Remote Control falls in the realm of genre defying speculative fiction, skirting the line between science fiction and folklore with its ethereal opening circumstances and mix of legend and technology. I always find Nnedi Okorafor’s writing to be fascinating, and this novella was no exception. 

As a reader, I’m drawn to the magic of folklore and fairy tales, and I loved how Okorafor twisted the wonder and fear of those subgenres into her narrative. We follow a protagonist who has powers she doesn’t wish to have, powers that make her life more difficult at nearly every turn. She gains them mysteriously and from that point the lines between science fiction, fantasy and fairy tale begin to intermingle. Is it alien in nature? Is it magic? Is it a literal wish upon a star situation? The origins are never fully explained and that adds to the general mystery. I appreciated that vagueness and how it allowed for any number of interpretations. 

The Best Bits

A Few of My Favorite Things

A Style Rooted in Folklore

The style feels folkloric, like the narrator is imparting a legend. Sankofa encounters mythical creatures, her powers are revered and whispered throughout the land, and she has a growing mythology with each step she takes. The story follows that myth building approach while also making you question the science fiction elements and their own fairy tale fantasy roots. True, robots are pure science, but by now in our society, they’re more myth than reality, built up into these all knowing, future defining beings who have yet to come into our actual Ives. The people in Robotown revere their robot in much the same way they fear the protagonist. By the end, they both feel larger than life.

The Strongest Hero

Okorafor’s protagonist brings a fascinating perspective given her age and the circumstances that brought her to this story. Sankofa starts as a carefree girl who spends her time removed from the world in a beloved tree until disaster strikes and she’s forced to grow up. Her approach to the world morphs as she walks and we see the dangers she has to face, both man-made and natural. People are cruel, the world is unforgiving, and no matter how hard she tries to fit into it, she is always cast out. She is the epitome of ‘being different’ and her bravery and ability to dust herself off defined the book. 

An Alien Mystery

The surface explanation is that these powers are alien in nature, but I interpreted the source as more undefined. As I said above, the powers she receives seem more magical than alien, unexplained beyond a small seed that presents itself to her. It begs the question – is she a superhero imbued with alien strength? Is she part of a greater mythical story that becomes folklore in the years to come? For me, those questions were left unanswered and that added to the story exponentially.