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lesserjoke's review against another edition
4.0
This is a dense and somewhat oblique fantasy tome, richly steeped in mythic history from across Africa. It's sprawling and recursive, nesting stories within stories within stories, resulting in an epic closer to the original oral tradition of that genre than the more modern style popularized by Tolkien. It is definitely not "an African Game of Thrones" as some of the early marketing materials have suggested… If anything its tale of a powerful warrior recounting his larger-than-life exploits bears a passing resemblance to The Kingkiller Chronicle, but even that is fairly imprecise.
I'm grasping for comparisons here because this is such a weird novel, and I'm honestly not sure whether I like it or not. There's very little in the way of a conventional plot, and although the characters bounce off each other in fun ways, their succession of betrayals and reconciliations grows rather numbing after a while. I don't know if I'll bother with the next two books in this trilogy, which author Marlon James has suggested might largely retell the same events from different -- yet equally unreliable -- points of view. But I'm definitely impressed with his vision, and this narrative of a gay intersex black man adventuring across a folkloric landscape is incredibly vivid and distinctive.
[Major content warning for graphic violence and sexual content, including genital mutilation, torture, child abuse, bestiality, and rape. There's a tendency for the fantasy genre to be considered aimed at young adults by default; this is emphatically not such a book.]
I'm grasping for comparisons here because this is such a weird novel, and I'm honestly not sure whether I like it or not. There's very little in the way of a conventional plot, and although the characters bounce off each other in fun ways, their succession of betrayals and reconciliations grows rather numbing after a while. I don't know if I'll bother with the next two books in this trilogy, which author Marlon James has suggested might largely retell the same events from different -- yet equally unreliable -- points of view. But I'm definitely impressed with his vision, and this narrative of a gay intersex black man adventuring across a folkloric landscape is incredibly vivid and distinctive.
[Major content warning for graphic violence and sexual content, including genital mutilation, torture, child abuse, bestiality, and rape. There's a tendency for the fantasy genre to be considered aimed at young adults by default; this is emphatically not such a book.]
sianisimone's review against another edition
3.0
Reading Black Leopard, Red Wolf was a confusing journey that taught me as a writer to value folklore and how it could influence a continent. Often this book slowed down and caused me to lose my interest before picking back up. Black Leopard, Red Wolf is certainly an interesting read and taught me a lot about African mythology.
dia_ls's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
kwameslusher's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
3.0
aqsa_ayman's review against another edition
4.0
While this book is full of perverse violence, and even though I felt a weight of discomfort in the pit of my stomach for probably the entire first third, as I kept going I couldn't help but get invested in the story, especially when James has such a rich style of writing.
In a typical fantasy novel I might come away with thoughts of one mythical character who caught my interest but there are so many to choose from here, especially because I'm not at all familiar with the folklore that inspires them. The main characters were harder to figure out, since they spoke to each other either in riddles or would bicker in the style of an old married couple. There were many little jibes and taunts back and forth even when a simple question was asked, but with Tracker I did like how it was easy to tell how he really felt no matter what he said.
I really was impressed by this book though. The things that happen are undoubtedly disturbing but somehow it doesn't feel gratuitous, maybe because of how it's built into the fabric of this strange world.
In a typical fantasy novel I might come away with thoughts of one mythical character who caught my interest but there are so many to choose from here, especially because I'm not at all familiar with the folklore that inspires them. The main characters were harder to figure out, since they spoke to each other either in riddles or would bicker in the style of an old married couple. There were many little jibes and taunts back and forth even when a simple question was asked, but with Tracker I did like how it was easy to tell how he really felt no matter what he said.
I really was impressed by this book though. The things that happen are undoubtedly disturbing but somehow it doesn't feel gratuitous, maybe because of how it's built into the fabric of this strange world.
amieg17's review against another edition
2.0
This was an interesting read. I hated it for the first 50-100 pages maybe and thought about DNF'ing it. The main reason for that is the narrative style. The first section of the book seems to have absolutely nothing to do with the blurb of the book and you therefore are just left wondering why you are learning about such bizarre moments of the boys life. However, it does make sense later in the book as they are related to that main narrative in some way. The narrative is also comprised of flashbacks as well and is in a story-telling format. As a reader you are very confused and don't quite understand what is real and what isn't which is quite disorientating. The language is also quite dense which takes some getting used to but it did grow on me throughout despite the many repeated phrases.
The trigger warnings for this book are very intense so make sure you look into those before if you're interesting in reading it. It is very crude in regards to sex which I was not expecting going into it and it did put me off. It just seemed graphic for no particular reason. It did make me feel a little uncomfortable reading it but again this was something I got used to as I read it - not desensitised as such but I came to expect it more.
Around the 200 page mark, when we actually got well into the plot line that is described in the synopsis, I much preferred it. The world is complex and interesting and the characters are unlike anything I have read before - that is for certain. I actually really enjoyed the relationship between Tracker and Mossi which was much more angsty than I was expecting, given the rest of the book. Mossi was the character I liked the most. There was the exoticism of his whiteness, so you had the reversal of the lens there which was interesting. The love triangle dynamic was also well done as if you strip it back this is a kind of coming-of-age story in which a boy becomes a man and love is very much a part of that. The ending of the book also really packed a punch.
The middle section saved Black Leopard, Red Wolf from a 1 star rating as the plot line on the back was intriguing and kept me reading. The rest of it and the tangents away from that narrative, I enjoyed less so. I am conflicted as to whether or not to continue with the series as part of me is still intrigued but I don't know if I would be able to put myself through such an unnecessarily long book again.
The trigger warnings for this book are very intense so make sure you look into those before if you're interesting in reading it. It is very crude in regards to sex which I was not expecting going into it and it did put me off. It just seemed graphic for no particular reason. It did make me feel a little uncomfortable reading it but again this was something I got used to as I read it - not desensitised as such but I came to expect it more.
Around the 200 page mark, when we actually got well into the plot line that is described in the synopsis, I much preferred it. The world is complex and interesting and the characters are unlike anything I have read before - that is for certain. I actually really enjoyed the relationship between Tracker and Mossi which was much more angsty than I was expecting, given the rest of the book. Mossi was the character I liked the most. There was the exoticism of his whiteness, so you had the reversal of the lens there which was interesting. The love triangle dynamic was also well done as if you strip it back this is a kind of coming-of-age story in which a boy becomes a man and love is very much a part of that. The ending of the book also really packed a punch.
The middle section saved Black Leopard, Red Wolf from a 1 star rating as the plot line on the back was intriguing and kept me reading. The rest of it and the tangents away from that narrative, I enjoyed less so. I am conflicted as to whether or not to continue with the series as part of me is still intrigued but I don't know if I would be able to put myself through such an unnecessarily long book again.
dtol's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
catfish101's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
3.5
ughhh I really wanted to enjoy this book but it was so tough for me to get into it. I spent a lot of the time not even knowing exactly was going on??? There was also a LOT of SA and that was not fun. I don't really think I'd recommend this to anyone else. It's a trilogy? I know the 2nd book is out. I guess they're going to be about this other war coming from the west that was mentioned at the end?
krdeleon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-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
4.75
Every single breath of this story threads into Trackers tale with perfection. The balance of showing and telling is beautiful. Dion Graham deserves awards for the audiobook
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual violence and Violence