Remote Control: 03/01/21

Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor is a near future novella set in Uganda. Fatima infected by an alien seed becomes Sankofa, or Death's Adopted Daughter as others call her. She is the sole survivor of a terrible accident, one that she will regret for the rest of her life.

As her powers to kill are also instantly detrimental to technology, including vehicles, she must walk from town to town as she searches for something taken from her while she was still Fatima. Her only companion is a fox who is as out of place in this piece of the world as she is.

In the background of Sankofa's story is a tale of foreign corporate greed and an over-reliance on technology. There is one town in particular that has fully welcomed the American company and their technology. While their immediate safety and health seems to have improved one wonders about lost personal freedoms.

Like the other Okorafor works I've read, Sankofa's journey can be mapped on the road narrative spectrum. She is a literal orphan traveler (FF). Her destination or goal is home (66). At first it's a replacement for the one she's lost. Later it's a return, now older, wiser, and more in control. Her route is the cornfield (FF) represented by the bush she so often must live in, the Shea trees of her home, and the alien seed that set everything into motion. Summarized, Remote Control is the tale of an orphan looking for a home via the cornfield (FF66FF).

Five stars

Comments (0)