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A review by ketreads
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
I am immensely disappointed by this book.
During the reading of this, I found many times I wanted to DNF/ rate 1 star but did find there were redeemable aspects to this book, even if my overall feelings regarding it are negative.
I don't know when I heard about this book, but I definitely bought it during the initial hype. Seeing many people mention just how good it was, it's cool setting, and the amazing blurb really drew me in. Murder mystery adventure WITH African folklore based fantasy?? Yes please!
While I'm sure if I leaned back and squinted real hard I could see the blurb is being somewhat faithful to what we get, the choice of prose really threw me off and was not something I enjoyed.
The author's choice of prose is a meandering mess, often setting up promise of pay off with none in sight. His obsession with genitalia based descriptions and smells was almost off putting to the point of DNF'ing it 50 pages in. It thankfully either lessens as you progress, though I still found gratuitous moments involving overly descriptive text involving genitalia.
The book also suffers from a massive pacing issue that is prevalent throughout the book. I'd often find myself finally feeling the rhythm of the story and characters, and actually ENJOYING the book. Pages later the author would decide to focus pages of content to very specific scenes/ areas which would completely stunt the momentum he had just created. His attempts at character focused moments in time often felt pointless as none of these characters ever seemed to like eachother. Even the long time friends and main duo of the book (as seen in the title: Black Leopard & Red Wolf) seem to take any opportunity to bicker and insult one another.
This book isn't about a group of friends rescuing a child, it's a group of strangers constantly splitting up and quarrelling their way through 600 pages. I kept expecting for some sort of bond to grow between these people traveling and sometimes even fighting for their life's together but then Tracker would go ahead and insult someones entire existence out of nowhere.
So no, I wouldn't recommend this book nor will I expect to continue the series. Just looking at the next book and seeing it's about the Moon Witch (one of the least likeable characters of the bunch) I'll be staying well clear.
During the reading of this, I found many times I wanted to DNF/ rate 1 star but did find there were redeemable aspects to this book, even if my overall feelings regarding it are negative.
I don't know when I heard about this book, but I definitely bought it during the initial hype. Seeing many people mention just how good it was, it's cool setting, and the amazing blurb really drew me in. Murder mystery adventure WITH African folklore based fantasy?? Yes please!
While I'm sure if I leaned back and squinted real hard I could see the blurb is being somewhat faithful to what we get, the choice of prose really threw me off and was not something I enjoyed.
The author's choice of prose is a meandering mess, often setting up promise of pay off with none in sight. His obsession with genitalia based descriptions and smells was almost off putting to the point of DNF'ing it 50 pages in. It thankfully either lessens as you progress, though I still found gratuitous moments involving overly descriptive text involving genitalia.
The book also suffers from a massive pacing issue that is prevalent throughout the book. I'd often find myself finally feeling the rhythm of the story and characters, and actually ENJOYING the book. Pages later the author would decide to focus pages of content to very specific scenes/ areas which would completely stunt the momentum he had just created. His attempts at character focused moments in time often felt pointless as none of these characters ever seemed to like eachother. Even the long time friends and main duo of the book (as seen in the title: Black Leopard & Red Wolf) seem to take any opportunity to bicker and insult one another.
This book isn't about a group of friends rescuing a child, it's a group of strangers constantly splitting up and quarrelling their way through 600 pages. I kept expecting for some sort of bond to grow between these people traveling and sometimes even fighting for their life's together but then Tracker would go ahead and insult someones entire existence out of nowhere.
So no, I wouldn't recommend this book nor will I expect to continue the series. Just looking at the next book and seeing it's about the Moon Witch (one of the least likeable characters of the bunch) I'll be staying well clear.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child death, and Torture
Moderate: Slavery