Natasha Bowen
Autore di Skin of the Sea
Serie
Opere di Natasha Bowen
Etichette
Informazioni generali
- Data di nascita
- 20th Century
- Sesso
- female
- Nazionalità
- UK
Utenti
Recensioni
Liste
Black Authors (1)
Premi e riconoscimenti
Potrebbero anche piacerti
Statistiche
- Opere
- 5
- Utenti
- 973
- Popolarità
- #26,474
- Voto
- 3.8
- Recensioni
- 14
- ISBN
- 28
- Lingue
- 4
Skin of the Sea is a YA fantasy retelling of The Little Mermaid story with elements of West African mythology and history. It is set in the 14th Century in the Oyo Empire (modern day Nigeria), when the Portugese were taking slaves from the West coast, and centres around black mermaids or Mami Wata, and the Oyo pantheon of gods and goddesses. The author is English, of Nigerian and Welsh descent. Skin of the Sea, her debut book, has been shortlisted for several prizes and is the first in a series.
Simidele is one of the Mami Wata (mermaids) created by the goddess Mother Yemoja to bless the souls of the drowned, those being taken in slave ships away from their homes. One day she finds a shipwrecked man, Kola, who is not yet dead. Simi instinctively fights to rescue him, breaking her oath and setting the world of the Orisas (gods) in turmoil. Simi is then tasked with finding the obsidian rings to save Yemoja and the Mami Wata. Kola also has his own mission to rescue his young siblings. Together they embark on a journey, but can they reach the rings and the magical twins before the evil Esu reaches them?
I absolutely loved the first half of this book. The world building was well researched and intriguing and calls on West African mythology. As well as mermaids there are the yumboes (tiny fairies connected to the land), the abada, a magical African unicorn, the bultungan shape-shifters, and the Ninki Nanka River monster. There is also a gentle hint of romance. My attention faded somewhat in the second half as the action scenes became rather dramatic and drawn out. This book is important contribution with black representation in fantasy and fairytales, and a mythology based on African tradition and worldview. Be warned it has the kind of ending you can only get away with if there is a sequel to follow. 3.5 stars… (altro)