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Black Stars #2
The Black Pages
By fate and fire, a being four millennia old is reborn in Mali in a short story of contemporary African life and ancient secrets by the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author of the Binti trilogy.
Issaka has returned home to Timbouctou and a devastating al-Qaeda raid. His only hope for survival is Faro, a stunning, blue-beaded supernatural entity who rises free from the flames of her imprisoning book as it burns. Compelled to follow Faro, Issaka is opening his eyes to their shared history and the ancestral wisdom of his own past.
Nnedi Okorafor’s The Black Pages is part of Black Stars, a multi-dimensional collection of speculative fiction from Black authors. Each story is a world much like our own. Read or listen to them in a single sitting.
Issaka has returned home to Timbouctou and a devastating al-Qaeda raid. His only hope for survival is Faro, a stunning, blue-beaded supernatural entity who rises free from the flames of her imprisoning book as it burns. Compelled to follow Faro, Issaka is opening his eyes to their shared history and the ancestral wisdom of his own past.
Nnedi Okorafor’s The Black Pages is part of Black Stars, a multi-dimensional collection of speculative fiction from Black authors. Each story is a world much like our own. Read or listen to them in a single sitting.
31 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 31, 2021
627 people are currently reading
1413 people want to read
About the author
Nnedi Okorafor
153 books17.8k followersNnedi 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 568 reviews
September 18, 2023
In a Nutshell: Great ingredients in this short story, but they didn’t come together to make a delectable dish.
Story Synopsis:
Factors that made the story sound like it had great potential: the burning of libraries, the African setting, an OwnVoices story (to a certain extent), the idea of magical ancient beings, the al-Qaeda factor. If all these concepts had been woven together neatly, the story would have delivered a memorable impact. What I got instead was just elements that worked in patches but didn’t come together to make a seamless whole. The blurb, for once, is a little bit helpful as it helps understand a few points that aren’t even mentioned in the story.
This 30-page tale has a lot of “whats” but no “hows” or “whys”. We know that Faro is some kind of ancient being rises from the ashes of a burnt book, but the connection between Faro and Issaka stays vague. (There is a reason mentioned in the story, but this was of no use as it raises more questions than it answered.) There is no explanation about why Issaka (or his past version) trapped Faro in the book, who the other fantastical beings were, why Issaka could see spirits, what was his mother’s exact role, did his father know the paranormal presence in the lives of his wife and son,,… So many unanswered questions!
The ending doesn’t even deserve to be called an ending. It is not even the end of a scene, forget being the end of the story.
The only thing I liked about the story was Faro’s adventures with (or maybe I should say, ‘inside’) Issaka’s iPad. It was fun to see an old entity navigate the modern technological superhighway and grasping it even faster than we did.
There’s no mention of the country anywhere, which I guess makes even the place fantastical. “Timbouctou” seems to be a corrupted spelling of Timbuktu in Mali. The actual Timbuktu is the capital of the Tombouctou administrative province, so maybe the two names were conjoined to create this fictional location. Basically, this is the only major clue we can use to guess that the story is based in Mali, other than a reference to the locals’ hatred for the French. (Some reviews mention the country as being Afghanistan. I am guessing those readers presumed this from the mention of al-Qaeda. But the setting is clearly the ex-French colony of Mali.)
I feel that this tale might have worked better as a novella, if not a novel, as it had the potential to deliver a wallop. But in the current format, it ends with too many unanswered questions and offers no closure at all.
Not worth it.
1.5 stars.
‘The Black Pages’ is the second standalone story in the ‘Black Stars’ series, a collection of speculative fiction from Black authors. This series is available for free to Amazon Prime subscribers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
Story Synopsis:
Issaka is visiting home in “Timbouctou”, but his timing is bad. There has been a major al-Qaeda raid in the area, the local library has been burnt, and there are some ancient books at stake. When trouble comes to his doorstep, his only hope of safety is an ancient being named Faro, who has somehow resurrected from the flames of a book and is now guiding Issaka towards his past and safety.
The story comes to us from the third person limited perspective of Issaka and Faro.
Factors that made the story sound like it had great potential: the burning of libraries, the African setting, an OwnVoices story (to a certain extent), the idea of magical ancient beings, the al-Qaeda factor. If all these concepts had been woven together neatly, the story would have delivered a memorable impact. What I got instead was just elements that worked in patches but didn’t come together to make a seamless whole. The blurb, for once, is a little bit helpful as it helps understand a few points that aren’t even mentioned in the story.
