When I started reading this book, I was worried about the main character, Zelu, and whatever she was about to get herself into; by the end, I loved every character in this book. I had an amazing time reading this book and lived each character's journey to growth and understanding. This was beautifully written, and the suspense had me on the edge of my seat.

I was so excited to get my hands on this novel—I’ve been a fan of Nnedi Okorafor since I picked up "Who Fears Death" nearly a decade ago. Her vision of the future and retelling of the past is a masterclass in storytelling—especially if you’re into experimental format.

Here’s what really worked for me in this novel:

* The format: Okorafor tells this story from several levels. There’s the main perspective, from our extremely well-developed main character Zelu. She’s telling the story in a linear timeline, moving through the events that lead her through the course of the novel. We’ve also got excerpts of the novel she’s writing in the story—which map loosely to the world Okorafor is building. And we have interviews throughout with Zelu’s family.

* The family dynamics: In addition to Zelu being a memorable, fully realized character, her relationship to her wider family pulled me in. The push/pull of support and sheltering was resonant and honest, and while some readers might struggle with Zelu’s emotional positioning toward them, I’ve rarely met a character on page allowed to explore their anger and hurt alongside the love.

What worked less well for me:

* The actual novel inside the novel, “Rusted Robots,” lost me toward the end. I wanted to be as at home with those characters as I was with Zelu.

* The billionaire character was hard to read as anyone but the real-world person he's clearly based on. In this moment, that was hard to reconcile and pulled me out of the world she was building every time he was on the page.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Folks looking to get a taste of what she can do on the page should check out her novella Binti, but I truly hope folks pick this one up.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Death of the Author is my first 5 star read of 2025, and I absolutely love it! Nnedi Okorafor is truly one of the most remarkable writers, and I enjoy everything she writes. I appreciate how she weaves a story within a story, which adds a whole new dimension to the narrative. Both stories merge together in the end to form an incredible narrative. Nnedi Okorafor’s unique worldbuilding is impressive, and her take on humanity and robots is a delight to read. I highly recommend this book to every reader. Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first read by this author, and I received it as an ARC from NetGalley. What an absolutely incredible book! It had its low points and weak portions, but in its entirety, it's a perfect science fiction novel. This book refuses to be put into a box, quite like its protagonist, Zelu, a paraplegic literary writing professor who is fired from her job and ends up writing a runaway science fiction novel, which is interspersed as part of this novel. Most of this novel is about the journey that the characters undertake, both to a destination and through their fears. A book-within-a-book. To be more specific, a sci-fi book within a litfic book. This made it so difficult to judge objectively, which is what makes it fantastic. The style of book-within-a-book is difficult to execute, simply because we're told so much about how good a book is within a book, and that ends up meddling with our own judgment. Most of all, it takes talent to write two genres of books with different styles of writing and different internal voices for characters, something many authors cannot accomplish well. The sci-fi book has incredible worldbuilding but suffers from slightly simplistic prose. Then again, popular books tend to have simplistic prose to appeal to a broad demographic, which actually adds believability to the novel. The litfic book has great characterizations, albeit a convenient plot at times, but this is a sci-fi book overall, which requires a little suspension of disbelief. All this happens in the backdrop of Nigerian culture and mythology, which permeates through both books. Nnedi Okorafor writes Africanfuturism, and the genre is cultivated at its finest in this book. She took on a mammoth task with this style and delivered perfection. At its core, this book is about creation (and creators), individualism, conformism, and our innate human instinct to assign meaning to everything. Where should the meaning of the text come from? The author’s intentions or the readers' myriad interpretations? Who gets to tell the stories of whom? Who gets to tell stories? Where do stories go when the author dies? I didn't love Zelu's character, but found her so compelling and believable—she is amazingly well-written. She is a magnificent, adventurous, endearing character even while being realistic and annoying. It takes talent to write a character who could realistically write another character. Zelu's family and friends are so realistic—I can tell having grown up in a collectivist culture. Some brilliant characters within the sci-fi novel too—I mean, sometimes characterization suffers for worldbuilding, but everything works well here.

I truly can say I've never read anything like this in my life. The prose was fantastic and the way she shifted in timelines was so smooth and yet I never got lost. Absolutely STUNNING, swear it is a new classic.

