Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi Review (Gifted, AD)

Hello Readers,

Thank you, Jenna, and Gollancz for giving me a copy of Shigidi: And the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi for free in exchange for an honest review.

This book sold me on the premise I mean who doesn’t want to read a book about a heist on the British Museum to steal back ancient artefacts. A straightforward way to explain this book that I’ve seen used by other reviewers is American Gods but with the Orisha pantheon. Little side note: the Orisha pantheon is fascinating to look into.

The Gods have become weakened as faith is in short supply. Each faith has its own spirit company, trading in belief and prayers. They have board meetings, quarterly targets, treaties, rules, and some of the Gods are wage slaves. Shigidi is a minor god in the Orisha spirit company and only received a small number of souls for sustenance. Shigidi hates his former life of using nightmares to terrify and kill to collect souls.

On assignment he finds himself in disagreement with succubus Nneoma. Nneoma has a prior claim on the man Shigidi is about to kill. They team up and go freelance, but life as freelancers is difficult, and they find themselves in debt to a powerful and scheming deity. There is a way to pay off all the debts Shigidi and Nneoma are hired by Olorun, to retrieve an artifact that was that was stolen from Africa and is now on exhibit in the British Museum.

It's a bit of a chaotic book as the story jumps in time and geography. The actual heist takes place over a short time, so we do a lot of jumping back and forth in the timeline and between backstories and builds toward an exciting ending. There are two main stories here: the heist and the love story of Shigidi and Nneoma. The heist story and Shigidi and Nneoma's love story.

L x

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