Binti: Sacred Fire

Binti #1.5

by Nnedi Okorafor

This short story, set between the events of Binti and Binti: Home, tells of Binti's experiences at Oomza University. It is included as a bonus story in Binti: The Complete Trilogy.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fantasy, Fiction, Novella, Space, Africa

40 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

Nnedi Okorafor is a New York Times Bestselling writer of science fiction and fantasy for both children and adults. The more specific terms for her works are africanfuturism and africanjujuism, both terms she coined and defined. Born in the United States to two Nigerian (Igbo) immigrant parents and visiting family in Nigeria since she was a child, the foundation and inspiration of Nnedi’s work is rooted in this part of Africa. Her many works include Who Fears Death (winner of the World Fantasy Award and in development at HBO as a TV series), the Nebula and Hugo award winning novella trilogy Binti (in development as a TV series), the Lodestar and Locus Award winning Nsibidi Scripts Series, LaGuardia (winner of a Hugo and Eisner awards for Best Graphic Novel) and her most recent novella Remote Control. Her debut novel Zahrah the Windseeker won the prestigious Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature. She lives with her daughter Anyaugo in Phoenix, AZ. Learn more about Nnedi at Nnedi.com and follow Nnedi on twitter (as @Nnedi), Facebook and Instagram.

Reviews

[Olivia-Savannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this short story. I feel like it could have been absorbed into and included in the first Binti book, but I am glad it is an extra we get. It looks at Binti processing some of the mental trauma from the happenings in book one, which felt very realistic. Especially when it came to her and Okwu.

It also looks a bit more at the displacement she feels about being so far from here. I liked that. And I liked seeing the development of some friendships.

Okorafor does a great job of writing alien creatures and having them seem alien in their appearance, mannerisms, expressions and dialogue. Sometimes authors write aliens and they are so humanlike it is easy to forget they are alien.

The writing is still sparse, simple and straightforward though, which is the only thing I would want more from.

[Mitticus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Relato corto, que más parece uno de esos capítulos que quedan volando y después se publican. Aquí Binti en Oomza después del viaje en Pez Tercero, tratando de sobrepasar su trauma y hasta pstd de ese viaje, tratando de encontrar sentido a muerte y su cambio físico sin hallarlas, pero esperando encontrar un equilibrio a todos esos cambios tan lejos de su casa , familia y todo lo conocido.

«Tenía que ir allí. Alejarme de mis recuerdos, alejarme de mi dolor, alejarme de las preguntas, marchaos marchaos marchaos marchaos marchaos. Solo me había sentido así antes, el día en que encontré el edan, cuando sentí que todo lo demás controlaba mi vida menos yo. Había querido bailar y, en vez de eso, el resto de gente decidió que no podía.
—Voy a ir al desierto —dije, con más lágrimas en los ojos. Suplicaba—. Tengo que ir al desierto. Tengo que ir. Tengo que ir.»

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story about what to do when you are the only survivor on a ship-wide massacre and then you end up inescapably tied to one of the murderers.
Like grief and pain, I find myself unsure what to do with this story. It's one of those stories that, yes, you can go through it and break it down and find lots going on (I think I said about book 1 that I would love to teach it) but at the same time I think this is a lesson in just letting a story be. Just let it move through you. It's not a riddle to be solved or a suitcase to be unpacked, it just is, and its value is that it exists.

[Mangrii · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leído del tirón «Binti: Fuego sagrado», un complemento a la trilogía “Binti” de Nnedi Okorafor publicada por Crononauta con otra traducción estupendástica de Carla Bataller y que funciona como capítulo intermedio y/o complementario entre la primera y la segunda entrega.

Un relato largo que nos lleva hasta los primeros días de Binti por la Universidad Oomza Uni y explora un poco más las consecuencias traumáticas, emocionales y personales sobre Binti con el final de la primera entrega, dando más contexto sobre el inicio de la segunda.

[Trisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I fail to understand the hype about this series. 😏

[aria ✧ · Rating 3 out of 5]

binti is going through some serious ptsd

[Maryam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it's an important one to read before Binti: Home because it gives a lot of context to it. I have to say that for now this short story has done more for me than the novellas.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series just isn't working for me. I appreciated the trauma response, finally, but it made for a frustrating read. A few continuity issues, and a lack of rich, grounded world-building.

[La Nave Invisible]

Binti: Fuego sagrado de Nnedi Okorafor. Publicado por Editorial Crononauta y con traducción de Carla Bataller Estruch.
Esta historia nos sitúa poco después de la llegada de Binti a Oomza Uni. En un lugar extraño y lejos de casa, Binti tiene frescos los recuerdos de lo acontecido a bordo de Pez Tercero. En un relato cercano al slice of life conoceremos un poco más de la universidad y los habitantes de la zona y como Binti debe acostumbrarse a toda la nueva situación.

Reseña por Darkor_LF

[Annie thebooksengine · Rating 3 out of 5]

ha sido un breve y agradable regreso a Oomza Uni, ojalá volver a leerme la trilogía por primera vez

[Nadine Keels · Rating 2 out of 5]

The preceding story ultimately left me thinking: Stockholm syndrome.

This interlude, if you will, begins to address some of what I feel iffy about, but I'm still feeling iffy.

And I suspect there must be something about this series so far that I don't understand, as I'm not really connecting with the journey or the characters. It all feels pretty dry and underdeveloped to me.

Nevertheless, I'm still curious to see where all of this might be going. So I'll read on to the next story...

[Kinley · Rating 5 out of 5]

For everything able to be understood and related to (despair, grief, desire to escape, challenges of relationships) Okorafor has created a universe that is unique, dynamic, and challenging to understand. Everything at once in this short story. It felt like much clicked into place while also realizing how masterfully Okorafor has crafted this new world.