Sometimes you have to be at rock bottom before you can do something truely extraordinary. And rock bottom is where we meet Zelu at the beginning of Death of the Author, a story about resilience, reinvention and an exploration the relationship between creativity and humanity.

Part literary sci-fi and part contemporary character study, Death of the Author takes our present fears about technology and AI and transforms them into something profoundly beautiful. Okorafor presents two simultaneous narratives: we follow Zelu’s life as a disabled writer grappling with rejection, family pressures, and her own insecurities at the same time as we read the hit sci-fi novel that she wrote when she was at her most broken and desperate. The novel is a post-human, post-apocalyptic tale of robots and AI repeating both the worst mistakes and greatest triumphs of humanity. We did create them in our image, after all.

For those who have read and loved Okorafor's previous works, like Binti, it's worth noting that this book is very different in tone and style. While the voice is still distinctly Okorafor's, this story is more literary and abstract, lingering on the details of Zelu's life for reasons that don't become clear until the end. I suspect many readers will wish they could just read Zelu's book and not have to get to know her so well. And many readers won't love Zelu - she's not an easy character.

But if you can enjoy the juxtoposition of Zelu's life and her struggles with the story of her robots and their own struggles, then the payoff is truly worth it. There are a handful of books I've read where when I read the last words, I suddenly feel like crying. Not because the story itself made me emotional, but because it's over and I have to leave it behind. This is one of them. I got so invested with Zelu and her robots and AI characters that the end of their story left me surprisingly sad, even though it was a lovely and strangely uplifting ending.

I went into this book with the knowledge that there was a lot of hype around it, and because of that, I think it fell a bit flat. I'm not a consistent science fiction reader, but I found this easy to get into. However, the pacing felt a bit off. Within the first 15%, the main character wrote her novel, so the pacing felt quick, but then the rest was more character-driven vs plot, which I wasn't expecting. Overall, I gave this novel three stars, and it just fell in the middle of the road for me regarding enjoyment.

3.5

I am forever amazed by Nnedi Okorafor's imagination and ability to cross genres. Death of the Author is at its core, a literary novel about the Nigerian American experience. Zelu, the main character, is American and while both of her parents are Nigerian immigrants, one is Igbo and the other is Yoruba. Zelu is also paraplegic, becoming paralyzed after an incident when she was 12, and she is an author struggling to get her book published. In a lot of ways, I think Okorafor's ability to create depth in Zelu was due to her own experiences as a disabled Nigerian American author.

The inciting incident of the story is Zelu getting fired from her teaching position. Post-firing, she writes a science fiction novel that goes viral and Okorafor includes chapters of her famous story throughout the book, which is fascinating because the novel parallels Zelu's story in a really interesting way. I also think that the inclusion of Zelu's novel is what makes this book so genre-defying and it highlights the power of the nature of storytelling and some of the terrors of fame and of the modern publishing.

From a pure craft perspective, I think this book is an easy 4.5 stars, but from a personal enjoyment perspective it was closer to a 3 star experience. That being said, I haven't been able to stop thinking about this book so maybe upon reread it'll become a full 4 star or higher experience.

This book has been talked about so much and hyped up that I was eager to read it.
I’ll admit based on the peculiar summary of this book I was expecting it to be a mixture of literary fiction and sci-fi but it was leaning more towards drama. At times it does get confusing keeping up with the book within a book so I can see how many readers might struggle with that aspect or lose interest with it. I think since it’s on the lengthy side of over 400 pages more editing needs to be done overall. What I absolutely appreciated was the main character of Zelu, a Nigerian American paraplegic author battling with her disability, cultural identity and ambitious goals. I admire the author for being so creative with this book and I understand what all the hype surrounding this was about. As stated before I did feel this was a tad too long and drawn out which might bore some readers or make them lose interest which would be an utter shame as those who stop reading would be missing out on something unique and extraordinary.
This was such an unusual book that tackled so many subject matters that is destined to be discussed in group settings. Not all readers will understand the message and themes this book takes on but I know anyone who ends up finishing this will be thinking about this book for a very long time.
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me this ARC copy in exchange for my honest feedback and review.

