I like to bring a book with me on the metro if I know it’s going to be a long ride. The blessing of this habit is that I have something to do while I’m in transport (wow makes me sound like mail lol), but there are many cursed aspects of this habit as well.

Backtracking because of missed stops or transfers, being (even more) late to wherever I’m going, having to stop reading in the middle of a chapter etc. I don’t usually have a backpack and most books are just a tad big for my coat or jeans pockets. Whenever I finally do get to my destination, I end up just having to hold the book under my arm the whole time or set it down somewhere and pray I don’t forget it which is especially anxiety ridden if the book is from the library.

Holding David Mogo while attempting to be ‘out and about’, I quickly realized that its cover is striking enough that it draws a lot of attention and amongst my SF friends, Suyi Davies Okungbowa seems to be something of a household name although I was never sure what book everyone had read of his.

Inevitably, I ran up against the customary inquest of all book lovers when something they haven’t read is being flaunted so shamelessly in front of them: Is it any good?

My answer was always emphatically YES!, but with each inquiry I noticed my reasoning for this review changed as did how I ‘pitched’ the book to my friends. The back cover quotes Jacey Bedford saying its “A Nigerian Harry Dresden”.

I’ve never read any of the Dresden Files, but what I know of those books doesn’t really seem to match David Mogo, Nigerian or otherwise.

My initial comparisons likened it to an Adult (non-YA) version of Akata Witch, or perhaps Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor, but this mostly had to do with its setting in a post-apocalyptic Lagos Nigeria, and some references to Yoruba language and Nsibidi script. The tone and characters are all wrong for an Akata book though and so I couldn’t quite justify this comparison.

Next I tried to just follow the narrative already being spun about the novel in places like WIRED and Book Riot, describing it at as more or less the definitive story on which to hang the moniker ‘Godpunk’, but this too felt inadequate.

Finally, (slight spoiler) I reached the point in the story during which the main character receives a machete attached to a chain along which he can shoot fire and I began to laugh as I realized:

Hah! David Mogo is Nigerian Kratos!

The last section of the book is even called Warmonger, in which David literally becomes the Orisha God of War!

Now, before anyone dismisses David Mogo Godhunter because it’s being compared to a video game — which in their infancy had left something to be desired in terms of storytelling — let me just reiterate that the most recent editions of God of War have been generally lauded for their storytelling and part of a select group of games which are being cited as work which raises the medium into the realm of art.

God of War is also perhaps my favorite series of all time, (and one I would die to see go to Africa, specifically Ancient Egypt) so any similarities that David Mogo has with that property just hit all my right buttons, and only raised the book in my esteem.

Also, before anyone dismisses David Mogo Godhunter as somehow derivative because of the comparisons I’ve made between it and God of War please stop. There is enough uniquely amazing goodness here that it can certainly stand on its own as a great story.

One aspect of David’s world (which I believe GoW could never pull off) is the diversity of culture and interaction, even in this post apocalyptic version of Lagos. The Bookwyrm’s Den points specifically to the interplay of languages (which I sorta hinted at before) as code-switching (please read their review). I whole-heartedly agree that parsing through all the slang, pidgin and colloquialisms was sometimes difficult, but (I felt) very rewarding.

I’d be remiss not to mention the Orisha pantheon, which was mostly new to me, so there was quite a bit of joy in learning about them and their powers, history, and importance.

Bookwrym’s Den also points out David’s narrative of self discovery, and how we don’t often see this kind of narrative attached to (middle?) adults. They put David at around 30, which I’m also around (33!) so . . . I felt this arc deeply.

Finally, I think a large part of the draw for this story is just David himself. All protagonists make mistakes, they all experience regret and loss; its a critical part of storytelling. David is also angry, sulking, and petty. He jumps to conclusions too quickly and when he messes up he sometimes blames other people instead of himself. He’s a very real person. And despite all of that, by the end of the story, still manages to achieve something great.

We should all be so lucky.

Give this one a Read?

Definitely. At the very least, David Mogo is an action packed story with great fights, awe inspiring gods and goddesses, and an all too human protagonist. Let this one simmer a little longer and you’ll find it’s also rich in its worldbuilding and its diversity of human experience.

That’s all I have this week. Has anyone read this one before? What are your thoughts? Familiar with Orisha myth? Nsibidi script? What was your fav element within the story? Looking forward to talking about this one.

Until next time . . .