“An exquisite blend of unpredictable twists and lightning-paced plot.” —The Guardian
Published by Unnamed Press, Nigerians in Space is an international crime thriller about brain drain that is set in South Africa, Nigeria, and the U.S.
The sequel, After the Flare, was published by Unnamed Press in September 2017.
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An exquisite blend of unpredictable twists and lightning-paced plot.
Fast-paced, well-written and packed with insight and humor. Olukotun is a very talented storyteller.
Nigerians in Space is a taut thriller about a fictional Nigerian space program... Once the book arrived, I read through most of it that evening and finished it later the next morning. Nigerians in Space deserves not only to be rediscovered (or perhaps discovered), but should rightfully garner a seat at the table with The Martian and Station Eleven.
A crime thriller that is out of this world.
A madcap first novel that unravels like a spy thriller.
Plot summary
1993. Houston. Dr. Wale Olufunmi, lunar rock geologist, has a life most Nigerian immigrants would kill for, but then most Nigerians aren’t Wale—a great scientific mind in exile with galactic ambitions. Then comes an outlandish order: steal a piece of the moon. With both personal and national glory at stake, Wale manages to pull off the near impossible, setting out on a journey back to Nigeria that leads anywhere but home. Compelled by Wale’s impulsive act, Nigerians traces arcs in time and space from Houston to Stockholm, from Cape Town to Bulawayo, picking up on the intersecting lives of a South African abalone smuggler, a freedom fighter’s young daughter, and Wale’s own ambitious son. Deji Olukotun’s debut novel defies categorization—a story of international intrigue that tackles deeper questions about exile, identity, and the need to answer an elusive question: what exactly is brain gain?
Nigerians in Space is an international crime thriller about brain drain that is set in South Africa, Nigeria, and the U.S. The chapter “Home Affairs”, published in World Literature Today, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. It is available in print and e-book.
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