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Digital Audiobook
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor

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Death of the Author

Narrator
various
Publisher
Orion
Publish Date
16 January 2025
Run Time
16 hours 13 minutes
Format
Audiobook
Rating
4.0 (2 reviews)

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What to expect

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
LOCUS AWARD WINNER FOR BEST SCIENCE FICTION
HUGO AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST NOVEL
NEBULA AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST NOVEL
LONGLISTED FOR THE GOLDSBORO GLASS BELL AWARD
WINNER OF THE LIBBY AWARD FOR BEST SCIENCE FICTION

'This one has it all' GEORGE R. R. MARTIN
'As delicious as it is disorienting' ZAKIYA DALILA HARRIS
'Beautifully evoked' THE GUARDIAN
'Mind-bending' THE NEW YORK TIMES
'Suspenseful, timely, and heartfelt' PEOPLE

***

The future of storytelling is here.

Life has thrown Zelu some curveballs over the years, but when she's suddenly dropped from her university job and her latest novel is rejected, all in the middle of her sister's wedding, her life is upended. Disabled, unemployed and from a nosy, high-achieving, judgmental family, she's not sure what comes next.

In her hotel room that night, she takes the risk that will define her life - she decides to write a book VERY unlike her others. A science fiction drama about androids and AI after the extinction of humanity. And everything changes.

What follows is a tale of love and loss, fame and infamy, of extraordinary events in one world, and another. And as Zelu's life evolves, the lines between fiction and reality begin to blur.

Because sometimes a story really does have the power to reshape the world.

Nnedi Okorafor, a New York Times bestselling and award-winning author, presents a sweeping tale about family, culture and identity, and a breathtaking examination of the relationship between writer and reader . . . and robots. Death of the Author is heartfelt, tender, and an ambitious meta-drama about what makes us human.

***

'There's more vivid imagination in a page of Nnedi Okorafor's work than in whole volumes' URSULA K. LE GUIN
'A deeply felt dazzle. A blaze. It is true deep to the bones' LUIS ALBERTO URREA
'An ambitious, inventive tribute to the power of storytelling itself' NIKKI ERLICK

Critics Review

  • Don't be frightened by the title, Nnedi Okorafor is fine... and doing her best work yet. DEATH OF THE AUTHOR reads like three novels in one... or maybe four... about fame and family, culture and change, the power of story, the writer's life... and robots. This one has it all

    George R.R. Martin

  • Nnedi Okorafor is so ferociously talented that we are starting to see she cannot be boxed into any category or genre. Her new, Death of the Author, is a deeply felt dazzle. A blaze. It is true deep to the bones

    Luis Alberto Urrea Pulitzer Prize finalist and bestselling author of The House of Broken Angels

  • Connection is the heartbeat of Okorafor's work

    New York Times

  • I was captivated by the story-and the many stories-within-the-story-of this ambitious, inventive tribute to the power of storytelling itself

    Nikki Erlick, New York Times bestselling author of The Measure

See more reviews
  • Okorafor explores what it means to be human. . . . All-out Okorafor - her best yet

    Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

  • Highly recommended for fans of Octavia Butler, Nicky Drayden, and Tade Thompson . . . will attract genre and literary fiction fans alike

    Booklist (starred review)

  • Metafiction at its finest . . . equal parts sharp social commentary and deeply human storytelling

    Readers Digest

  • An epic about love, friendship, and the cost of survival

    Library Journal, starred review

  • Absolutely brilliant. My heart and guts are all turned inside out

    John Green, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars, on Who Fears Death

User Reviews

Book 4.0

Narration 5.0

  • 5.0 5.0

    Amazing book. Absolute must listen

    richieb74 2026-01-30
  • 3.0 5.0

    The narrators were good but I didn't find the story all that engaging.

    lialexia 2025-01-18

Details

Author
Nnedi Okorafor
Narrator
various
Duration
16 hours 13 minutes
Release Date
16 January 2025
ISBN
9781399622998
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Orion
Genre
Speculative fiction, Family life fiction / Stories about family, Black Speculative fiction
Rating
4.0(2 reviews)
Narration
5.0(2 reviews)

Synopsis

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERLOCUS AWARD WINNER FOR BEST SCIENCE FICTIONHUGO AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST NOVELNEBULA AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST NOVELLONGLISTED FOR THE GOLDSBORO GLASS BELL AWARDWINNER OF THE LIBBY AWARD FOR BEST SCIENCE FICTION'This one has it all' GEORGE R. R. MARTIN'As delicious as it is disorienting' ZAKIYA DALILA HARRIS'Beautifully evoked' THE GUARDIAN'Mind-bending' THE NEW YORK TIMES'Suspenseful, timely, and heartfelt' PEOPLE***The future of storytelling is here.Life has thrown Zelu some curveballs over the years, but when she's suddenly dropped from her university job and her latest novel is rejected, all in the middle of her sister's wedding, her life is upended. Disabled, unemployed and from a nosy, high-achieving, judgmental family, she's not sure what comes next.In her hotel room that night, she takes the risk that will define her life - she decides to write a book VERY unlike her others. A science fiction drama about androids and AI after the extinction of humanity. And everything changes.What follows is a tale of love and loss, fame and infamy, of extraordinary events in one world, and another. And as Zelu's life evolves, the lines between fiction and reality begin to blur.Because sometimes a story really does have the power to reshape the world.Nnedi Okorafor, a New York Times bestselling and award-winning author, presents a sweeping tale about family, culture and identity, and a breathtaking examination of the relationship between writer and reader . . . and robots. Death of the Author is heartfelt, tender, and an ambitious meta-drama about what makes us human.***'There's more vivid imagination in a page of Nnedi Okorafor's work than in whole volumes' URSULA K. LE GUIN'A deeply felt dazzle. A blaze. It is true deep to the bones' LUIS ALBERTO URREA'An ambitious, inventive tribute to the power of storytelling itself' NIKKI ERLICK

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