This 30-page tale has a lot of “whats” but no “hows” or “whys”. We know that Faro is some kind of ancient being rises from the ashes of a burnt book, but the connection between Faro and Issaka stays vague. (There is a reason mentioned in the story, but this was of no use as it raises more questions than it answered.) There is no explanation about why Issaka (or his past version) trapped Faro in the book, who the other fantastical beings were, why Issaka could see spirits, what was his mother’s exact role, did his father know the paranormal presence in the lives of his wife and son,,… So many unanswered questions!
The ending doesn’t even deserve to be called an ending. It is not even the end of a scene, forget being the end of the story.
The only thing I liked about the story was Faro’s adventures with (or maybe I should say, ‘inside’) Issaka’s iPad. It was fun to see an old entity navigate the modern technological superhighway and grasping it even faster than we did.
There’s no mention of the country anywhere, which I guess makes even the place fantastical. “Timbouctou” seems to be a corrupted spelling of Timbuktu in Mali. The actual Timbuktu is the capital of the Tombouctou administrative province, so maybe the two names were conjoined to create this fictional location. Basically, this is the only major clue we can use to guess that the story is based in Mali, other than a reference to the locals’ hatred for the French. (Some reviews mention the country as being Afghanistan. I am guessing those readers presumed this from the mention of al-Qaeda. But the setting is clearly the ex-French colony of Mali.)
I feel that this tale might have worked better as a novella, if not a novel, as it had the potential to deliver a wallop. But in the current format, it ends with too many unanswered questions and offers no closure at all.
Not worth it.
1.5 stars.
‘The Black Pages’ is the second standalone story in the ‘Black Stars’ series, a collection of speculative fiction from Black authors. This series is available for free to Amazon Prime subscribers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
November 23, 2021
I feel like the blurb was more informative than the story itself... Who did what? When? I couldn't follow. What was the point or conclusion? I think I'm missing some crucial piece of info or knowledge to actually understand the story. 🤔
April 5, 2025
The Black Pages is a world-building rich short story, steeped in myths and age-old legends, following Issaka as he realizes he has a responsibility going beyond the modern world handed down to him through his family.
I enjoyed the story and the writing, but there were several elements of the world and story that seemed to be left hanging, and thus couldn't completely connect to the characters.
🌟🌟🌟
[3/4 star for the premise and the whole story; Half a star for the characters; 3/4 star for the world-building; Half a star for the story; Half a star for the writing - 3 stars in total.]
I enjoyed the story and the writing, but there were several elements of the world and story that seemed to be left hanging, and thus couldn't completely connect to the characters.
🌟🌟🌟
[3/4 star for the premise and the whole story; Half a star for the characters; 3/4 star for the world-building; Half a star for the story; Half a star for the writing - 3 stars in total.]
July 28, 2023
That was a weird story, but I liked it since it involved books, libraries, and how important words (even those not yet written) are.
"The Black Pages" follows a supernatural being Faro that has been released from their prison after a book they were in somehow is set aflame. From there we have Faro revealing things and eventually running into a young man named Issaka who is dealing with the death of his family, but has something that Faro needs.
I liked this a lot. There's a lot to be revealed regarding Issaka and why Faro is focused on him. I thought that part was cool.
The book takes primarily in Timbouctou which is dealing with an assault from Al Qaeda.
But as some have said, the ending leaves things on a bit of a cliffhanger. You can guess what happens next, but I am greedy and would have liked things tided up.
"The Black Pages" follows a supernatural being Faro that has been released from their prison after a book they were in somehow is set aflame. From there we have Faro revealing things and eventually running into a young man named Issaka who is dealing with the death of his family, but has something that Faro needs.
I liked this a lot. There's a lot to be revealed regarding Issaka and why Faro is focused on him. I thought that part was cool.
The book takes primarily in Timbouctou which is dealing with an assault from Al Qaeda.
But as some have said, the ending leaves things on a bit of a cliffhanger. You can guess what happens next, but I am greedy and would have liked things tided up.
May 3, 2022
Okorafor always has such great ideas! The Black Pages offers an interesting blend of mythology, science fiction, and real world commentary. My only real complaint is I wish it was longer because I wanted more.
