl that doesn't take anyone's crap. I loved all mentions of the way Zulu's family was brought together by their culture, food and traditions. The development of Zulu's relationship with Msizi was realistically beautiful along with the subtle growth of Ankara and Ijele on their journey to save the Earth. The book was a little slow for me for the first half but recovered in the second half. And the ending? Perfect twist.

I was already interested in the book because Goldsboro picked it for their February GSFF monthly book pick but I am so thankful to have been able to experience it before even having the physical book in my hands.

"It's time. Create yourself. See what happens. Only then can you really know."

Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for providing this arc for review in exchange for an honest review.

Nnedi Okorafor’s new book, Death of the Author: A Novel (out Jan. 14), is a great book that deserves all the attention it can garner. I love the vivid characters in it, the way they face their challenges, the fiercely exuberant explorations of personhood and choice and negotiating relationships, and the sheer joy of life apparent in how Okorafor plays with ideas.

Per the publisher, HarperCollins, “In this exhilarating tale … a disabled Nigerian American woman pens a wildly successful Sci-Fi novel, but as her fame rises, she loses control of the narrative—a surprisingly cutting, yet heartfelt drama about art and love, identity and connection, and, ultimately, what makes us human.”

I usually feel that naming a book [Title]: A Novel is a bit pretentious, but in this case the “A Novel” appendage is helpful, distinguishing Okorafor’s work from the 1967 Roland Barthes essay, “The Death of the Author.” Traditional literary theory often looks to authors’ biographies and culture (and stated intentions, if any) for clues to interpreting their work; in contrast, the “death of the author” theory can be summarized as saying that no text can have an ultimately correct interpretation, but rather they are all recast anew by each new reader’s reaction to them. The initial relationship with the creator is severed upon the work’s release and new, unique relationships are formed with each reader/viewer/listener/experiencer.

It’s plain to me that Okorafor is referring deliberately to this idea in her title, and playing with it throughout the book. From protagonist Zelu struggling to control the story of her own life, as her overprotective/dismissive family seeks to box her in with their expectations, even after she becomes successful; to Zelu’s shock as her bestselling book takes on a life of its own in American, Nigerian, and world culture; to each book chapter’s narration switching from interviews of those close to Zelu, to Zelu herself, to robot Scholar Ankara, and back around the cycle; to the conflicts among robot societies after their creator-humans have died off — all of these shifts in perspective (all third person past tense) illustrate how stories always change, often drastically, depending on who is telling them and who the audience is. There’s also another major shift in perspective later in the book, but I won’t spoil that for readers.

About those robots: Zelu writes her “rusted robots” book when she’s in a bad place in her life; having stayed away from science fiction until now, when she no longer cares if her characters are relatable or not, and she wants to write something new and fresh. So the third chapter of Death of the Author: A Novel switches from Zelu and her problems to Ankara, a Hume (human-shaped) robot who revels in finding and retelling stories enough to become a Scholar. Ankara has strong desires to learn, to be heard, and to form connections, and sees that many robots who claim to be guided by logic alone are merely rationalizing their own preferences. Ankara has some noble goals, even if occasionally distracted from them, and I enjoyed following their pursuit in the occasional chapter-intervals between the human chapters. Ankara is a very relatable character, despite being a robot, because the challenges faced are essentially ones that humans face too: survival, tribalism, and the search for connection.

Zelu is a pleasure to relate to; she’s a very strong-willed woman, which her relatives criticize, but she’s had to be that to maintain any independence at all; her lover is sometimes frustrated by her but admires her strength. She takes sensual pleasure in food, bright colors, movement, and sex. She uses a wheelchair, and later makes a bold decision to try out cutting-edge technological mobility aids; I haven’t had to make any decisions like that, but of course any human being is just one major accident or disease away from dealing with disabilities (beyond garden-variety disabilities like having to use glasses or take maintenance medications). And Zelu’s struggles to reconcile her family’s Yoruba and Igbo traditions with her own aren’t anything I’ve had to deal with, but anyone from a big family, or even a smaller family with strong-willed members, can relate to family arguments.

I don’t know much about Nnedi Okorafor beyond her other books I’ve read, but a cursory search shows that she is a Nigerian-American who became paralyzed at age 19 and relearned walking with a cane. I’ve seen Death of the Author: A Novel called her most autobiographical book, and obviously she brings her wealth of experience to it. But it’s a mistake to think of this book as only that. She also has great wealth of imagination, and empathy; I adored this book’s breadth of ideas, and multiple perspectives, and experiments with structure. I loved every minute I spent in Zelu’s world, and the Rusted Robots universe, and I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book.

This book isn't one I'd usually pick up. I was drawn in by the science fiction, but stayed for the Nigerian culture, disability representation, and Zelu's fierce independence. Oh, and jollof rice!

