Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi
Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi
The rundown: Shigidi is a disgruntled nightmare spirit in the Orisha Spirit Company, barely scraping by on the prayers of his few remaining believers, when succubus Nneoma offers him a deal that changes everything for him. Together, they attempt to break free of the obligations tying him to “job” and start a new life as partners, only to be caught up in the machinations of an elder god.
The review: This was tons of fun! I am down to read anything with religious themes, and that includes mythologies from around the world. In Shigidi, Yoruba mythology gets corporatized, with all the expectant corporate greed, political games, and underpaid low-level employees, and a dollop of noir. It’s a great read for someone who enjoys modernized takes on mythology but is a bit tired of the Greeks (enough with the Hades x Persephone, amirite?). The corporate set-up provides some fun (but not revolutionary) commentary on capitalism, particularly through the spirit company’s “pray pay” contrasted with Nneoma’s method of spirit-eating for sustenance as a freelancer. There’s even some colonial critique on the British Museum. The pulpy urban fantasy elements are unequivocally my favorites; I’m mostly indifferent to Shigidi and Nneoma’s romantic subplot, though its existence didn’t spoil the book for me.
And though we only get references to the corporations of other pantheons/religions, I can easily imagine a whole series of books based in this world and hope that we get more. I particularly enjoyed that this world assumes gods of all religions exist and even interact, and Talabi blends Yoruba myth with that of another religion in one of the character’s backstories in a way that I found fascinating.
The book travels between time periods and locations frequently, which made the narrative thread somewhat difficult to follow via audiobook. So, either keep this in mind when choosing what format to read this in (a tandem read would be excellent, I suspect, because the narration is great) or pay closer attention than I did. Regardless, this book is tons of fun and full of shenanigans (sex! magic! interdimensional heists!). Don’t think too hard and just let it pull you along for a wild ride.
Goes well with: Readers who enjoyed Neil Gaiman’s American Gods might enjoy this one and vice versa.