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A review by _kieralou
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
3.0
"You and I are the same, Mossi. When people call on us, we know we are about to meet evil. Lying, cheating, beating, wounding, murdering. My stomach is strong. But we still think monsters are the ones with claws, and scales and skin."
This book follows a man named Tracker, who is said to have a nose which can find anyone, as he is hired to find a boy who has been missing for three years along with his friend the Leopard and several other people, including others from his past. This was much more than I expected, with complex navigation through right and wrong, justice and vengeance. The rich fantasy setting is inspired by African history and mythology and the worldbuilding is excellent. There is also lots of gay representation and negotiation of gender which was really interesting to read.
Many of the characters are unlikeable but very well written which was done really well. Tracker, the narrator, was very unlikeable but I still enjoyed reading from his perspective. I really liked how the story unfolded, beginning with Tracker's childhood and coming of age instead of jumping straight into the search for the boy.
The last 100 pages or so felt unnecessary and rushed, and I feel would have done better to be another book in the series instead of at the end of the first book. A lot of the narrative was told through stories told by various characters to each other and I didn't particularly like this way of storytelling in the book. I feel that I didn't enjoy this as much as I might have because I had to rush to get it back to the library and had I been able to read at a slower pace I would have liked it much more.
I probably won't pick up the rest of the series, but I'm not saying never until we get more information on them.
This book follows a man named Tracker, who is said to have a nose which can find anyone, as he is hired to find a boy who has been missing for three years along with his friend the Leopard and several other people, including others from his past. This was much more than I expected, with complex navigation through right and wrong, justice and vengeance. The rich fantasy setting is inspired by African history and mythology and the worldbuilding is excellent. There is also lots of gay representation and negotiation of gender which was really interesting to read.
Many of the characters are unlikeable but very well written which was done really well. Tracker, the narrator, was very unlikeable but I still enjoyed reading from his perspective. I really liked how the story unfolded, beginning with Tracker's childhood and coming of age instead of jumping straight into the search for the boy.
The last 100 pages or so felt unnecessary and rushed, and I feel would have done better to be another book in the series instead of at the end of the first book. A lot of the narrative was told through stories told by various characters to each other and I didn't particularly like this way of storytelling in the book. I feel that I didn't enjoy this as much as I might have because I had to rush to get it back to the library and had I been able to read at a slower pace I would have liked it much more.
I probably won't pick up the rest of the series, but I'm not saying never until we get more information on them.