I have really enjoyed Wole Talabi’s short fiction so I was happy to pick up what I believe is his first full length novel. 

 A lot about this worked for me – I enjoyed the way the orisha and spirits of the Yoruba pantheon were characterized as members of a board of a Spirit Company, and the world-building focused on a kind of corporate capitalist restructuring wherein spirits and gods respond to petitions for the pray-pay that keeps them alive – the critiques are strong but the novel doesn’t feel didactic. I liked the urban fantasy vibe, set predominantly in Lagos and London, and I enjoyed Shigidi’s transformations and POV. I also found the non-linear structure effective. I did not expect Aleister Crowley to turn up as a character, but I appreciate that his overt racism was named explicitly. 

 What didn’t quite work for me was the pacing – there were sections that were very fast action, and others that were rather plodding. While I appreciate that Nneoma, a succubus, is given a complex internal life and her own set of motivations beyond her sexual powers, I feel like having her

very explicitly committing rape

was not really... addressed in any kind of adequate way. I understand there is mythology here, but I cannot say this text does the best job handling gender & sexuality & patriarchal dynamics. 

Content warnings: violence, blood, gore (relatively minor), sexual assault, rape (on page), racism, misogyny / sexism, car accident 

Thank you DAW & NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.