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deedireads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/.
TL;DR REVIEW:
Moon Witch, Spider King is a rich, complex novel with an indomitable protagonist. It’s an easier read than BLRW (though still not easy), and it widens the plot in super interesting ways.
For you if: You like very literary fantasy (and read Black Leopard, Red Wolf).
FULL REVIEW:
Hurray for the next installment of Marlon James’ Dark Star Trilogy, which started with Black Leopard, Red Wolf. I liked BLRW, but like many, also found it very dense and challenging. I’m happy to report that MWSK presents an easier read (although I would still not go so far as to call it easy).
You may have heard the MWSK tells the same story as BLRW, but from the Moon Witch Sogolon’s perspective. This is actually only part of the story — the novel actually goes back much further than that, to when Sogolon was a girl, all through her life, how she became the Moon Witch, and how she got tangled up with the search for the boy. The events of BLRW only come into play in the last third or so of the book.
I tell you this so you don’t spend as much time as I did wondering when all that was going to start. But even so, by the end, I understood exactly why James set it up this way; the story BLRW drops us into is so much bigger, so much older, than we knew before. MWSK shows us what’s at stake here — and sets us up for an epic trilogy conclusion, I think.
Part of what makes MWSK more readable is that we’re prepared for the trilogy’s episodic storytelling style (which doesn’t settle into the shape of a traditional plot until deep into the book), not to mention the world the story takes place in. But I also really, really loved Sogolon as a protagonist. Her voice is so strong, her desires so pointed. She tells you like it is, unlike Tracker. And she takes absolutely NO shit from anyone. Such a badass. The audiobook narrator did an incredible job bringing her to life, too, and I highly recommend listening along on audio as you read the print version (especially given that it’s still relatively long and challenging).
If you liked BLRW enough to consider continuing with the series, even if you’re feeling a bit intimidated, I say pick this up. I think chances are good that you will like it.
TL;DR REVIEW:
Moon Witch, Spider King is a rich, complex novel with an indomitable protagonist. It’s an easier read than BLRW (though still not easy), and it widens the plot in super interesting ways.
For you if: You like very literary fantasy (and read Black Leopard, Red Wolf).
FULL REVIEW:
Hurray for the next installment of Marlon James’ Dark Star Trilogy, which started with Black Leopard, Red Wolf. I liked BLRW, but like many, also found it very dense and challenging. I’m happy to report that MWSK presents an easier read (although I would still not go so far as to call it easy).
You may have heard the MWSK tells the same story as BLRW, but from the Moon Witch Sogolon’s perspective. This is actually only part of the story — the novel actually goes back much further than that, to when Sogolon was a girl, all through her life, how she became the Moon Witch, and how she got tangled up with the search for the boy. The events of BLRW only come into play in the last third or so of the book.
I tell you this so you don’t spend as much time as I did wondering when all that was going to start. But even so, by the end, I understood exactly why James set it up this way; the story BLRW drops us into is so much bigger, so much older, than we knew before. MWSK shows us what’s at stake here — and sets us up for an epic trilogy conclusion, I think.
Part of what makes MWSK more readable is that we’re prepared for the trilogy’s episodic storytelling style (which doesn’t settle into the shape of a traditional plot until deep into the book), not to mention the world the story takes place in. But I also really, really loved Sogolon as a protagonist. Her voice is so strong, her desires so pointed. She tells you like it is, unlike Tracker. And she takes absolutely NO shit from anyone. Such a badass. The audiobook narrator did an incredible job bringing her to life, too, and I highly recommend listening along on audio as you read the print version (especially given that it’s still relatively long and challenging).
If you liked BLRW enough to consider continuing with the series, even if you’re feeling a bit intimidated, I say pick this up. I think chances are good that you will like it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Violence, and Child death
Moderate: Sexual content, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
alisonburnis's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The second novel of James’ Dark Star trilogy is even more electrifying than the first. I don’t want to spoil too much, because this overlaps with the first book - but this one is told through the eyes of Sogolon, spanning her entire life, and ending with her path crossing that of Tracker from the first book, both of them looking for the same boy.
Sogolon is 177 years old by the end of the book, and the beginning starts with her early childhood of abuse by her three brothers. Following her remarkable life, the novel show Sogolon’s long and legendary life, and greater context to the hunt for the boy, for it is a story which stretches from Sogolon’s girlhood.
This trilogy is a sweeping, rich epic. James’ writing and world building is phenomenal, and Sogolon was an especially rich character with a long and varied story. I loved it.
Sogolon is 177 years old by the end of the book, and the beginning starts with her early childhood of abuse by her three brothers. Following her remarkable life, the novel show Sogolon’s long and legendary life, and greater context to the hunt for the boy, for it is a story which stretches from Sogolon’s girlhood.
This trilogy is a sweeping, rich epic. James’ writing and world building is phenomenal, and Sogolon was an especially rich character with a long and varied story. I loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
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