One Way Witch

Name: One Way Witch
Brand: Brilliance Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Nnedi Okorafor
ISBN: 9781501209079

Author: Nnedi Okorafor

Series: She Who Knows

Narrator: Yetide Badaki

Unabridged: 6 hr 16 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Published: 04/29/2025

Categories: Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, World Literature

Synopsis

Set in the universe Africanfuturist luminary Nnedi Okorafor first introduced in the World Fantasy Award-winning Who Fears Death, One Way Witch is the second in the She Who Knows trilogyThe world has forgotten Onyesonwu.As a teen, Najeeba learned to become the beast of wind, fire and dust: the kponyungo. When that took too much from her, including the life of her father, she let it all go, and for a time, she was happy — until only a few years later, when the small, normal life she’d built was violently destroyed. Now in her forties and years beyond the death of her second husband, Najeeba has just lost her beloved daughter. Onyesonwu saved the world. Najeeba knows this well, but the world does not. This is how the juju her daughter evoked works. One other person who remembers is Onyesonwu’s teacher Aro, a harsh and hard-headed sorcerer. Najeeba has decided to ask him to teach her the Mystic Points, the powerful heart of sorcery. There is something awful Najeeba needs to kill and the Mystic Points are the only way. Najeeba is truly her daughter’s mother.When Aro agrees to help, Najeeba is at last ready to forge her future. But first, she must confront her past — for certain memories cannot lie in unmarked graves.

About Nnedi Okorafor

Nnedi Okorafor, born to Igbo Nigerian parents in Cincinnati, Ohio, on April 8, 1974, is an author of fantasy and science fiction for both adults and younger readers. Her books include the Tor.com novella Binti, which won the 2015 Hugo and Nebula Awards; the children's book Long Juju Man, which won the 2007-08 Macmillan Writer's Prize for Africa; and the novels Who Fears Death (World Fantasy Award winner) and Akata Warrior (Lodestar and Locus Award winner). She is an associate professor of creative writing and literature at the University at Buffalo.

Reviews

Goodreads review by EveStar91 on September 07, 2025

I walked into the desert, in the opposite direction my daughter would soon walk and never return from. I wasn't afraid to be alone. Onyesonwu held me to this world. Without her, I was nothing. I clung to the weight of her. If only to be there for her if she somehow needed me. And so I walked into th......more

Goodreads review by Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) on February 26, 2025

One thing to note, is you really need to read Who Fears Death before picking up the second novella in the series! One Way Witch begins during the events of that novel and mostly occurs after Onyesonwu, the daughter of Najeeba, had changed the world. This novella is about a woman in middle-age findin......more

Goodreads review by Books_the_Magical_Fruit on April 26, 2025

Argh, no resolution! However, that means we get more of Najeeba’s story in another installment, so I’m okay with that. Nnedi Okorafor is a brilliant author. I love this world she created, and I love reading about her characters as they come to life on the page. Okorafor does include a brief summary o......more

Goodreads review by Gabby on July 25, 2025

While Nnedi Okorafor's writing still vividly captures the pain and struggles of the main characters, this book mainly serves as a period of rest for Najeeba, giving her time to learn magic and work through her emotions from what happened in the first book, giving this a slower plot. Despite this lul......more

Goodreads review by Abi_reads_and_scribbles on April 18, 2025

Thanks to DAW and Netgalley for this ARC. I loved the first two books in this series, She who knows and Who Fears Death. The Afrofuturist genre of Okorafor's writing is so unique and gritty. I had first read Who Fears Death for one of my University Literary courses and devoured it. I had never read a......more

Quotes

“Yetide Badaki returns to narrate the next audiobook in the She Who Knows series.… Badaki's portrayal of Najeeba features a raspy speaking voice due to throat damage. Badaki connects to Najeeba's pain and ferocity as she processes her trauma while learning magic from her daughter's teacher, Aro. Badaki's smooth voice and consistent pacing ease listeners through Najeeba's journey to reconnect with her powers and learn the Mystic Points—powerful sorcery that is the only way to destroy the mysterious Cleanser.” —AudioFile Magazine“Fans of Who Fears Death will appreciate the return to this rich, fully realized world, but Okorafor keeps things accessible enough that this works just as well on its own. Readers will devour this.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)“As always with Okorafor’s work, the prose is sharp and immersive, the characters provide insight into family drama and healing, and the narrative seamlessly blends elements of fantasy, folklore, and speculative fiction… While this book may be short, its impact is anything but small.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)