Death of the Author is the first book I've read of Nnendi Okorafor and I look forward to exploring her other publications. Whatever you do, don't read this book if you are hungry. Now I'm off to find recipes for fried plantains and egusi soup.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC: Rating=4.5 rounded up. The author stated in a recent NYT profile that "The world is a magical place." Okarafor creates magic in her genre combining semi autobiographical novel about Zelu a paraplegic initially unpublished author who is enmeshed in her large Nigerian family. Within the novel her science fiction novel "Rusted Robots" is a fascinating compelling story of a post human world where physical robots and artificial intelligence robots battle while facing outside threats. Both stories build steadily and their connections become more compelling and almost disorienting. A fascinating book that covers so much ground and topics. The semi-autobiographical novel features interviews with family members who add insight into Zelu's story. The NYT article clarified the portions of the story that were based on the author's life, but at no point in this magical story did it feel like a memoir. The interplay of the two stories leads to a powerful ending.

This book was incredible! Zelu is a Nigerian American paraplegic in her early 30s. She loses her job as an adjunct professor and basically hits rock bottom and has to move back in with her parents. She writes a sci fi novel and it changes her life. I enjoyed the different interviews throughout the story. I loved the story within the story.

Ok I need to get the physical version of this because I can tell this is going to be one of my favorite books of all time and I realllllly want to make sure I have a physical copy of this gorgeous book. I should have looked at the book length as I am realizing physical books are much easier for me to process if the book is past around 250 pages. I am still getting used to using an reader.

I need to purchase 15 of these the second I am able to. I have a very strong feeling this book is going to win multiple awards. I had chills just from the beautiful writing in the first chapter and I knew I had to let myself half the full experience with this work of art.

Future note for self: try to avoid requesting books longer than a certain length, as my brain is still getting used to digital reading.

Apologies, and thank you immensley for the opportunity to sample this work of art. I want to get the physical form so I can take photos as well.

Many thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. 

So much has already been written about this hot 2025 title, but I still have to say I loved this novel. I'll admit I'm a sucker for a book within a book. 

While the main character, Zelu, was often frustrating to me, I still wanted to know what she was going to do next. The book isn't perfect, it could have been a little tighter. There were occasional scenes that seemed they should have some importance later on, but were never revisited. But that's a minor criticism considering the overall success of the intertwined storylines.

This is a great title for book discussions: the ins and outs of the publishing world, the family dynamics, the technology, plot lines, the cultural angles... the meals! And that ending - I can't wait for others to read it so I have someone else to talk to about it. 

The book was published before I finished the ARC, and I received my library's audiobook. I have to say the use of a few narrators to represent different voices & accents was very effective & enjoyable. 

I haven't read Okorafor before. Between this novel and interviews she's given for Death of the Author, I'm inspired to add her backlist to my TBR.

Nnedi Okorafor is a master storyteller. To tackle a story within a story I wondered at first, but like so many of her other books as soon as I began reading I was transported between Zelu's world and that of Rusted Robots. Her world building is so seamless that the worlds, times, and locations in the book are easy to navigate and not overwhelming. Her characters are always flawed but contain an incredible strength and Zelu was no different. I would highly recommend this book.

This is by far Nnedi Okorafor’s best novel. I loved this book. Sci-fi elements, interweaving modern day and futuristic stories, and complex characters made this a fast, and exciting read.

For those that don’t read a ton of sci-fi, I think this is a great introduction to the genre because the reader can separate the modern day setting that has a hint of sci-fi (autonomous vehicles, bionic legs), and the robot story within the story that is entirely sci-fi.

This is also a fantastic read for people that like complex characters and relationships. The main character, Zelu, is a paraplegic Nigerian-American writer struggling to find purpose in a world that views her as flawed or damaged. She is a selfish, self-centered person, but she is not a bad or mean individual. You begin to understand her thoughts and actions that may seem cruel to her family as the novel goes on, but are a necessity to making herself grow as a person and feel fulfillment in life. I enjoyed the relationships she had with her siblings, parents, and Nigerian community and how they had both positive and negative impacts to Zelu mentally, emotionally, physically. The way this tied into her writing her robot story - the story within this story - was fulfilling and left me wanting more. 4.5/5

Thank you to William Morrow Publishing and Netgalley for providing a free Advanced Readers Copy of this book for an honest review

Thank you to William Morrow Publishing and Netgalley for providing a free Advanced Readers Copy of this book for an honest review.

Reading 2025
Book 11: Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor

Thank you #NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book in exchange for my review. Saw this book on a few of the most anticipated books of 2025 lists.

Synopsis: A tale of love and loss, fame and infamy, of extraordinary events in one world, and another. And as Zelu's life evolves, the lines between fiction and reality begin to blur. Because sometimes a story really does have the power to reshape the world.

Review: Hmmmm, not sure what I read in this book. It was a book in a book in a book? It is sci-fi combined with family drama of the highest order. What I liked was the family drama side of the book, Zelu’s character is down, and despite every gut punch, everything going wrong, she finds a way to be successful or does she. The sci-fi part of the book was interesting in parts and held my attention, then off it would skitter into the mouse hole and I lost the thread. In the end, the book was not for me. My rating 3.5⭐️.

