Shigidi and the brass head of Obalufon

Title:

Author:

Summary:

Shigidi is a disgruntled and demotivated nightmare god in the Orisha spirit company, reluctantly answering prayers of his few remaining believers to maintain his existence long enough to find his next drink. When he meets Nneoma, a sort-of succubus with a long and secretive past, everything changes for him. Together, they attempt to break free of his obligations and the restrictions that have bound him to his godhood and navigate the parameters of their new relationship in the shadow of her past. But the elder gods that run the Orisha spirit company have other plans for Shigidi, and they are not all aligned--or good. From the boisterous streets of Lagos to the swanky rooftop bars of Singapore and the secret spaces of London, Shigidi and Nneoma will encounter old acquaintances, rival gods, strange creatures, and manipulative magicians as they are drawn into a web of revenge, spirit business, and a spectacular heist across two worlds that will change Shigidi's understanding of himself forever and determine the fate of the Orisha spirit company.

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

314 pages ; 22 cm.

Genre:

Fantasy fiction.

Subject Term:

Orishas -- Fiction.

Publisher:

DAW Books,

Publication Date:

2023

ISBN:

9780756418267

Publication Information:

[New York] : DAW Books, 2023.

Call Number:

YA TALABI

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003689208	New Young Adult	TALABI	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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On Order

Summary

A Washington Post top 10 best science fiction and fantasy book of 2023

"A heist caper with sex, violence, and superpowers popping off every technicolor page." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Defiantly ambitious...an action-packed thrill ride." -- The Washington Post

A mythic tale of disgruntled gods, revenge, and a heist across two worlds, perfect for fans of Nnedi Okorafor, Neil Gaiman, Marlon James, and Karen Lord

Shigidi is a disgruntled and demotivated nightmare god in the Orisha spirit company, reluctantly answering prayers of his few remaining believers to maintain his existence long enough to find his next drink. When he meets Nneoma, a sort-of succubus with a long and secretive past, everything changes for him.

Together, they attempt to break free of his obligations and the restrictions that have bound him to his godhood and navigate the parameters of their new relationship in the shadow of her past. But the elder gods that run the Orisha spirit company have other plans for Shigidi, and they are not all aligned--or good.

From the boisterous streets of Lagos to the swanky rooftop bars of Singapore and the secret spaces of London, Shigidi and Nneoma will encounter old acquaintances, rival gods, strange creatures, and manipulative magicians as they are drawn into a web of revenge, spirit business, and a spectacular heist across two worlds that will change Shigidi's understanding of himself forever and determine the fate of the Orisha spirit company.

Author Notes

Wole Talabi is an engineer, writer, and editor from Nigeria. His stories have appeared in Asimov's , F&SF , Lightspeed , and several other publications. He has edited three anthologies: Africanfuturism , which was nominated for the Locus Award in 2021, Lights Out: Resurrection , and These Words Expose Us . His fiction has been a finalist for multiple awards including the Nebula Award, the prestigious Caine Prize, the Locus Award, the Jim Baen Memorial Award, and the Nommo Award, which he won in 2018 and 2020. His collection Incomplete Solutions is published by Luna Press.

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

This frenetic fantasy debut from Nigerian author Talabi starts out noir, with a car chase across the "spirit-side" of London while antihero Shigidi bleeds out in the back seat of a cab. Then the shenanigans really ramp up, flashing back to how Shigidi wound up there. The ensuing romp is a heist caper with sex, violence, and superpowers popping off every Technicolor page. Shigidi, former Nigerian nightmare deity, slips the daily grind of the Orisha Spirit Company for the persuasive tutelage of freelance succubus Nneoma, who's training him to become a succubus himself. But freedom has its price, and when the big god Olorun calls in a favor, Shigidi and Nneoma have mere hours to lift an ancient Nigerian talisman from the British Museum and escape the retributive justice of the Royal British Spirit Bureau. Readers of Neil Gaiman and Harry Turtledove will have encountered similar takes on the spirit realm; Talabi's freshness is in his language, his caustically amusing protagonist (Shigidi describes a supernatural effusion as "light gushing out... like a vandalized pipeline"), and his commitment to having more fun than noir usually allows. Readers are in for a rollicking thrill ride. Agent: Van Aggelen, African Literary Agency. (Aug.)