A new month, a new book! Or in this case, series of books. The Binti Trilogy is a set of short novellas by Nnedi Okorafor. Together they are about the same size as a novel (and about the cost). They tell the story of a young woman in Western Africa who gets an invitation to the best university in the galaxy, and leaves everything she knows to attend. However, these aren't your typical chosen one or fish out of water school stories, and they take a lot of unexpected twists and turns along the way.
We loved the first two novellas when we read them, and so we're excited to get to re-read and finish the whole trilogy, especially after the diappointment of our last book! In this spoiler-free episode, Adrian and Matt discuss the musical and literary roots of Afrofuturism, Adrian's experience going from a rural town to a major university, and why we love these books so much.
Instead of doing one post-read episode this month, we're going to be doing a shorter post-read episode week for a successive novella. The novellas and our schedule are:
- Binti (June 12)
- Binti: Home (June 19)
- Binti: The Night Masquerade (June 26)
And some of the other works we mention include:
- Afrofuturism by Ytasha L. Womack (highly recommended intro)
- Sun Ra & His Archestra
- A Love Supreme by John Coltrane
- Harnessed the Storm by Drexciya
- ATLiens by OutKast
- Blazing Arrow by Blackalicious
- Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe (album / movie)
- Bloodchild and Lillith's Brood by Octavia Butler
- Dhalgren and Nova by Sam Delany
- The Broken Earth Trilogy by NK Jemisin
- Black Panther by Ryan Coogler (soundtrack by Kendrick Lamar)
As always, we'd love to hear from you! Tweet us at @spectologypod, submit the episode at r/printSF, or email us at spectologypod@gmail.com with your thoughts about the book. In particular, check out our twitter this month, where we'll be posting a lot of great Afrofuturist art, music, and other resources.
Many thanks to Dubby J and Noah Bradley for doing our music and art.
Interview w/ the Hugo Administrator, Will Frank, on how & why to get involved with the Hugos
Announcement: Spectology "series finale" and the future of the podcast
28.2: Do You Dream of Terra-Two? post-read: Belief, Depression, and Courage in Sociological Hard SF
Digital Book Tour: Kathleen Jennings on Flyaway: Small Towns, Fairytales, and Linguistics
Digital Book Tour: Somaiya Daud on Mirage & Court of Lions: Body doubles, court politics, and historical science fantasy.
28.1: Do You Dream of Terra-Two pre-read w/ Bee & Estelle: Alternate History, Destiny, and Space Travel
27.2: The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull post-read w/ Lydia: Colonial Power in SF and Rural & Island Culture.
Digital Book Tour: WM Akers on Westside Saints, detective novels, RPGs, and sequels
Digital Book Tour: Nick Mamatas on Move Under Ground, a novel of Beat literary figures fighting Lovecraftian monsters
27.1: The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull pre-read w/ Lydia: Alien invasion and a history of capitalism & colonialism.
Digital Book Tour: Nino Cipri on Finna, a story of parallel universes as found in low-wage furniture stores
Digital Book Tour: SA Jones on The Fortress, a book about restorative justice inside an all-women society
26.2: The True Queen post-read w/ Reading the End: Inclusion in Historical Fantasy, Comfort Reads, Sisterhood, and more
Digital Book Tour: Melissa Caruso on The Obsidian Tower, a story of a young woman on the run from her own magical power
Digital Book Tour: Veronica Roth on Chosen Ones, a story of what happens after the "chosen ones" have saved the world
In Conversation: Our Favorite Underrated SF Movies, with Seth Heasley of the Hugo's There podcast
26.1: The True Queen pre-read w/ Reading the End: Historical Fantasy, Trash Birds, and Chaotic Quarantine Brain
Digital Book Tour: Laura Lam on Goldilocks, a scifi thriller where a group of women steal a spaceship to save humanity
Announcing the Digital Book Tour, hosted by Bee
25.2: The Tea Master & The Detective post-read w/ Julia Rios: Cozy Murder Mysteries in Space!
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