The ''Binti trilogy'' or ''Binti Series'' is a trilogy of

Africanfuturist Africanfuturism is a cultural aesthetic and philosophy of science that centers on the fusion of African culture, history, mythology, point of view, with technology based in Africa and not limiting to the diaspora. It was coined by Nigerian Americ ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

novellas by

Nigerian American Nigerian Americans ( ig, Ṇ́dị́ Naìjíríyà n'Emerịkà; ha, Yan Najeriyar asalin Amurka; yo, Àwọn ọmọ Nàìjíríà Amẹ́ríkà) are an ethnic group of Americans who are of Nigerian ancestry. The number of Nigerian immigran ...

author

Nnedi Okorafor Nnedimma Nkemdili "Nnedi" Okorafor (formerly Okorafor-Mbachu; born April 8, 1974) is a Nigerian-American writer of science fiction and fantasy for both children and adults. She is best known for her ''Binti Series'' and her novels ''Who Fears ...

. Beginning with '' Binti'' and ending with '' Binti: The Night Masquerade'', it follows the heroine Binti as she leaves Earth to attend a prestigious university in space.

Plot Summaries

''Binti (2015)''

In '' Binti'', Binti is the first member of the Himba ethnic group on Earth (closely modeled on the

Himba people The Himba (singular: OmuHimba, plural: OvaHimba) are an indigenous people with an estimated population of about 50,000 people living in northern Namibia, in the Kunene Region (formerly Kaokoland) and on the other side of the Kunene River in sout ...

) to be accepted into the prestigious intergalactic university Oomza Uni. Upon being notified of her acceptance, Binti runs away from home and boards a transport ship to Oomza Uni. While in transit, the ship is hijacked by the Meduse, a

jellyfish Jellyfish and sea jellies are the informal common names given to the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals with umbrella- ...

-like alien species that was previously at war with the Khoush, another human ethnic group. After the Meduse murder all other inhabitants of the ship, Binti retreats into her private living quarters. She subsequently discovers that a piece of ancient technology she had brought with her from Earth, referred to as her ''edan'', enables direct communication with the Meduse, and that her ''

otjize Otjize is a mixture of butterfat and ochre pigment used by the Himba people of Namibia to protect themselves from the harsh desert climate. The paste is often perfumed with the aromatic resin of '' Commiphora multijuga'' (''omuzumba''). The Himba ...

'', a type of mixed clay made from the soil of her homeland, has healing properties when applied to the tentacles of the Meduse. She makes a friend in one of the younger, more hot-headed Meduse, named Okwu, and subsequently brokers a tentative truce between herself and the hijacker; the truce entails Binti's profound physical transformation. Upon arrival at the University, she is able to negotiate a short lasting peace between the Meduse and the human race, after which she begins her studies at Oomza Uni in earnest.

''Binti: Home (2017)''

'' Binti: Home'' follows the return of Binti back home to face her family and elders after her first year at the off-world Oomza University. Her reconciliation is complicated by her family's hostility, her physical transformation and the presence of her Meduse friend, Okwu. Travelling into the desert, she meets her father's disavowed relatives and under their guidance confronts intra-tribal prejudice and undergoes her second profound physical transformation. Meanwhile, the war between the Meduse and the Khoush erupts, with Binti's family caught in the middle.

''Binti: The Night Masquerade (2018)''

The last book in the trilogy, '' Binti: The Night Masquerade'' follows Binti as she comes back home exploring her abilities as a harmonizer and must find a way to stop a war waged by the Khoush from destroying Okwu and his race of Meduse.

Compilation

The three novellas were later published as a single edition titled ''Binti: The Complete Trilogy'' with the inclusion of a short story "Binti: Sacred Fire".

Series Listing

# '' Binti'' – published in 2015 #:1.5. "Binti: Sacred Fire" – published in 2019 as a new short story in the collection ''Binti: The Complete Trilogy''; serves as an interlude between ''Binti'' and ''Home'' # '' Binti: Home'' – published in 2017 # '' Binti: The Night Masquerade'' – published in 2018

References

{{reflist Tor Books books Science fiction novel series Science fiction novel trilogies Works by Nnedi Okorafor