...things like totems and relics and idols and masks and shrines were commonplace; just the background elements of existence, the rigorously religious tools of worship in the lives of men. They may have been made, charmed, used, broken, reclaimed, or forgotten, but they always mattered to someone. It was a certain kind of savagery to keep these once purposeful items for no other purpose than display, as trophies in memoriam of a colonizer’s self-given right to take. [p. 224]
A romantic tale of Shigidi (a former nightmare god, working for the Orisha Spirit Company) and Nneoma (a succubus, but also a fallen angel), who are recruited for a heist. The eponymous Brass Head is locked away with 50,000 other stolen treasures in a place protected by dark magicks. Why yes, it is the British Museum: and security is provided by Section Six, a special branch of the Royal British Spirit Bureau, who are rumoured to have ties to the very oldest spirits of the land.
This precis is scant preparation for the opening chapter, in which Shigidi and Nneoma in a London cab driven by an infamous old reprobate, pursued by a furious giant in a makeshift chariot drawn by the four bronze Horses of Helios: very much in media res. The narrative skips backwards and forwards in time, sketching out the histories of the characters and their alliances. There are cameos from other pantheons, cinematic fight scenes, a strong post-colonialist theme, and set-up for a potential sequel.
This was a great read, blending romance and mythology with a classic heist plot. Shigidi and Nneoma are fully-realised characters, emotionally credible and powerful within well-described limits. The spirit-world in which they exist is detailed and fascinating: I was especially interested by the Orisha Spirit Company's conflicts and alliances with other religions. Occasional clunky sentences could have done with another edit ('Her flowing red dress was loose and flowed over her body’s where it encountered her curves.'), and the ever-shifting timeline often cut away just as things were getting interesting: a cheap trick of pacing. But I liked this novel, and look forward to more by Talabi.
Fulfils the ‘West African author’ rubric of the Something Bookish Reading Challenge.
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