Publisher: Tor.com
Author: Nnedi Okorafor
Released: January 16th 2018
Received: NetGalley
Rating:
I received a copy of Binti: The Night Masquerade through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
The Night Masquerade is the third and I believe final novella in the Binti trilogy. Part of me hopes that the series will continue, but I also have to acknowledge that it had the perfect ending here, so it is what it is I suppose.
Binti: The Night Masquerade was actually the first novella I spotted about Binti, and is in truth the reason I searched for the beginning and wanted to read everything. I feel in love with the cover, the title, and the description.
I’m going to be up front and honest with you here; this novella made me cry. A lot. It was exquisitely written and managed to perfectly tug at my heartstrings. I felt so much for Binti and everything she believed in and worked for. It was impossible not to be emotionally moved by some of the events that occurred in The Night Masquerade.
This novella was everything I could have hoped for when it comes to a conclusion for Binti’s story. It was beautiful, it was compelling, and it had so much going on within it. It also gave a strong sense of closure – though I wouldn’t say that the door is shut either. There’s room to continue if Nnedi Okorafor chose to do so.
I haven’t compared the page count between the three novellas, but I feel like this one was the longest of the three. It certainly felt like more happened during the course of it, at least. So perhaps my perception is skewed because of that.
I’ll admit that there were parts of this series that reminded me a lot of other series. Like Three Fish – she absolutely reminded me of Farscape. But other parts of the series felt whole unique – a set of circumstances blended together into something truly different.
I loved Binti’s journey; her determination and drive as well as her devotion to her history and familial beliefs. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to try and balance so many different and sometimes even opposing hopes and beliefs.
While I’m sad that the series appears to be over, I’m looking forward to seeing what Nnedi Okorafor will come up with next.