Black Leopard, Red Wolf
Author: Marlon James
A boy has gone missing. Tracker, the main character in this epic adventure story, has been hired to find him. You see, Tracker has quite a reputation when it comes to his sense of smell. He joins forces with others set the same mission, all of them dangerous, and embarks on a journey that will take him to all sorts of mysterious places.
Who is this boy they are all looking for? Why is he so important and worth such a fuss? Mystery lurks behind this mission.
Black Leopard, Red Wolf opens up with the sentence: The child is dead. There is nothing left to know. From the very beginning we know how the search for the boy ends – with Tracker imprisoned, facing judgement. They believe he killed the boy.
Marketing Black Leopard, Red Wolf as the “African ‘Game of Thrones'” set the expectations pretty high and might have been a bit of a risk. Some of the elements are there – the violence and sex – and yet they seem to be extremely “in your face”. The language is also at times unnecessarily crass. The lines between male/female and real/fantastical elements are often blurry, which can make for quite a frustrating and confusing read.
What really sticks out about this novel, the first in James’ planned Dark Star trilogy, is the richness of its setting. It is a perfect blend of fantasy, pre-colonial African mythology and the essential elements of an adventure/mystery novel. The plot moves along smoothly, highlighting relevant past moments and the cast of characters is nothing short of diverse and bizarre.
When I first received my review copy I was really looking forward to reading it. Once I started it though… I wasn’t quite sure about it. Black Leopard, Red Wolf is a novel complicated to classify. Áfter giving it some thought, I am yet to make up my mind about it. Bits I enjoyed but something about it grated with me.
I’ll let you make up your mind about this one. Black Leopard, Red Wolf might be a promising start to an epic fantasy trilogy?
> Naomi Round
