Ife-Iyoku, the Tale of Imadeyunuagbon

Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki
Ife-Iyoku, the Tale of Imadeyunuagbon Cover

Ife-Iyoku, the Tale of Imadeyunuagbon

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2/8/2021
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This is the story of a small village in a post-apocalyptic setting where most of the world has been blasted with radiation and most of the global population killed. The village was protected by the gods and the people in it are not only healthy, but have manifested magical powers. The background on Yoruban gods and the magic system are interesting.

Unfortunately, the story is full of rampant sexism, repeated sexual assault, rape justification and apologism, suicide, and women being blamed - and accepting blame - for things which are not their fault. All of this is in service to the incorrect belief that one man, or one woman, with a few dozen members of the opposite sex, can create and maintain a viable population.

I get the impression that one of the intents of the story is to illustrate that sexism, rape, and victim-blaming are bad. Unfortunately, it really doesn't succeed at that. It just ends up being a story about a lot of people behaving in awful ways and one woman managing to get away from it.