![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() It tells the life story of Sogolon the Moon Witch, an incredibly compelling character, who travels from horrible abusive squalor to the height of the royal court and beyond. The best fantasy novel I've read in ages, this pseudo sequel to Black Leopard Red Wolf continues to build James' ridiculous fantasy world (particularly inspired by African mythology and the X-Men). Mad kings, shapeshifters, love & heartbreak, shocking violence, strong-girl-bildungsroman, water sprites, scary nuns, and the sangomin–maybe his greatest contribution, a genuinely scary assortment of monstrous mutant children turned assassins. Drawing inspiration from mythology, pre-colonial history, and the different beats or tropes of African storytelling, James yet again (and maybe even better than before) does what Tolkien did for Germanic mythology and GRRM did for British history and geography. From her origins as an abused girl in a termite hill to an attendant in the royal court to the explosive discovery of her fickle powers, this book offers unparalleled world-building and character development with James’ remarkable, defamiliarizing prose. ![]() Moon Witch, Spider King–which can be read as a standalone–offers a Rashomon-like perspective on the events of Black Leopard, Red Wolf, but that is only a fraction of Sogolon’s life. What a joy to return to the wholly original Afrofantasy world of Booker-winner Marlon James’ Dark Star Trilogy. ![]()
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