This was such an interesting book. The author's brain is just so amazing. Zelu is such a controversial character. She had me so frustrated with her choices but also I felt so much for her with how her family seemed to belittle everything that she did.

The end of Death of the Author genuinely surprised and delighted me, but unfortunately the payoff came too late. The novel, which moves between a story about a disabled Nigerian author named Zelu and the sci fi book that makes her famous, never quite cohered for me. Despite the huge ideas taken up by the novel—the potential for technology to transform disability, the relationship between AI and story-telling, literal space travel—the pace of the novel is quite slow, and much of it is devoted to Zelu’s anger. Some of this anger, like that directed at her family for their ableism, feels very fair, and some, like that aimed at her readership, does not. Overall, I found Death of the Author a slow and somewhat frustrating read, albeit one that seems destined to enter the growing canon of books grappling with the impact of AI on society.

I've seen this author's books on other people's TBRs but had never read any of them. Based on my experience reading this one I will be watching for more books by Okorafor. The disability representation in this novel is fantastic, and I really liked the portrayal of how technology that seems gimmicky to many people offers particularly attractive options for disabled people, especially through things like self-driving cars. Given where we are tech-wise in real life, maybe this book will read more as literary fiction over time, and not as sci-fi at all, but for now the sci-fi elements provide a novel alternative to the more common sci-fi narratives. I really enjoyed this book, and will not be surprised if it winds up on several prize longlists this year.

Death of an Author is a book that pulls you in and doesn’t let go. At first, it feels more like a deep dive into the life of Zelu, a struggling Nigerian American writer from Chicago, than a science fiction story. She’s facing rejection, unemployment, and a family that doesn’t believe in her. At her lowest point, she writes a novel, Rusted Robots, that unexpectedly takes off and changes everything. The story jumps between Zelu’s life and chapters from her book, creating a unique reading experience. It’s not your typical sci-fi—it’s more personal and emotional—but that’s what makes it so powerful. Some readers might expect a more traditional approach, but I think that’s what makes this book stand out.

The best part is how the two stories connect. Rusted Robots is set in a future where robots have taken over Earth, and while it seems completely separate from Zelu’s journey, the way it all comes together is brilliant. Zelu and her book become so intertwined that you can’t imagine one without the other. The characters are raw and flawed, making them feel incredibly real—even when they make choices you don’t always agree with. I couldn’t put this book down, and the ending was exactly what it needed to be. I’ve read some of Nnedi Okorafor’s work before, but this one really stuck with me. I can’t wait to read more!

Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor is a thought-provoking and imaginative story that introduces us to Zelu who is suddenly dropped from her university job. Coupled with that, her latest novel is rejected. That night she decides to write a book unlike her others. One that explores the interplay between authorship, identity, and control. Set in a near-future world, the narrative delves into the life of an acclaimed author who becomes entangled in a web of intrigue and manipulation.

Okorafor masterfully weaves elements of science fiction and speculative fiction to create a compelling tale that challenges conventional notions of storytelling and ownership. The protagonist's journey is both fascinating and deeply introspective, as they grapple with the implications of their own creations and the forces that seek to exploit them.

The story is rich with Okorafor's signature blend of vibrant world-building and nuanced character development. Her prose is lyrical and evocative, drawing readers into a world where the lines between reality and fiction blur. The themes explored in the story resonate on multiple levels, prompting readers to reflect on the power dynamics inherent in the act of writing and the relationship between creator and creation.

Death of the Author is a captivating and thought-provoking read that showcases Nnedi Okorafor's exceptional storytelling abilities. It's a must-read for fans of speculative fiction and anyone interested in exploring the complex intersections of identity, creativity, and control.

This book was phenomenal! One of the most unique books I’ve ever read. This is a perfect blend of contemporary fiction and science fiction, making it fully approachable if you’re new to the science fiction genre.

The twist had me completely in shock and I haven’t stopped thinking about this book for over a month now!

A paraplegic author writes a sci-fi novel and grapples with family, fame, and AI.
I could not put this book down, I loved the mix of sci-fi and its intersection with both Nigerian culture and the present cultural zeitgeist. The storytelling was captivating and a good blend of imagination and folklore.
Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC!

