Synopsis: The concluding part of the highly-acclaimed science fiction trilogy that began with Nnedi Okorafor's Hugo- and Nebula Award-winning BINTI.
Binti has returned to her home planet, believing that the violence of the Meduse has been left behind. Unfortunately, although her people are peaceful on the whole, the same cannot be said for the Khoush, who fan the flames of their ancient rivalry with the Meduse.
Far from her village when the conflicts start, Binti hurries home, but anger and resentment has already claimed the lives of many close to her.
Once again it is up to Binti, and her intriguing new friend Mwinyi, to intervene--though the elders of her people do not entirely trust her motives--and try to prevent a war that could wipe out her people, once and for all.
Don't miss this essential concluding volume in the Binti trilogy.
Review: Binti: The Night Masquerade is the concluding novella in the Binti trilogy. In The Night Masquerade, Binti learns more about the things that make her who she is. I still love Binti, and I think this particular book does a great job of handling the complexities of being from different cultures. After the first book, Binti has to handle elements of herself that come from the Meduse, so we already have these themes in the second book. There's a really great scene where Binti starts to second guess whether she is still Himba. I particularly liked this line, "You are different from what you were born as, certainly. But as I said before, you're healthy." She has such a hard time adjusting to these new elements in her life, but that line was such a good affirmation that being different doesn't make her bad or less human.
Another element that I appreciated was Mwinyi's interaction with people from Oomza Uni. Mwinyi is someone who hasn't felt the need to go to school, and that in no way makes him less than Binti. Binti appreciates the education Oomza Uni can give her, but Mwinyi doesn't need it. I think it invites a nice, balanced conversation about higher education and the kinds of people who might not want that. That's one thing that I wish would have been expanded on a bit more.
Great conclusion to a hard hitting sci-fi trilogy.
5 howls
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