Death of the author was so incredibly emotional !so sad, so gut-wrenchingly emotional, I love a good read that makes me think about the book after I finish this was no different I highly recommend this book more people should read it this should be shouted about across the world.

A touching story about a daughter of immigrants, her struggle to find her place in her family and in society, plus a bonus second book in the novel she writes that shoots her into a completely different orbit.

I was so shocked to see a Nnedi Okorafor title available under "Read Now" on NetGalley that I had to snatch it up and dive right in! The last few days have been a whirlwind while reading this adventure during a snowy, below zero weekend. I was a bit disappointed by the last 1/4 of the book because it seemed to be such a shift in the dynamics of pacing, but overall, I loved this and cannot wait to snag a copy in print as it looks like a real beauty! Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My Selling Pitch:
A tone-deaf author insert wish fulfillment family drama by an Elon Musk/Jeff Bezos apologist with a pointless Wall-E/Hail Mary mashup shoehorned into it that blasts cancel culture while managing to be misogynistic, ableist, transphobic, and racist. And then advocates for AI’s use in creating books.

Top of my do not read list.

Pre-reading:
Don't know anything about this book other than that a few book boxes have picked it, and meta fiction is having a major moment.

(obviously potential spoilers from here on)
Thick of it:
It’s a little Fleabag, I May Destroy You, and Come and Get It in its traumatized messiness.

That is the plot of Wall-E.

Make sure the sci-fi bros know the robots have that robussy.

I do not like dolphins.

This AI is the villain in a sci-fi novel is kind of cliché and cheesy.

And that's basically the plot of Hail Mary. Even down to the spider partner.

I think this is fine. I do not think I personally like it.

As someone who can't drive, I feel that.

I don’t think of it as submitting to technology. I think of it as being serviced by technology.

Stop with the password pop culture drops

Is her novel gonna get canceled because of the incident at uni, and this is the author being like cancel culture is actually just racist oppression because like some of it yes, and other bits no.

I know it’s a different culture but the misogyny of it all and the phrases are pissing me off.

I will say the audiobook is very well done.

Name dropping The Martian when this book is so similar to Hail Mary is a choice.

And she's a surgeon. Parentified daughter much.

Like I know the point is that the sci-fi book is inspired by her life but it feels so heavy-handed and repetitive instead of letting the reader assume. Like I assumed the robot's teal legs came from her wheelchair before the book explicitly told me. It’s like hammering you over the head like do you see the themes yet???? And I’m over here like trust your reader to pick up some implied meaning. Let them work.

Her family kinda sucks. It’s a good examination of how you can love and care for someone to their detriment.

Where are we going with this? I feel bad being like I’m bored, but I’m bored.

Okay post apocalyptic row boat submarines as whale watching-pretty brilliant.

She deserves much better than the current love interest. He sucks.

I'm very live and let live with it but I don't understand this book’s preoccupation with weed.

Dolphin people are something else.

Oh, it figures this insecure man is a shortie.

I'm at the point where I would DNF. It's 50% I don't care. I don't see this miraculously changing up and making me care. (Ironically if I had DNFed here, the book would’ve had a higher rating.)

And it went exactly where I thought it was headed. Sigh. I'm boredddd.

Why wouldn't you answer no im mine? This book frustrates me.

This chapter is awful. The book feels very adolescent and wish fulfillment-y. I'm curious how old the author is and if she or a relative is disabled.

Like this chapter is so bad. So teenage angst. You don't even know me. Like what is this? And a quirky artsy fartsy hippie. Like this is garbage.

That felt like one of those planted influencer vpn ads.

How can you rail against “comfort food” when a good 10% of your book has just been literal comfort food.

Girl, you're a millionaire. My sympathy is nonexistent.

This is not Elon Musk sympathy fiction, is it? Because I'll lose it.

I'm taller. He is that short.

I fundamentally don’t understand how you could love a country and a system and an ideology that treats your family member so horribly. Like how much closer to you does it have to be so that you develop empathy for other human beings? What’s wrong with you?

