Nubia

 By: Omar Epps

Location: FIC EPP

Genre: Sci fi, Dystopia, Fantasy

"I really enjoyed this cultural urban fantasy tale. Climate change, racism, social classes, political corruption, abuse, death, friendship, family ties, ancestry, magic and more. It had just enough and never too much."

From beloved actor and producer Omar Epps and writer Clarence A. Haynes comes the biggest epic fantasy of the year. A powerful saga of three teens, the children of refugees from a fallen African utopia, who must navigate their newfound powers in a climate-ravaged New York City. Perfect for fans of Black Panther and Children of Blood and Bone.

For Zuberi, Uzochi, and Lencho, Nubia is a mystery. Before they were born, a massive storm destroyed their ancestral homeland, forcing their families to flee across the ocean to New York City. Nubia, a utopic island nation off the coast of West Africa, was no more, and their parents' sorrow was too deep for them to share much of their history beyond the folklore.

But New York, ravaged by climate change and class division, is far from a safe haven for refugees, and Nubians live as outcasts, struggling to survive in the constantly flooding lower half of Manhattan, while the rich thrive in the tech-driven sky city known as the Up High.

To many, being Nubian means you're fated for a life plagued by difficulties and disrespect. But Zuberi, Uzochi, and Lencho are beginning to feel there might be more. Something within them is changing, giving each of them extraordinary powers. Extraordinary and terrifying powers that seem to be tied to the secrets their parents have kept from them.

And there are people Up High watching, eager to do anything they can to become even more powerful than they already are. Now Zuberi, Uzochi, and Lencho will be faced with the choice--do they use their inheritance to lift their people, or to leave them behind. The fate of their city, and their people, hangs in the balance.

Review from Goodreads

The cover alone is stunning, but, the story really blew me away. Around 40% I could not stop reading this book.

I loved how the story was told from the different perspectives of the characters. It was a unique futuristic story but still had some current aspects. The writing is good, the characters were likable, and the flow of the story was pretty good paced. It was carefully detailed and I could totally picture things as they happened.

The Nubian people are a group of outsiders living in the slums of New York in the late 2090s & they are at the bottom of the totem pole. However, the younger Nubians notice different things happening to them and it is revealed that they have special powers- the Awakening. I liked the suspense around the young characters coming into their new powers. The villain in the story played a huge role-the corruption and brainwashing caused all kind of chaos in the story. I am really curious to see if there will be more of this story because the ending alludes to there being more. I am advocating for a tv series or movie adaptation, I want more. Good read!