A story in three parts. Zelu is a failed novelist who teaches writing as an adjunct. During an overwhelming family gathering, she’s inspired to write a new story about robots on a post-human Earth. The novel is immediately a huge success, propelling Zelu to fame and fortune. But not all is well– the opportunities provided to her cause friction with her family. In semi-alternating chapters, we get interviews with her family alluding to some future catastrophe and chapters of her novel about robots.

George R R Martin famously said that the reward for writing a popular book is to sell lots of copies, and awards like the Hugos exist to recognize really interesting works. I think Death of the Author deserves the latter to be sure, and it might get the former as well. If I was approaching this for the first time again, here's what I'd want to know. It’s very light on the sci-fi elements. Some other reviewers have compared to Yellowface, which I think sets up some incorrect assumptions. There’s a little in here about some toxic elements of publishing and stardom, but they’re a fairly small part of the book.

Zelu’s story as a disabled American-Nigerian writer is a compelling one, and a recent NY Times piece explained that some of this is inspired by the author’s life. I was particularly mesmerized by the dynamics of her family and Zelu’s experience navigating near-future technology as a disabled person. To me, these elements made up the heart of the book.

I found the breezy way DofA addressed the popularity of the in-book novel far less convincing. Much like the most fantastical part of Deborah Harkness’s A Discovery of Witches is that Diana has tenure in her early thirties, Zelu’s novel Rusted Robots ascends to wild levels of popularity even before release and then only grows from there– it’s very much a writer’s fantasy, and enables other parts of the plot. But I think it could have worked for me as a reader if there had been more detail– if, for example, the people who told Zelu what a life changing book this is revealed why it was so mind blowing. This is exacerbated by the segments of Rusted Robots we do read– overall, I found them fairly bland. It made the ending resonate less.

So, to sum up, a really interesting book, one that made me really think, certainly worth reading for numerous reasons, but not necessarily one I’ll reread for the joy of it.

There is A LOT packed into this book…maybe too much as some of the sections became repetivite. Fascinating near-future technology and science but the book-within-a-book was problematic. Those chapters should have been cut down to a page or two at a time to deliver the metaphors, rather than the long sections included.

This novel follows a young Nigerian-American author named Zelu as she writes a bestselling sci-fi novel that opens her access to futuristic artificial limb technology and other dreams that have seemed impossible given the disability and career failure of her past. She must navigate how these unimaginable opportunities create heavy costs in her interpersonal relationships. Zelu's story is interspersed with chapters from the sci-fi novel, which follows a post-human robot future that is under existential threat.

I was initially hesitant about this book. The first few chapters quickly presented a lot of characters with only Zelu, a deeply discouraged and almost-too-relatably flawed character, recieving close attention. It soon became apparent, however, that this was intentional. The ways in which Zelu feels disconnected from her family and her Nigerian-American family disconnected from mainstream American culture are both themes that are deeply explored throughout the book and provide the base on which the more fantastic elements that are introduced later are grounded. All of the secondary characters also receive ample development in their perspectives and relationships with Zelu.

I don't want to reveal too many spoilers for this eventful book. Overall, I deeply enjoyed both the Zelu and Rusted Robots plots. I found the characters, especially in the Zelu storyline, well-developed, realistic, and painfully relatable. There is a good mix of serious, emotional, humorous, and action elements. Both the futuristic and Nigerian-American cultural elements provide a flavorful depth to the setting, characters, and tone. The themes it explores are complex and interesting. This is my first time reading a book from Nnedi Okorafor. I am now looking forward to visiting her other works. I highly recommend this book!

Thank you to William Morrow Publishing and Netgalley for providing a free Advanced Readers Copy of this book for review.

My first 5-star of the year!!! I would give this book 5+++ Stars!
What can be more delightful than getting two books in one? Both stories are beautifully written, with an engaging story and profound characters you care about! I don't have my physical copy of this book yet, but even the cover is perfect! On the desk jacket is the cover for Death of an Author and underneath is the cover for Rusted Robots.

In Death of an Author, the main character Zelu (Nigerian American), from Chicago, is a writer who is struggling. She has just lost her job, the book she wrote years ago keeps getting rejected, and her family doesn't have much faith in her and treats her differently because she is a paraplegic. In a fit of despair, she sits down to write a new book, Rusted Robots. From there we follow Zelu's journey as her book becomes a hit and the ups and downs of being a successful writer. We also follow all aspects of her personal life, sometimes getting the POV from family and friends.
But the best part, the novel includes the sci-fi story, Rusted Robots. It is an equal delight! Earth is now inhabited by Robots, and the journey of these robots takes place in Nigeria. Even though Earth only has robots, conflict still ensues.

This was a book I did not want to put down! I have loved both stories. And the ending was just as it should be.
I look forward to reading the backlist of this author's work!
Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC for review.