If you’re wondering how American I am, I have been reading the audiobook and not following along And I kept hearing them mention what I heard as jello fries. And I was like huh, I wonder what style of french fries they’re talking about. I’m reading the book this morning with my eyeballs. Jollof rice. That makes a lot more sense. I-😂 I’m over here like man, they eat a lot of poutine!

How do you have the education to be a surgeon and yet are still that ignorant

What in the Elon Musk apologist is this dog shit? (Musk/Bezos interchangeable assholes.)

Imagine writing a nonconsensual wedding and thinking it’s romantic.

This is gonna be a two-star because it is a complete story that’s written and readable and has purpose but like absolutely one-star for personal enjoyment. Absolutely on my do not read list.

GIRL. This is not respectful. Be so fucking for real. This book’s morals are so beyond warped.

Hey bestie, keeping an activity secret from your husband that he’s morally against, super uncool. Very toxic. Beyond unhealthy

Oh, I’m PISSED. I know this book isn’t preaching all women who are models are vapid gold diggers. FUCK absolutely FUCK this toxic 5’7 man. I can’t believe a woman wrote this. In 2025. Fuck the two-star rating. I’m done. I’m so DONE.

I genuinely believe reading diversely is so important and you have to take in viewpoints and experiences that are different from your own, but if this author believes anything that her characters are preaching-like get so, so fucked.

I keep thinking it can’t get worse and then it does. Absolutely fuck this Elon Musk apologist. Don’t know how a woman of 2025 managed to write one of the most racist, misogynistic, ableist steaming piles of garbage I’ve ever had the misfortune of reading.

Oh cool, and now it’s transphobic. What the actual fuck. This book is really just like how else can I piss Sam off?

I’m shaking I’m so angry. How did this get published? It’s one thing to be a bad book. It’s another to have so much toxic messaging and be convinced you’re being woke and sharing important words with humanity as a whole. This is fucking delusional.

There’s no way they would let you go to space without retesting for pregnancy

Hey, I don’t think essentially advocating for AI’s use in the creation of stories even if you’ve anthropomorphized AI is kosher for artists.

I hate this book.

You know what feels incredibly tone-deaf? This pregnancy story arc when that NASA astronaut has been posting her infertility journey everywhere on social media.

Literally beyond unethical.

Post-reading:
It is so important to me to read stories from perspectives different. I want to understand people’s different life experiences and be exposed to new ideas and cultures. I come with an open mind. I’m willing to change my opinion when presented with sound reasoning and evidence. And I issue this disclaimer to cover my ass when I absolutely blast this book.

What the actual shit was this. How did this get published. In 2025.

And what baffles me is that it clearly thinks it’s woke and an advocate for change.

This has to be one of the most misogynistic, racist, transphobic, ableist pieces of work I’ve ever had the misfortune of picking up. And let’s break this down a bit.

You’re not a feminist for saying fuck the patriarchy. You are misogynistic for saying models only care about what they look like and date men for money.

You’re not antiracist just for featuring characters with diverse backgrounds. You are racist when you say all people from a country believe a rhetoric and their opinions can’t be changed.

You aren’t an ally for having a gender non-conforming character present in your work whose sole narrative purpose is to help another character learn to choose women that aren’t like other girls so he can be fulfilled. You are echoing and amplifying transphobic hate speech when you have a character wondering if someone has changed their identity just to rape them.

You aren’t inclusive just for having a disabled main character. You aren’t ableist for having a disabled character receive medical treatment. You are ableist when you use a fictionalized miracle vaccine to allow a pregnant woman to travel into space as a get out of jail free card so she can escape ethical concerns.

Like what the shit.

How do you sit here as an author and advocate for the use of AI in the creation of artwork? It’s just so incredibly tone-deaf. And even if we put aside all my moral qualms with the book, what are we left with?

An author insert wish fulfillment family drama? The characters are fundamentally unlikable and deeply hateful. And sure, you can do a character study on a toxic family unit, but you’re gonna be hard-pressed to make me enjoy it when no one’s redeemable. I can’t get over how toxic the main character’s romance is. That’s a hateful little man she’s been stuck with. The couple ignores each other’s ethical and moral boundaries at every turn, and the book still has the audacity to present them as something to strive for and emulate. All book we’re told how incredible Zelu’s work is with no evidence to support it. Even if you take the ending’s spin as fact, then it’s just a robot crafting a story about a hateful family.

