The Book of Phoenix
From the World Fantasy Award-winning author of LAGOON comes THE BOOK OF THE PHOENIX, sequel to WHO FEARS DEATH: an extraordinary science fiction novel set in a distant - but not so very different - future.
There is no book about me. Well, not yet. No matter. I shall create it myself; it's better that way. My beginnings were in the dark. We all dwelled in the darkness, mad scientist and specimen alike. This was when the goddess Ani's still slept, when her back was still turned. Before she grew angry at what she saw and pulled in the blazing sun. My story is called The Book of Phoenix.
'Lagoon is a triumph of a novel, it is an evocative thought provoking read, full of beautiful writing that will lift your spirits one minute only to dash them like a piece of flotsam against a coral reef the next.' - Ginger Nuts of Horror
Nnedi Okorafor
Before Africanfuturism had a name, Nnedi Okorafor was already weaving its tapestry—melding ancient myth with high-tech dreams, and reshaping what speculative fiction could look like when rooted in African cultures rather than merely referencing them. Her stories aren’t just tales of distant planets or magical beings; they’re fiercely alive, humming with ancestral memory, political edge, and the uncanny rhythm of the unexpected.
Born in the United States to Nigerian immigrant parents, Okorafor has always stood at the crossroads of cultures—and that liminal space pulses through her work. Whether it’s a semi-sentient spaceship shaped like a giant shrimp (Binti), or a Nigerian girl wielding ancestral powers in the shadow of climate catastrophe (Who Fears Death), her narratives defy the conventions of both Western science fiction and traditional fantasy. They don’t just bend genre—they build new worlds from the bones of old ones.
Who Fears Death
Who Fears Death consists of two books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