[Yuna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short story showed the aftermath of what Binti had to go through in the first book.
All her grief, PTSD and struggles from being so far from home.
I don't have a lot to say, just that it was beautiful and heartbreaking.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set between the first and second books, this story fleshes out some of the details around Binti dealing with her grief and finding her place at the university. This is more about character study than anything else, but it is well written and adds context to the last two books in the series.

[Bibliotecario De Arbelon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relato que conecta los dos primeros libros y nos permite conocer brevemente el paso de Binti por la Universidad.

Corto pero reflexivo. Un viaje de autodescubrimiento de Binti para encontrar su lugar y aceptar quien es.

[Maria Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

La reseña completa en https://inthenevernever.blogspot.com/...

«Veréis, cuando una niña de la tierra abandona su tierra, le pasa una cosa. Se muere. Se muere y, luego, renace con dolor… Pero antes debe ir por el mundo en forma de fantasma. Yo era un fantasma en Oomza Uni. Desplazada pero en el lugar que debía estar. El lugar en el que quería estar».

Nada mejor que descubrir una nueva historia ambientada en el mismo mundo de una trilogía de novelas cortas que has amado. Una narración que nos permite conocer aún más a una protagonista a la que has visto crecer y evolucionar, mientras que nos descubre una parte hasta ahora desconocida de su viaje. Por eso hoy quiero recomendarles Binti: Fuego Sagrado, de Nnedi Okorafor. Un relato largo ubicado entre los acontecimientos narrados en el primer y segundo libro: Binti y Binti: Hogar. Una obra finalista del premio Locus en 2020 y que ahora podemos disfrutar en español gracias a Crononauta y a la excelente traducción de Carla Bataller Estruch.

[Emmy (BiblioEmmy) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Similar to the first entry in the Binti series, this had the potential for cool world-building but the writing just didn't do it any justice. I'll try out some of Nnedi Okorafor's other work though.

[mnemonide · Rating 1 out of 5]

I guess this is simply not for me.

The descriptions are... bleak. The characters are not interesting and somehow Binti's attitude is just not comprehensible.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting exploration of grief/processing trauma following the events of the first novella but ultimately this didn’t really give me much.

I’m still really unsure if Okorafor’s style of writing is something my brain likes or not but I’ll continue with the Binti series if nothing else since the first novella was a hell of a story even if the writing wasn’t entirely to my taste.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good short story and makes me excited to continue to the remaining two novellas. I thought this was a well-done depiction of grief and PTSD and homesickness all tied together with a theme of found family.

Again, the worldbuilding is the weak point here, but hopefully it improves as the series progresses.

[Sarah Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

short addition, but i would say necessary to the plot. im glad okorafor added this as i believe it allows us to understand binti further!

[Lowardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh how I wish this was somehow woven into the first book in the series.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5) I enjoyed this quite a bit more than the first novella. Finally getting some relationships and understanding of who Binti is as a person. Solid.

[Jhamdol · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was okay. It was better than binti: night masquerade. I was like who the heck is the bear and I got my answer. It was really interesting to find out like the trauma that binti had and her trying to open the edan with “mind force” not like mind-bending. She got bullied

[Covadonga Diaz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Un relato corto. Complementa la trilogía de Binti, pero me esperaba más. Realmente es abusivo su precio, la mitad de un libro normal.

[Tristan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vond dit na het eerste boek best leuk om te lezen om gewoon te zien hoe het leven op de uni eraan toeging maar ik was gewoon niet interested enough.

[Javier Viruete · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuación de Binti, que sigue explorando los temas de la identidad, el otro, las diferencias, la amistad y el odio.

[Madisen Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5. I found this added novella as a bit less attention-grabbing than the first installation. I appreciate the focus on character development as well as the very real and relatable challenges Binti faces after having lived through such a traumatic experience and left the poster-child for peace (to some) or stupidity (to others).

I found Binti’s experience captivating, while still yearning for more details of the world and systems.

[Robin Rose Graves · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice, supplementary story to connect books one and two. I'm glad I read it, but most important events in this book are referenced in passing in Binti: Home.

Watch my Full Review Here: https://youtu.be/4d7ijqq4TN0?t=839

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gah. I could not enjoy hardly any aspect of this, even the expanded universe that Okorafor is displaying, because of the giant injustice left hanging over the story from the previous book. Binti is going through PTSD, having flashbacks to watching her former crush get his chest burst open, and I just cannot get over the fact that she is now best friends with one of the creatures that did that. Though the story addresses the horror of the event and even brings up the grieving families of the victims, Okorafor simply ignores the question of justice. Several students act out aggressively towards BInti and the newest Meduse student, and this is portrayed as bigotry and narrow-mindedness, but I can’t help but feel that they have a real point when they yell, “My best friend was on that ship!” I’m all for stories of forgiveness and redemption, but not at the cost of ignoring the injury entirely. Binti’s new friend acknowledges no guilt and continues to act aggressively towards others, including almost killing someone before allowing Binti to intervene. The niggling irksomeness of this unaddressed problem kept me twitching uncomfortably throughout the story and I could not get into it. I am propelled out at every moment, and it is making me notice other niggling details that I might otherwise ignore, like the fact that Okorafor does not know how to write a hive mind. She states that the Meduse is a hive mind, but writes Okwu as an individual with its own name and without references to its collective consciousness. The Meduse also act as if Okwu is its own person with its own motivations and not as an extension of their consciousness. This short story was so short and inconsequential that it could barely evoke any response from the reader, but it did manage to rub salt into an old wound.