Books in this subgenre- authors on authors- often just don’t connect with me. In most cases, the reader doesn’t exist within the context of the publishing industry or online fame and it takes some more legwork by the author to make the reader feel invited in to the story. The folks editing and providing early feedback to books are also usually insiders to the industry, so it’s more difficult to have a reliable outsider perspective. It can get very navel-gazey very quickly, so I was a bit nervous about the premise despite really enjoying everything I’ve read from Okorafor so far. I shouldn’t have worried. Okorafor is so good as making extremely specific stories and characters- e.g., a cybernetic woman on the run from the authorities in a giant sandstorm- emotionally resonate in ways both specific and universal. If she can make her fantastical characters easy to connect with (a murderous jellyfish alien being one of my favorites), of course the publishing industry provides no barrier.
If I had to pick one thing to say that this book is about- which is hard because it’s about a lot of things- it would be alienation. Zelu feels a sense of alienation from her own body, a feeling that is explored through her use of cutting-edge mobility aids in the story. As a Nigerian American, she deals with alienation from both her parent’s communities in Nigerian and the broader community in Chicago, especially when she loses her job at the university. Within her own family, she’s alienated by how her parents and siblings perceive her because of her non-traditional life path and disability. She becomes alienated from her own book when a movie studio’s adaptation strips away its Nigerian context and then again when the public perception of the movie is so different from her own. Even within the story within the story, Ankara and Ijele become alienated from their respective robot communities through their entanglement with each other. This is such an important theme, especially post-pandemic, especially in our increasingly fragmented world, and Okorafor approaches it insightfully from many angles in this book.
Zelu is an amazing character. I’m not a big litfic person, but I ended up even more invested in her story than the SF one she’s writing. I started out kind of annoyed at her, but she not-so-slowly won me over completely. She’s so messy and makes lots of choices that you wish she wouldn’t, but you can also get why she’s doing what she’s doing. She’s not always ‘heroic’ (although she does get some heroically brave moments), but she is always easy to root for, even within her mistakes. I love love love a complicated protagonist- my love for Zelu is also, frankly, a great reminder that we don’t need to be perfect to be worthwhile.
My family is very different from Zelu’s, as is my experience with my own disability, but I still felt seen in a way I seldom have by how she interacted with them in regard to it. There are a few moments when she’s so scared about navigating her mobility aids perfectly, not because she’s afraid of falling, but because she’s afraid of what her family seeing her struggle for their perception of her. Messing up at all will prove their worries right, give them an opportunity to rush in and smother you, which in turn makes you so nervous about messing up that you’re more likely to do it. This is such a specific feeling that I hadn’t realized I’d never seen written out like this. Disability, definitionally, means that some things are going to be more difficult, so you can’t ask your family to not worry at all, nor would you truly want that, but the line between supportive and patronizing can be so thin. It’s hard. Even with people who are trying to do the right thing for someone they love. Granted, this doesn’t apply to all of Zelu’s family- some of them flat up suck- but Okorafor layers the complexities of family with the specifics of disability, artistic, and Nigerian-American experiences in a way that leads to interesting thorniness that kept me hooked into the story.
The ending was, I think, the weakest part and the interviews with Zelu’s family didn’t quite loop back into the main narrative how I assumed they would, but I wonder how a second reading will impact that perception. I’m definitely going to read it again. It ruled. Nnedi Okorafor is for sure an auto-buy for me at this point, her craft in writing and constructing worlds is just so good. I note this in every review, but I just love the economy of language in her prose, how she can make complex ideas seem deceptively simple. This is my favorite book of hers so far!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This story follows Zelu, an author who just cannot write the right book. Her life is not exactly where she wants it to be, but when she loses her job and has to deal with her family's unsupportive response, she types out one of the best novels she could have ever written. Her life takes off, but it takes her on many rides - and none are what she expects.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I also enjoyed how the book was set up (letting us take part in the story she creates) and written. This story was so relatable and simple, yet interesting. I wish there was a book two coming (hopefully?). This is my first book from this author, but I will definitely be reading more. I also love the cultural themes in the book. I honestly have nothing bad to say about this read. It's been a while since a book has been 5 stars for me.

What an amazing book! I was slow to finish this one because the world is going crazy, but I took this morning to stay still and read the rest of this book and my brain is still reeling. Nnedi Okorafor manages to tell two different stories in one, creating flawed and complex characters who made me angry and feel all good inside.

I absolutely love Zelu, the main character in the book because she’s flawed and not some sugar-coated version of someone with a disability. Too many people think having a disability means a person no longer has any flaws, desires or dreams. We just see them as disabled (I’ve been guilty of that). But the author writes a very complex and headstrong character in Zelu, which is apparent from the very first few pages of the book. I know I’ll be thinking about her for a long time.

Beautifully written and engaging! I've loved books by Nnedi Okorafor, but this might just be my favorite. First, I always think it's gutsy to write a novel that features a book-within-a-book. So much could go wrong - and it could also be confusing. Not here! And how ballsy to make it a sci-fi book within a lit-fic book?! A tough sell, but in Okorafor's hands, magic happened. The contemporary story of Zelu, a disabled lit professor turned sci-fi author is arresting. We get to experience her as she is different in so many ways, non-traditional by her Nigerian's family standards, and uncompromising in being true to herself. We experience ehr as a debut author with a runaway hit sci-fi books about robots in a future World where humans are no more (well, there was 1 left). And we get the story of the Robots, how their society is structured, their love of stories, hatred of humans, and so much more. There's no much to this book, yet it was written so well. so detailed, the characters virtually lived in my head while I was reading and after I was finished. There are some places where I felt the story dragged a little, but being immersed in this World was a gift to me! Highly recommend.

While the premise was nice, the writing was... not what I expected. I wanted more from the characters because I felt that what was on the front cover and the front flap was not what we were given.

Well .... I guess this book was just not for me. I was interested and invested in Zelu's story. The tragic accident, her surprise best-seller and the heartbreak of the way her family did not support her especially when she got the robot legs, her struggle to write the second book,,, but the excerpts from the robot novel just irked me....I really didn't care about it, I wanted to read about Zelu. Then the last quarter of the book I found myself just skimming---too much robot novel and not enough about Zelu.

This author is talented but I think the book was just not for me.

If you haven’t read this book, you have to. Like. That’s it, that’s the pitch from me. Don’t ask questions, just get a copy. Ok? Ok. 🤣 but actually I’m obsessing over DEATH OF THE AUTHOR ✍️ I’ve heard it compared to YELLOWFACE which is a solid comparison, though this book plays with genre bending in that the Zelu, the protagonist and “author” in question, is also sharing her novel with us in between chapters, which is heavily sci-fi. I can’t explain how good this book is, and how quickly it hooked me. Something about Tolu and the realism of her story, paired with this robotic, AI-inspired novel she’s writing, was just the perfect mix that created such a complex story that I could ACTUALLY see taking place in our current literary and politic world. I don’t want to spoil anything for yall, so just trust me that you need to read this one. It’ll definitely be on my 2025 favorites list

3.75/5✨

2025 release. BIPOC author. Disability rep. Sci-fi. Literary fiction. Metafiction.

“Death of the Author” follows Zelu, a disabled, struggling, Nigerian-American author publishes a groundbreaking novel, and finds herself reimagining her identity amongst the public's and her family's oppressing opinions and Ankara, a human-like robot in a post-apocalyptic world, who finds herself divided between robot-kind amidst a war and a doomsday countdown.

There were so many good things about this book. I loved Zelu, her strong personality, and the rich fabric of her life. There was so much good commentary on publishing and the publishing industry as well as the negatives of fame, especially as a minority. Everything about Zelu’s chapters had me proud and heartbroken and endlessly rooting for her. I think that her complex relationship with her family and culture were nuanced. And Zelu and Msizi — 💕. The sci-fi elements of Zelu’s chapters, like her exos and the self-driving cars were believable and woven seamlessly into an otherwise familiar world. Also, the twist at the end!

Now, what didn’t work for me as well were the robot chapters. I just did not care, and I found myself racing through them to get back to Zelu. That said, I can see what they added to the story.

Overall, I definitely recommend this. There was so much to love about it. If you like books about books/the publishing industry, strong-willed characters and/or sci-fi elements in an otherwise normal world, definitely pick this up.

This is my seventh book by Nnedi Okorafor, and she is quickly becoming not just an auto-buy author but one of my favorite storytellers. She has an uncanny ability to create deeply compelling characters who defy the expectations of those around them, and Ankara and Zelu are no exception.

Death of the Author feels like a turning point for Okorafor. It feels more personal and direct in its exploration of themes. It’s a story within a story, following Zelu, a disabled Nigerian-American author, whose bestselling novel propels her into stardom during one of the lowest points of her life. Her newfound wealth and attention allow her to become even more independent and consider technologies that were once out of reach. Within Zelu’s book, we follow Ankara, a hume (a robot) who loves stories and travels across Nigeria to collect them. Along the way, Ankara uncovers vital information that could destroy both Earth and all A.I. living on it.

I tend to enjoy books with stories within a story, but they don’t always feel cohesive. Often one narrative is more compelling than the other, making it easy to lose interest. That wasn’t the case here. Both stories felt urgent, interconnected, and equally engaging, feeding off each other in a way that kept me hooked.

There’s a lot to unpack in this novel. Okorafor examines themes of authorship, storytelling, and an increasingly A.I.-driven world. She challenges us to consider who gets to create stories and which stories are worth telling while also weaving in conversations about disability and embodiment, friendship, grief, selfhood, and family. This is one of those books I know I’ll revisit and discover something new to appreciate each time.

If you’re curious about Okorafor’s work, Death of the Author is a great place to start. It is a seamless blend of literary fiction, sci-fi, and Africanfuturism.

Side note: I found it a bit comical that part of the story focuses on an author being barraged by fans to write a sequel for years—only for George R.R. Martin to blurb this very book.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advanced reader's copy of Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor.

My thoughts on this book are somewhat conflicted. For a disclaimer, this is the first time I've read a book by Nnedi Okorafor and sci-fi isn't my most-read genre, so there were definitely some issues that led to less enjoyment that were more of a "me" problem than any sort of problem with the book itself.

The themes of the book were its strongest asset, in my opinion. From discussing ableism to racism to whitewashing, this novel is extremely refreshing in terms of its representation. And the way these issues are dealt with by the characters feel sincere and not just that the author is trying to send you a message, as some stories do. In terms of storytelling, I personally love the utilization of the story-in-a-story, so I really enjoyed the twist at the end, though I will say up until then, I really had no interest in the Rusted Robots story and those chapters in the story.

My main issues with the novel have been mentioned by other people already, but it mainly comes down to the pacing of the story and the way I perceived the main character. I don't know if it's just because of the insertions of the Rusted Robot chapters or the interviews with Zelu's friends and family (which, I didn't feel added all that much tbh), but something about the pacing felt so slow, even during slower times in the story. There were certain times when it really felt like I was dragging through the book, even though the story moved quickly and the writing wasn't difficult to read. The biggest issue I had with DotA was with Zelu herself. I think this book being comped to Yellowface, and going in with that expectation, really did this book a disservice for me. But with Yellowface, the main character really is just a bad person, trying to dig herself out of holes that she's created which only makes the holes deeper. So, while Yellowface tackles many important issues that are similar to DotA, no one is really rooting for the main character or wanting her to succeed. So with that in mind, it was hard to tell if Zelu was supposed to be a good, but flawed character that I should root for or if she was just going to end up a jaded asshole. And I feel like that's the whole point, but I felt like the execution of her character just made me confused, not conflicted. I couldn't find myself liking, or really even caring much about any of the characters which I think made this story boring for me.

All in all, I'm glad I read this book because, though it wasn't my favorite, it was a very interesting and impactful read. I can't relate to everything that Zelu experiences, but I can certainly see how the issues discussed in DotA continue to impact the real world. My favorite aspect of the book was the story-in-a-story and I just wish the story had slowed down the timeline so that Zelu as a character could have been explored more.

Wow, what a power house of a novel! To have 2 full unrelated stories that intertwine so well feels masterful! This was my first time reading a novel from Okorafor and I will definitely be diving into her backlist. Both of the main characters were so lovable despite their flaws and the family dynamics and character relationships felt so real. I can't wait to reread this book knowing how it ends and seeing if I can pick up on other details as I go along!

Yes- this is such an incredible book that is a must for anyone who likes book, creativity, and what all that means within being human.

Death of the Author follows Zelu, who has just felt defeated by life recently. At a low point, she writes a book about robots and AI living on earth after humans, and her life changes.

This book is so incredibly well written, from the characters, to the plot, and the plot within the plot, it leaves the reader with a lot to ponder and explore though Okorafor's writing.

Zelu is a wheelchair bound author who struggles within her family to feel seen. Zelu writes a book about robots that becomes a best seller and gains the attention of a scientist who tells her he can help her walk again. Zelu takes him up on his offer which includes robotic legs that she will need to train on. After this I honestly couldn’t get any further in the book, this was not a story for me. The book within a book idea wouldn’t be bad but in this book it just made no sense, the characters were robots and it just felt unnecessary. The dynamics between Zelu and her family was hard to read, the constant downing of her and treating her bad wasn’t enjoyable. I know in African families this can be common, but I dont enjoy reading about women being berated and basically talked down upon, even if it is a part of the culture, it’s off putting. It made me pretty much hate her family and with the robot story added in I had no desire to finish this book. I am sure there are people who will love this books but it just wasn’t for me.