Binti by Nnedi Okorafor is another Tor.com novella that I bought some time ago but am only recently reading. Like The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps, Tor.com procured and produced an excellent story. Ms. Okorafor’s tale of a Himba girl’s travel into space is fantastic. I loved Binti, and lucky for me, there’s two more novellas in this series to read. Binti is the story of a Himba prodigy leaving home for an off-world university. Along the way, she changes the universe. In Binti Nnedi Okorafor created a small but beautiful story about keeping yourself in the midst of change; it grabbed me from the first paragraph and never let go.

TL:DR

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor is a beautiful novella about journeys, change, trusting, and being true to yourself. Recommended.

From the Publisher:

Winner of the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award for Best Novella!

Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs.

Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti’s stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach.

If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself — but first she has to make it there, alive.

Story

I didn’t read the description from the from the publisher close enough; so, the story itself surprised me. Because I enjoyed that surprise, I’m not going to describe the plot. It’s worth the surprise. The attention to detail that Ms. Okorafor put into this novel made it the rich tale it is. Binti’s point of view is that of an outsider on Earth, in transit to, and at Oomza University, which makes her the perfect audience surrogate. The Meduse are sufficiently alien, terrifying, and compelling to be the antagonists of this piece, but never are they treated as two dimensional bad guys, which I appreciated. Ms. Okorafor gave the Meduse as much depth as the human characters, and I’m interested to learn more about their society. Binti’s handling of the Meduse situation was nuanced, compassionate, and correct, which is why this is such a great story. It’s a story where violence isn’t the answer, and that’s refreshing to read.

The world building is grand. I’m interested in Binti’s artifact that she brought with her from Earth. As this is a far future society, I wondered is the artifact human or alien in nature. I think it’s from the war with Meduse, which leads to the question: Are there more of these on Earth? Oomza University looks to be a diverse institution ripe with story opportunities. The best thing that I can say about Oomza is that I want to go there and learn; Ms. Okorafor’s description of the place sounds marvelous. (I’m always a sucker for an intergalactic university, though.)

Character

Binti, the title character, is a compassionate young woman with a yearning from knowledge and an engineer’s touch. While never explicitly described as such, I think she’s a prodigy. Her skill with math and technology is excellent, and her quick thinking saved her life. Her compassionate reaction made this story for me. It showed her creativity, and her universe is forever changed because of it.

Centering Binti in the Himba culture provided an opportunity to showcase the beauty of that culture. I knew nothing of the Himba or otjize, ochre paste as shown on the cover. Binti is torn between being true to her culture and following her educational ambitions. She chooses the latter, but the former is never far from her mind. I enjoyed watching the outsider narrative through this perspective. I learned so much and have so much yet to learn. The use of otjize was so compelling that I had to research it more closely, and it made me proud of human ingenuity. Earth got a little bit bigger when I read this story.

Conclusion

Binti is a short but satisfying novella. It opens a world where peace is a possibility. For me, Binti elicited that sensawunda that characterizes good science fiction. If this genre is supposed to inspire us to explore, this novella inspired me to learn more our world. Also, Binti’s universe is one that I want to explore more. Luckily, there’s two more installments in the series. Recommended for all science fiction fans.

8 out of 10