I wanted to love this because of the intriguing setting and storyline but it kept throwing me off. The accent used by the narrator became distracting and the story didn't feel consistent. I'm disappointed in myself because I usually love magical realism.

This is a unique novel- a true Noir crime novel set in an unusual West African Setting, with a hearty dose of magical realism. At first, I wasn't sure this was going to work for me, but then it really very much did work for me.!

Boubocar really wants to just live a quiet life, but when a seriously injured woman stumbles into his office and life, he's not able to avoid her, and all of the issues and problems surrounding her- for example... she floats on air?
He, and the reader, are soon embarking on a city wide adventure involving libraries, magic, land, foreign colonial officials, unlikely adorable allies and terrifying enemies.
Dion Graham was the narrator and his rich clear voice brought the story to life!

Enjoyable Listen. Thank you to TOR/Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

I met Tochi Onyebuchi at New York Comic Con a few years ago and got him to sign a copy of Goliath for me. I really enjoyed that book, and, although I hadn’t loved his earlier book Riot Baby, I was always on the lookout for more stuff by him. I was excited to find out that he had a new book coming out, and even more excited when I learned it was like a noir detective story that was also a fantasy. I got an audiobook eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and I really enjoyed it! It was cool and atmospheric like the best noir stories. It reminded me of the Maltese Falcon and also Even Though I Knew the End in the best ways. I also really enjoyed the narrator of this audiobook. I appreciated it that, when the first person protagonist was winded our out of breath, the narration reflected that as well.

I had no clue it was going in that direction when I started "Harmattan Season" by Tochi Onyebuchi. But I learned some things because I needed more context.

An evening that involves a bleeding woman appearing in your doorway isn't the start to a good night. But that is the luck Boubacar has. Now he has to find out what is happening, especially when she is found again. The French occupation enforces "peace" by suppressing the dugulen. It's a city boiling over and the truth might just set it off.

Narrated by Dion Graham, 3 separate times I got chills and just had to dissociate while the narration happened.

Reasons to read:
-Fantasy noir in postcolonial West Africa
-Wild imagery when things occur
-Well that's super messed up
-The different groups
-That's a lot of beatings
-What can you give up when you have nothing

Cons:
-Realizing my ignorance about another part of history

This book grabbed my by the throat from the first line and didn't let go the rest of the book. Onyebuchi has given us a hell of a noir set in a postcolonial world that isn't quite entirely past the colonial part yet, a main character who moves in both worlds and has a hell of a past from the wars, the plot that he is drawn into when he finds a dying girl in his shitty apartment and blossoms into something that encompasses their whole town and society. This is a story about what one is willing to do in the face of atrocities, what one is willing to do to change the world, and what one is willing to stand up for. The narrative voice is amazing, and the audiobook narrator also does an astounding job. Highly recommended read this summer.

I really wanted to like this one more than I did. Initially I had thought that acclaimed audiobook narrator Dion Graham’s West African/French accent would be a treat to listen to, and while it is, for some reason my focus kept on slipping away. I don’t know if it’s the genre (can I not do noir mysteries?), format (listening to speculative fiction–if this can be considered specific–is not my forte), or the story itself. Nothing really stood out for me in terms of story, characters, or audiobook performance for me to sink my teeth into.

DNF at 20%. Nothing really wrong with this story, but I was bored. It would probably be a 3 star read in the end.

This is about PI Boubacar and the mystery he gets sucked into. A bleeding woman comes to him but then inexplicably disappears. She’s a part of some larger conspiracy that Boubacar tries to solve. It’s set in a French colonized African country (not named, I don’t think?), so that’s a big component. It also says it’s fantasy, but it doesn’t read as a futuristic story, so I think the speculative part comes in with the mystery of the story.

It’s a bit slow for how short it is. And I didn’t feel particularly engaged or invested in the mystery once things slowed down. But I think the setting is refreshing and the speculative element would presumably be cool. Anyone who enjoys a noir detective story might want to try this one, especially for the unique take.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

3.75⭐ rounded up

Boubacar is a P.I. and a veteran in post colonial West Africa. After a woman appears in his apartment, asking him to hide her, then disappears, only to reappear floating dead in the air, Bouba knows he has stumbled into something bigger. Caught between the locals, the French, the police, and other parties in play, Boubacar starts looking for answers, but they may cost him in his pursuit.

