A review by holly_ey
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.5

I don't often write reviews but this book has left me reeling to the point of needing an outlet. I understand the comparisons to Tolkien and Game of Thrones but honestly that doesn't do justice to this book; all have their own brilliance but this is purely a different beast. The rage and sorrow painted throughout are visceral, the world is a red-hot fever-dream full of genuinely horrific monsters, human or otherwise (and has left me urgently needing to work on my woeful knowledge gap in African folklore), and the brutality makes it by far the darkest novel I've ever read. And yet somehow James also builds in a deeply human love story, or several really, entwining the various angles on love and complex human relationships with a violent dissection of human nature. It was hard-going at times due to the sheer density of information and images to absorb - I think it took me about five times longer to read than most books of this length - but it was worth it.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings