Black Leopard, Red Wolf

Davita, Yolanda, Lynda (via audio), and Phyllis met in Daytona Saturday afternoon to discuss Marlon James’ latest epic fantasy novel over lunch at Bahama Breeze.

Black Leopard, Red Wolf is a National Bestseller although Davita noted its ranking has been sliding in recent weeks. This is a polarizing read but regardless of whether one loves or hates it, it’s a wonderfully imagined, strategically written novel that centers on a quest for a missing child which takes the reader into mystical kingdoms and dark realms drawn from ancient African myths and folklore.

A motley crew (of mysterious origins and questionable intentions) assemble to join forces to find the child and the reader is pulled into their lives through a circuitous-styled telling of their backstories. These characters are far from perfect and were a bit duplicitous in nature (each had good and bad qualities) and were guided by their individual moral compasses which weren’t so apparent initially. The author uses this anecdotal-inspired, “story within a story” style to move the narrative forward. Often "circular" in nature, it uses multiple stories to answer questions -- we see this in the opening passages of the novel and it’s repeated throughout the book. It is also reflected in the author’s plan for the Dark Star Trilogy in that this is the first “story” in a trilogy in which the same story will be told from the viewpoint of three different characters. It will be up to the reader to determine who’s telling the truth and what really happens.

Disclaimer: This book is for mature audiences - it contains graphic and gratuitous language, sex, and violence. Thus if the reader has sensitivities towards sexual assault (women, children, animals; incest and bestiality), forced servitude and slavery (children), violence (against women and maiming of children) -- please consider this a warning.

In this world, children are tolerated and women are subjugated (granted there are a few mentions of Queens with Queendoms and a small segment demonstrating women’s empowerment). This novel builds on male perspectives inspired by humanity’s past, thus it tosses aside political correctness and gender equality to build a world rooted in superstitious/religious beliefs, cultural traditions, and politics driven by greed, power, and paranoia/madness. The fantasy is heightened with a fresh take on the traditional depictions of witches, vampires, were-creatures, demons, giants, trolls and goblin-like creatures.

Outtakes & Ratings

NCBC Rating: 4.6

The four NCBC members who read the book, really enjoyed it:

Lynda and Yolanda rated it 4.5 stars and it was their first Marlon James’s read. Yolanda noted a slow start but was then drawn in. She liked that she needed to pay attention to the detail as everything has a meaning or purpose that was revealed later in the story. She also noted that despite the dark tone, there was a lot of humor sprinkled throughout the book.

Lynda loved the layering of the story and how each segment was connected. She liked the educational aspect as she found herself pausing to research various topics. It made her think and stretched her imagination.

Davita is parked between a 4.5 and 5. She agreed with Yolanda about the slow start, but after the first 50-60 pages was immersed in the book; she loved the writing style and the story held her attention throughout.

Phyllis rated it 5 and agreed with everyone’s before-mentioned assessments and believes it will be on her 2019 Top Reads list.

We were not offended by anything depicted in the book. In fact, we appreciated the author staying true to historical position(s) towards women, children, the disabled, the homosexuals, the elderly, the enslaved, etc. - simply put, “humankind” has not always been “kind”, understanding, or benevolent toward its fellow humans.

We can’t wait for the second book which will be told from Salogon’s (the Moon Witch) perspective.

Please share your thoughts, opinions, and ratings for Black Leopard, Red Wolf with us by replying or commenting below!

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