Set on the eve of an election, this novel felt very atmospheric. The narrator, Dion, does a lovely job bringing a smoky grit to Bouba, but I did have trouble in parts following what was happening due to the accents used (worth slowing down the narration if you listen at a faster speed). Worthwhile to give this audio book a listen. This is my first novel from Tochi, but it won't be my last

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for an ALC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This book will be published on 5/27/25.

This murder mystery with fantasy elements and witty writing set in the context of colonialism is a thought provoking and fascinating read. I became more invested once the political machinations became apparent. I do wish some of the elements were explored more thoroughly.

True Rating- 4.5 of 5

Life isn't easy for Boubacar post-war. In this alternative-history fantastical retelling, the French colonizers of an West African inspired setting have thrived. They are slowly pushing the locals and indigenous peoples into the fringes. Being of mixed parentage, Boubacar had offered his services in the war on their side. In his days as a veteran he became an independent investigator. Bad luck, culture clashes, and maybe a chip on the shoulder or two have contributed to work becoming sparse. Not in favor with any of the social classes, he has been left to an impoverished life.

Everything changes when a dying woman being chased by police winds up at his door only to disappear again. This is only a prelude. The mystery won't even begun until she reappears -dead and floating as light as a cloud.

There is a bit of a dystopian nature to the feel of this book. While the fantastical element is important, "Harmattan Season" is a high action, deeply political, noir at heart. Filled with morally complex characters, savvy street urchins, seedy businesses that may or may not be covers, hustlers, lots of intrigue, people from all levels of economic fortune, this book is a non-stop marathon. Even in the moments Boubacar is inert, he is assaulted by memories or new leads that completely change where he was headed. It keeps the reader engaged and maybe nearly as exhausted as our protagonist in much more enjoyable ways than his experience.

What elevates this story is the use of colonialism's effect on not just the city but in everyone's perspective. It creates a situation where our protagonist doesn't struggle just with the racial aspects of being from both worlds. He is forced to deal the fallout of buying the narrative the French were selling and serving them for reasons not entirely motivated by survival. THis leaves him not only outcast on all sides but adds on war trauma to his lifelong struggle with guilt over who he is and the choices he's made to find community.

This is a book of resistance and transformation. It dives into the complexity of political and capitalist systems drowned in corruption from many angles. There are technically fantastical elements to this story, but they are depicted in a more spiritual manner. It is incidental and surprising to the world instead of all encompassing. The activation of it is both sacrifice and reclamation. It is an echo to the journey undertaken by characters and environment alike.

The beauty and intensity of this novel is in no small part thanks to the absolutely masterful performance by Dion Graham. It should come as no surprise given his catalog. I know for certain I would not have been completely engrossed by this without such a quality reading. He truly invokes an atmosphere and attitude. Flawlessly he integrates a variety of dialects, accents, and linguistics. It truly helps paint the picture of how fractured and at the same time intermingled the world has become revealing influences. All the while he provides excellent tempo for pacing in parts that are not of the dialogue.

Mr. Graham elevates this story to an experience. I confess I had to go back a couple times as I was so engrossed in the feel of the audio to take in the narrative. It is an additional incentive to picking up where all the threads were laid to reread in the future.

Harmattan Season is a noir-style fantasy set in French-colonial Africa. It follows a jaded investigator who is shaken by the appearance of a bleeding young woman on his doorstep, who is later found dead and suspended in mid-air. It has themes of colonialism and the harm that comes with it and is stylized in a noir sort of way, but with some speculative elements added in. It's doing something interesting, though the characters feel rather arms-length which might be a challenge for character-driven readers. The audiobook is very well done and immersive to the place and culture. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

I did find Dion Graham's narration a bit hard to understand at times. He has a very good voice and it did bring authenticity to the story though and once I got used to the flow of speech it was okay and I was intrigued with the story.

It is very dark and gritty set in a post-colonial French West African country in a time of unrest and change with rebels wanting to reclaim their land, French police and soldiers attacking them, and then there are the mixed race people, torn between the two nationalities. This story had the added effect of a bit of magic that I found interesting and kept me listening. And surprisingly it also had a political reason (all about removing the part that had been poisoned by the water of the conquered land with an intriguing side effect).

