Lagoon

I get bored when aliens always seem to land on the National Mall in Washington or hover over Los Angeles, so I was delighted to discover that at least one alien ship prefers to land in the lagoon off Lagos, Nigeria.

It’s a city as big or bigger than New York, after all. There is the challenge of dealing with very enigmatic visitors, but the time is the present and readers get a whirlwind tour of one of the world’s megacities. It’s like having the most highspeed guide you can imagine… who happens to be one of the most compelling… show more.

Nnedi Okorafor is the leading light in African Speculative Fiction (ASF) and Lagoon is a great place to start (or continue), by reading Nnedi’s wide-ranging, seamless and extensive blends of science fiction and fantasy, all firmly rooted in the African continent. Lagoon is a first contact/alien invasion novel and where else would aliens want to invade, than the massive Nigerian metropolis of Lagos? This not only decenters traditional Western narratives of first contact, but it starts and ends with animal and mythic voices that remind us of our histories—and that we are already surrounded by ‘aliens’ (many of whom we… show more.

I love a book that from page one, you have no idea at all where it’s going to take you. Lagoon is such a book. I love the idea it’s based on: ‘what if the aliens invaded, but they just didn’t pick America, because that wasn’t what was interesting to them?’ I found it so beautifully written that it reignited my passion for Sci-Fi after a long absence. There are lands and minds and people to explore in this book that are futuristic and fantastical and I adored every minute of it.