To me, meta fiction works best when there’s an element of satire to it. I’m talking about your House of Leaves’ pretension, your Benjamin Stevenson cheeky fourth wall breaks. That’s absent here. This is one shitty story nestled into another shittier one. The robot chapters feel unnecessary to the family drama. It’s not like their themes combine for greater messaging, no matter which story you take at face value. Either you have a robot name dropping famous authors and characters from other works while it writes about a disabled human to process the destruction and subsequent upgrading of its own legs, or you have a human who canonically knows Andy Weir ripping off Wall-E and Hail Mary for some cliched post apocalyptic fiction. Both options are bad!

If this had just been a family drama, I’d still have my problems with its moral failings and general inaction. Zelu comes off like a whiny teenaged Wattpad author rather than a woman in her late thirties with a nuanced perspective. I’d still have problems with some fictionalized Bezos/Musk character randomly taking our main character into space and jettisoning any ethical considerations for how their fortunes and technology are even possible, let alone the complete suspension of disbelief necessary to buy into sending a completely unqualified astronaut into space for a joy ride for free.

If this had just been another robot book, I probably would’ve gotten through this with a it’s nothing new but it’s technically readable vibe.

But put together? What are we doing. I sincerely hope the author doesn’t actually believe the messages her characters are spewing. You can write from perspectives different than your own, but dear god, what was the point? This is shooting to the top of my do not read list. It’s a boring story and it’s got hateful messaging, and I think that easily outweighs any worth someone could glean from reading this.

Who should read this:
No one
Fans of diverse representation family dramas who are capable of reading critically

Ideal reading time:
Anytime

Do I want to reread this:
Fuck no.

Would I buy this:
Hard, hard pass.

Similar books:
* The Death I Gave Him by Em X. Liu-mixed media, meta, sci-fi Hamlet retelling, queer romance
* I Might Be in Trouble by Daniel Aleman-character study, meta fiction, queer
* Come and Get It by Kiley Reid-lit fic character study, social commentary, queer
* Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter-character study lit fic, dystopian satire, family drama, mental health
* Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir-dude bro sci-fi romp
* Annie Bot by Sierra Greer-sci-fi dystopian, social commentary
* House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski-mixed media, meta fiction, character study, lit fic, horror
* Mood Swings by Frankie Barnet-dystopian satire, social commentary
* The Observable Universe by Heather McCalden-lit fic memoir linking viruses to technology
* Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly-lit fic, character study, family drama, queer
* Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley-lit fic, character study, family drama

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Nnedi takes us on a fascinating ride between these two worlds. And the end makes you want to start the book all over again.

I have been a fan of Nnedi Okorafor's speculative fiction for years (which is a tall order, as it might be my least preferred genre), so I was delighted to receive an advance copy of her latest work, Death of the Author. This work is described as "a masterclass of metafiction," and I tend to agree.

The deep themes of this book (e.g., artistry, autonomy, ableism) and the focus on intersectionality make me want to discuss it in depth.

Many thanks to the author, publishers, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

Zelu is a 32 year old paraplegic woman with an MFA in creative writing, a novel she wrote six years ago she can't sell, and has just been fired from her adjunct teaching position. At her sister's destination wedding inspiration for a sci-fi novel hits and she writes a breakout hit, but what will change as she rockets to fame?

I would describe this book as literary fiction joined alongside Africanfuturism sci-fi, as there are two works alongside each other. You get the unfolding story from Zelu's perspective, chapters of Rusted Robots, and chapters of interview snippets with Zelu's family and friends. I think if you enjoyed Yellowfave by R. F. Kuang, you will likely enjoy this; there are some similar themes even though the protagonists and genres are very different.

Thank you to William Morrow Books for an ARC on NetGalley. All opinions are my own. This book is due to be published 1/14/25.

I don't know how to review this book. It's rather unique, so doesn't really lend itself to easy, straightforward comparisons with other books. I liked it quite a lot, but can't say I LOVED it (hence 4 stars instead of 5).

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.