The Black Pages follows an Afghani man who is returning to visit his family after going to the United States for school. On the way back, he runs into books being burned by Al-Qaeda and ends up saving a strange book with black pages that somehow survived the fire. The trick is, a djinn was trapped inside the book and now she's using an app on his tablet to communicate with him. It's a short story about the complexity of identity and returning to your place of origin, and about the destruction of culture and heritage that has happened in Afghanistan. I love this way of blending myth and technology and I wish we knew what happened after the end of the story.
The Black Pages follows an Afghani man who is returning to visit his family after going to the United States for school. On the way back, he runs into books being burned by Al-Qaeda and ends up saving a strange book with black pages that somehow survived the fire. The trick is, a djinn was trapped inside the book and now she's using an app on his tablet to communicate with him. It's a short story about the complexity of identity and returning to your place of origin, and about the destruction of culture and heritage that has happened in Afghanistan. I love this way of blending myth and technology and I wish we knew what happened after the end of the story.
April 9, 2022
This was great! Pretty sure this was the seed to a longer work and I can't wait.
4+ Stars
Listened to the audiobook. Naomi Ackie was exellent!!
4+ Stars
Listened to the audiobook. Naomi Ackie was exellent!!
January 3, 2022
Ms. Okorafor, this needs to be expanded ASAP. Not much more to say besides the fact that she really just put so much tantalizing prose and details into a novella that has a really compelling story and mythos that would make an afrofuturist fan salivate to know more about this AI and djinn inspired story that is also partially based on modern day librarians saving books from Al-Qaeda in Mali.
September 10, 2021
This was really weird. No idea how I feel about this.
TW: murder, burning of a library
TW: murder, burning of a library
Read
February 24, 2023The Black Pages by Nnedi Okorafor is Book 2 in the Black Stars series, and actually my 4th read because I read them out of order. Okorafor zeroes in on an Al Qaeda raid threatening lives and destroying the city with fire. The main protagonist, Issaka is put in an impossible situation by his family to escape to Chicago with manuscripts and books in order to preserve their culture and prevent erasure.
Watching this dilemma is a djinn, Faro. Together, Faro and Issaka bring a glimmer of hope into an otherwise devastating crisis. Even though this was about 30 pages, the author did an incredible job immersing the reader in the action at the ground level. Faro sounds beautiful! The descriptions are vibrant and visual, I could see everything. I enjoyed this one.
Watching this dilemma is a djinn, Faro. Together, Faro and Issaka bring a glimmer of hope into an otherwise devastating crisis. Even though this was about 30 pages, the author did an incredible job immersing the reader in the action at the ground level. Faro sounds beautiful! The descriptions are vibrant and visual, I could see everything. I enjoyed this one.
January 26, 2023
I think I might have liked this more if it was longer and the storyline expanded, but like this it was just okay, and a little boring. It was a little confusing at first and only got interesting at the very end.
September 29, 2021
This was a unique short story and I quite enjoyed it.
February 1, 2022
Good and intriguing story, but lacks an ending!
December 31, 2021
The Black Pages (Black Stars #2) by Nnedi Okorafor was my final read in the collection. This story uses the Djinn myth to comment on the recent burning of books by terrorists in our modern times. We meet Faro as she is freed from her book prison in a burning Timbuktu library. They have killed the library director for mouthing off. Before Faro runs away in her human form clothed in blue beads, she spies a mysterious black book outside the library. She goes to grab it but says she knows they will find each other. The village is in chaos as the French arrive to fight Al Qaeda. That's when we meet Issaka. He has come home early from America where he's in grad school. He just wants to catch the bus to reunite with his family. He arrives home to learn his father and uncles have spirited away the ancient library books. This paints a target on their home, which Issaka is shocked to learn. He tries to use his iPad but notices a weird blue bead icon. The same bead we see earlier on Faro. When he clicks it, the djinn spirit reveals herself but Issaka doesn't want to believe. He used to see magical things when back home in Africa. Turns out that's because his family is the descendants of those who originally imprisoned Faro. They know of the ancient texts and legends. His mother hints at this but is interrupted when the terrorists arrive. Things descend into violence as one could predict. Issaka escapes to the desert with Faro and the black paged book. He must protect the words and continue his family legacy. As a book lover and Ray Bradbury fan, opening with burning books and a quote from Fahrenheit 451 definitely got my attention! I would love for another novella exploring Faro's early existence and how she was imprisoned.
September 14, 2021
2 / 5 stars
Definitely better than the first story in this collection, but I won't remember it for long.. It was fine, and I think this set-up could be very intriguing in a longer format with more time for world-building.
content notes:
◦ moderate: murder, death (parent)
April 18, 2023
I almost didn’t review this book because when I was finished, I immediately went looking for the next instalment. It had me enraptured. Odd, considering the plot is the story, but it was so good. How can an author cause me to feel such strong emotions in just 31 pages??? Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!