That is the broad view of the novel. Narrowing down, this is a story about a detective named Boubacar, weary with the choices he has made in his life and looking for either punishment or redemption for those choices, starting with the woman who burst into his office/home late one night with a peculiar wound and then her subsequent mysterious death. Many surprises and beatings were on that path, and honestly I was amazed by how many beatings Bouba received but how he kept going, unraveling the mystery, plots to reclaim the country, and meeting interesting people like the helpful urchin, rebels, police, and those who changed to survive the French occupation. I also liked how the book both started and ended with the woman that came into Bouba's life and changed everything because of it.

So, it was an interesting slice of a dark time with a bit of hope and the ability to change.

Very different from I normally read, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a Fantasy Noir book before, but I have to say I was intrigued!!

This book really kept my attention & the narration by Dion Graham was phenomenal!! It really sold the story- I was locked in fr. My favorite scene was probably when Bouba was getting confronted by a loan officer whilst getting roasted by a street urchin. Truly a well blended scene from two different worlds & Bouba happens to be a part of both. I was cracking up that whole scene lmfaoo. I did not expect this to have that type of humor at all!

Overall, this was a very interesting side of fantasy, more so magic realism, in my opinion. Mixed in with noir & colonialism- This was a read!! So much mystery & plot, being a quarter French I was like
👁️👄👁️ I get it lmfao. My genes have colonized too.

A dark mystery about a woman who turns up on a down-on-his-luck detective’s doorstep with a gaping and bleeding wound, pursued by official-looking and sounding officers. The detective hides her (at her request), but she is gone when he returns to check on her. The rest of the novel is him trying to figure out who she was and why others like her are turning up with organs missing in this post- colonial, formerly French African nation. Lots of gritty scenes in the outskirts of the city — in the markets where people buy real apricots, not apricot-flavored tidbits. A timely novel too: what must people do when their current government looks the other way at (or actively participates in schemes of) corruption and greed? Not sure why it is considered a fantasy novel other than the titular Harmattan Season, but definitely a noir mystery with an unlikely hero at its center. The narration was decent, but I had trouble telling some of the characters apart while listening. 3.5 stars rounded up.
My thanks to the author, publisher, @MacmillanAudio, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook of #HarmattanSeason for review purposes. The title is now available.

Harmattan Season
Tochi Onyebuchi
Narrator: Dion Graham

Fantasy noir set in French Colonial West Africa. I requested this being a fan of Dion Graham narrations, but honestly, I have mixed feelings about this one, mostly because I had quite a bit of trouble understanding what he is saying. I have travelled extensively and have absolutely no trouble understanding locals’ accents in Africa, the Caribbean or even France, but Dion’s affectation was bordering on the equivalent of Yellowface, in my opinion. Really now, we don't need to hear Pachinko read in a fake Korean accent, do we? Perhaps he was trying to be more authentic, but when it interferes with understanding and effective communication, what is the point?

The novel itself was quite slow and I just did not connect with it, as I did not like the audio experience. May consider reading a print or ebook version, but then again, I don’t think I was impressed enough by the story to do so.

2.5 stars

3 stars for the novel
2 stars for the narration

Bouba is a veteran turned private eye caught adrift in French occupied West Africa, with the worst luck. "Fortune always left whatever room I walked into, which is why I don’t leave my place much these days," he says. A bleeding, strange woman stumbles into his house one night, then vanishes, only to be found hung up floating in the air. As an investigator, he needs to unravel the mystery, but as a mixed race vet, he finds himself in a precarious position.

I really enjoy Tochi Onyebuchi's worldbuilding: he gives us a strong sense of place without overwhelming the reader with unimportant details. Harmattan Season tackles colonialism and identity alongside the mystery, integrating them into the plot. The audiobook, narrated by Dion Graham, is outstanding, and I highly recommend listening.

Onyebuchi is a storyteller, and this is a prime example of his craft.

This noir crime detective novel is set in Post- colonial French West African country. The protagonist of Harmattan Season is Boubacar, a private detective who is down on his luck and struggling to pay his bills. Bouba, is disturbed one evening by a young woman knocking on his door and bleeding from a serious stomach wound. When she asks for his help, he hides her in his closet, right before the police arrive and proceed to search his apartment. After the police leave, finding nothing, the young woman has somehow mysteriously disappeared. The writing is excellent, but the story didn’t grab me. I will look forward to reading this author again, despite my failure to fully enjoy this work.