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Immigrant
Sundiata was born in the great country of Benin, Africa, to proud parents. His father came from generations of great Dahomey warriors. Even as modern times changed the landscape of Benin life, Sundiata's father still practiced their traditional customs as a Dahomey warrior and their voodoo religion. Benin's corrupt government, now ran by the military, forced more and more demands on the people, making it impossible to live as free men and to provide a living for their families. Sundiata, along with his younger brother and sister, fled to America for a better life. Once in America, he soon found out that the warm welcome he thought he would receive from African Americans wasn't what he expected, causing him to grow a disdain for his people, and he would use them to build one of the greatest drug empires the world had ever seen.
344 pages, Paperback
Published October 21, 2022
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June 10, 2026
I went into this thinking it would be a straightforward rags to riches story. You know, poor kid comes to America, works hard, makes it big. Yeah, no. That is not what this is.
Sundiata's story starts in Benin with his father being a Dahomey warrior. That whole section about the voodoo religion and the family traditions was fascinating. I have not read many books that open in West Africa like that. Then the corrupt military makes life impossible and they flee to America.
Here is where things get uncomfortable. And I think the author meant it to be. Sundiata expects African Americans to welcome him with open arms. Same continent, right? But that is not what happens. The cold treatment he gets hardens him in a way that is honestly painful to read. He builds this resentment and then uses it as fuel to build a drug empire.
The drug trade stuff is brutal. Scarface level but with a different emotional weight because of his backstory. He is not some greedy guy. He is someone who felt rejected by his own people and decided to prove something. That made him scarier to me than a pure villain.
Sundiata's story starts in Benin with his father being a Dahomey warrior. That whole section about the voodoo religion and the family traditions was fascinating. I have not read many books that open in West Africa like that. Then the corrupt military makes life impossible and they flee to America.
Here is where things get uncomfortable. And I think the author meant it to be. Sundiata expects African Americans to welcome him with open arms. Same continent, right? But that is not what happens. The cold treatment he gets hardens him in a way that is honestly painful to read. He builds this resentment and then uses it as fuel to build a drug empire.
The drug trade stuff is brutal. Scarface level but with a different emotional weight because of his backstory. He is not some greedy guy. He is someone who felt rejected by his own people and decided to prove something. That made him scarier to me than a pure villain.
Displaying 1 of 1 review