July 29, 2023
“You’re a terrible writer,” Faro said over her shoulder. “But you’re a good reader.”
Ambiguous, phantamasgoric, bloody. Okorafor at her most elusive and profound.
Ambiguous, phantamasgoric, bloody. Okorafor at her most elusive and profound.
April 3, 2022
This is a fascinating snippet of story - a bit of an origin story, it seems like - but I really hope it becomes a longer book at some point. There are so many unanswered questions just waiting to be explored.
September 19, 2021
Extremely Difficult Emotionally, Interesting Plot, But Feels Unfinished
I'm in a daze after finishing this one. I feel distant and kind of sick.
I suppose I should have DNF when I had a chance - when I felt the emotional, empathetic turmoil and borderline triggering caused by religious fanaticism and religiously fueled hate crimes - but I was deeply curious about the spirit Faro who possessed an iPad. By time I was quite literally triggered by the brutal murder of someone's close relatives at the hands of terrorists, it was too late to quit. So I kept going, feeling myself tumble emotionally through the callousness of Faro being disgusted at a character for being upset by their family's execution all the way to the confusing ending which offered no resolution.
It's not a bad story. It's well written, enough to make me feel emotions I'd quite frankly have rather never felt. I like the concept a lot. But there just isn't any payoff for all the emotional drain. Few, if any, lore questions are answered.
I can't decide if I want to get far away from the world this tale presents or if I want closure.
I'm in a daze after finishing this one. I feel distant and kind of sick.
I suppose I should have DNF when I had a chance - when I felt the emotional, empathetic turmoil and borderline triggering caused by religious fanaticism and religiously fueled hate crimes - but I was deeply curious about the spirit Faro who possessed an iPad. By time I was quite literally triggered by the brutal murder of someone's close relatives at the hands of terrorists, it was too late to quit. So I kept going, feeling myself tumble emotionally through the callousness of Faro being disgusted at a character for being upset by their family's execution all the way to the confusing ending which offered no resolution.
It's not a bad story. It's well written, enough to make me feel emotions I'd quite frankly have rather never felt. I like the concept a lot. But there just isn't any payoff for all the emotional drain. Few, if any, lore questions are answered.
I can't decide if I want to get far away from the world this tale presents or if I want closure.
May 5, 2022
This one didn't resonate with me. Can't really say why. And just as I got into the story of Issaka and Faro together...it was over. But, as always, the writing was superb.
February 12, 2022
Cliffhanger, but an excellent story about books and the importance of books and words.
August 15, 2023
Not for me.
October 28, 2021
Genie in a Book
Review of the Amazon Original Kindle eBook (August 2021)
Issaka returns home to Timbuktu, Mali after many years of study and work in the United States. His home town is being devastated by Al-Queda fundamentalist forces in retreat. While burning the books in the town library they release a blue-beaded genie named Faro, who has been trapped inside a book for 2,000 years. Faro inhabits and powers Issaka's iPad as the terrorist forces descend on the family home.
The Black Pages was an entertaining and suspenseful story that combined old world mysticism with new world technology.
The Black Pages is the 2nd of the 6 short stories making up the speculative / fantasy / science fiction series Black Stars, released simultaneously on August 31, 2021 as an eBook by Amazon Originals and as an audiobook by Audible Originals.
Review of the Amazon Original Kindle eBook (August 2021)
Issaka returns home to Timbuktu, Mali after many years of study and work in the United States. His home town is being devastated by Al-Queda fundamentalist forces in retreat. While burning the books in the town library they release a blue-beaded genie named Faro, who has been trapped inside a book for 2,000 years. Faro inhabits and powers Issaka's iPad as the terrorist forces descend on the family home.
The Black Pages was an entertaining and suspenseful story that combined old world mysticism with new world technology.
The Black Pages is the 2nd of the 6 short stories making up the speculative / fantasy / science fiction series Black Stars, released simultaneously on August 31, 2021 as an eBook by Amazon Originals and as an audiobook by Audible Originals.
February 17, 2025
Entertaining relationships listening 🎶🔰
This kindle e-book novella is from my Kindle Unlimited account series
She has return to home in Africa. Events are occurring disturbing her visit.
