Who Fears Death Audiobook By Nnedi Okorafor cover art

Who Fears Death

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Who Fears Death

By: Nnedi Okorafor
Narrated by: Yetide Badaki
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About this listen

Now optioned as a TV series for HBO, with executive producer George R. R. Martin!

An award-winning literary author enters the world of magical realism with her World Fantasy Award-winning novel of a remarkable woman in post-apocalyptic Africa.

In a post-apocalyptic Africa, the world has changed in many ways; yet in one region genocide between tribes still bloodies the land. A woman who has survived the annihilation of her village and a terrible rape by an enemy general wanders into the desert, hoping to die. Instead, she gives birth to an angry baby girl with hair and skin the color of sand. Gripped by the certainty that her daughter is different—special—she names her Onyesonwu, which means "Who fears death?" in an ancient language.

It doesn't take long for Onye to understand that she is physically and socially marked by the circumstances of her conception. She is Ewu—a child of rape who is expected to live a life of violence, a half-breed rejected by her community. But Onye is not the average Ewu. Even as a child, she manifests the beginnings of a remarkable and unique magic. As she grows, so do her abilities, and during an inadvertent visit to the spirit realm, she learns something terrifying: someone powerful is trying to kill her.

Desperate to elude her would-be murderer and to understand her own nature, she embarks on a journey in which she grapples with nature, tradition, history, true love, and the spiritual mysteries of her culture, and ultimately learns why she was given the name she bears: Who Fears Death.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2010 Nnedi Okorafor. (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
Fairy Tales Fantasy Fantasy Essentials Fiction Historical Fiction Paranormal World Literature

Critic reviews

“Yetide Badaki anchors this fresh production of Okorafor's sprawling postapocalyptic fantasy with her heartfelt portrayal of a fierce, young heroine.… Badaki throws herself into her narration, giving Onye a powerful voice that handily demonstrates her anger at the world she inhabits and her determination to change it. A wry sense of humor accentuated by Badaki rounds out Onye's character and balances the darker aspects of this sometimes bleak and painstakingly detailed world.”AudioFile Magazine

"Haunting and absolutely brilliant. My heart and guts are all turned inside out."—John Green, New York Times-bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars

"Beautifully written, this is dystopian fantasy at its very best. Expertly exploring issues of race, gender, and cultural identity, Okorafor blends future fantasy with the rhythm and feel of African storytelling."—Library Journal (starred review)

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