I would recommend this series and various authors to readers of relationships adventure novels 👍🔰. 2025 👒😉
This kindle e-book novella is from my Kindle Unlimited account series
She has return to home in Africa. Events are occurring disturbing her visit.
I would recommend this series and various authors to readers of relationships adventure novels 👍🔰. 2025 👒😉
December 8, 2021
Great contemporary story. Among violence and horrific things, there is magic that helps and saves people. Not because it would be impossible to survive without an unbelieavable twist, but because the political resistance preserves the culture that is been atacked, and that will be the reason to live.
September 7, 2021
I enjoyed this story much more than the prior one, probably because I love books. So, a story based upon the safekeeping of the ancient texts of the library at Timbuktu was sure to touch my creaky ol' heart. Here, a young Malian returns to his childhood home to find that al-Quaeda forces are destroying cultural artifacts, and his city is in danger. As Issaka discovers that there a queer force afoot in his iPad, he also realizes that his parents had been keeping secrets from him. There's no happy ending here, except for Issaka's reunion with an old friend.
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For an interesting read about Timbuktu's ancient texts and modern threats to them, here's an interesting blog: https://penniwinkleb.wordpress.com/20...
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For an interesting read about Timbuktu's ancient texts and modern threats to them, here's an interesting blog: https://penniwinkleb.wordpress.com/20...
October 8, 2021
A multi-layered story which explores the subject of religious fanaticism and religiously fueled hate crimes told through the lens of magical realism.
Issaka is a Physical Therapy student in the US, he comes home to visit his mum and dad in Timbouctou. And is surprised to find that he’s returned in the middle of an al-Qaeda raid. As his home and family history goes up in flames, he is introduced to Faro. Only he knows her already.
He soon uncovers his parents’ secrets and with the help of the magical Faro must protect what little is left of their legacy.
Compelling and gripping, this short story reads like the beginning of a fantastic novel; one I probably wouldn’t read because I’m not big on fantasy. Regardless, I am grateful to have finally read something by Nnedi Okorafor.
Issaka is a Physical Therapy student in the US, he comes home to visit his mum and dad in Timbouctou. And is surprised to find that he’s returned in the middle of an al-Qaeda raid. As his home and family history goes up in flames, he is introduced to Faro. Only he knows her already.
He soon uncovers his parents’ secrets and with the help of the magical Faro must protect what little is left of their legacy.
Compelling and gripping, this short story reads like the beginning of a fantastic novel; one I probably wouldn’t read because I’m not big on fantasy. Regardless, I am grateful to have finally read something by Nnedi Okorafor.
May 29, 2023
Interesante, un poco confuso y el final algo abrupto. Me gustó la mezcla entre djinns y la cultura nigeriana, en un contexto moderno. Lo único que me ondeaba un poco era el uso de iPad con fantasía, pero eso es algo muy personal.
June 20, 2022
This story was all over the place and at times hard to follow. It left me with so many unanswered questions.
July 28, 2023
a very confusing short story. im not sure what i just read but maybe i am just a big dumb dumb
February 24, 2024
En esta segunda historia de Black Stars, Nnedi Okorafor nos sumerge en un relato a caballo entre realidad histórica y fanstasía.
The Black Pages cuenta la historia de Issaka, un joven que regresa a su hogar familiar en Tombuctú para visitar a su familia después de años estudiando y viviendo en Estados Unidos. En medio de ataques perpetrados por al-Quaeda, la biblioteca de la ciudad arde en llamas e Issaka llega en el momento perfecto para encontrarse con Faro, un ser sobrenatural que logra salir de su encierro en un libro negro y escapar de las llamas.
Okorafor tiene una capacidad única de mezclar las raíces culturales con lo sobrenatural y se nota su sello en este relato. Pero, aún más que con el relato anterior, me ha faltado un final más potente o, al menos, no tan abierto.
The Black Pages cuenta la historia de Issaka, un joven que regresa a su hogar familiar en Tombuctú para visitar a su familia después de años estudiando y viviendo en Estados Unidos. En medio de ataques perpetrados por al-Quaeda, la biblioteca de la ciudad arde en llamas e Issaka llega en el momento perfecto para encontrarse con Faro, un ser sobrenatural que logra salir de su encierro en un libro negro y escapar de las llamas.
Okorafor tiene una capacidad única de mezclar las raíces culturales con lo sobrenatural y se nota su sello en este relato. Pero, aún más que con el relato anterior, me ha faltado un final más potente o, al menos, no tan abierto.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 568 reviews