Imaro: The Trail of Bohu

Imaro #3

by Charles R. Saunders

Imaro, warrior of the Ilyassai, has settled into life as a husband and father in the fabled kingdom of Cush. Amid his growing restlessness, unspeakable tragedy strikes, sending Imaro on a grim mission of vengeance. His adversary has no face, but he does have a Bohu, the Bringer of Sorrow Ð a sorcerer of immense power and cruelty. As Imaro seeks a confrontation with his most formidable foe yet, the continent of Nyumbani is wracked with turmoil. The balance between the forces of good, represented by Cush, and evil, represented by the pariah land of Naama, has been disrupted. The gods themselves may have to go to war before that balance is restored. In the midst of the coming cataclysm, Imaro travels the length of Nyumbani in search of Bohu. Along the way, the warrior finally discovers his own identity Ð but will that knowledge help him as he battles a formidable array of enemies bent not only on his destruction, but that of Nyumbani itself?

Genres: Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Pulp, Dark Fantasy, Action

217 pages, Paperback

Published January 17, 2009

About the author

Saunders was born in 1946 in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania and emigrated to Canada in 1970. He has published science fiction and screenplays, two of which have become feature films. Saunders has also written a radio play, as well as other non-fiction works. He later worked as a journalist in Halifax, Nova Scotia and is the author of two recent works of historical non-fiction: Share and Care: The Story of the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children and Black and Bluenose: The Contemporary History of a Community.

Reviews

[Andrew]

The opposing forces move to confront each other on the continent of Nyumbani and Imaro finds himself a pawn in events beyond his control.
As he seeks to avenge a great wrong which has been done to him, a journey which starts as one of simple vengeance may lead to answers about his origins and the role he has to play in the unfolding events across the continent.

"The Trail of Bohu" is the third book in the Imaro series and "Sword and Soul" at its best. Yet another great read from Charles R Saunders.

[Jefferson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. Charles R. Saunders is criminally underappreciated as a sword and sorcery writer. It's tragic that this rewrite of Imaro III leads directly into book 4, which was only ever available as a print on demand and is now virtually impossible to find.

[J.W. Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

The warrior Imaro formerly of the Ilyassai has decided to settle down in the metropolis of Cush for a while, as he has been prophesied by the Kandisa to play an integral part in the looming war with the dark, sorcerous kingdom of Naama. Several previously adversarial warring nations are now banding together to fight against the threat of Naama, and their rulers, the Erriten, who want nothing less than the sole domination of Nyumbani itself, and to plunge the known world into darkness, as they plan to bring back their masters, the Demon Gods known also as the Maashatan from their interdimensional exile. With his wife, Tanisha, Imaro has sired a son, Kilewo, but, upon returning home one fateful day, Imaro finds his wife and child brutally butchered at the hands of a Naaman sorcerer known only as “Bohu.” Imaro doesn’t even stop to let himself grieve as he obsessively follows the trail of this sinister sorcerer to seek vengeance upon him…..

Imaro: The Trail of Bohu, the third volume in the Imaro series differs from the preceding volumes in two ways; 1. It is a self-contained novel and not a fix-up comprised of short stories as the previous two were and 2. It has a very dark and tragic tone. Not that the preceding volumes didn’t have some degree of darkness to them, I mean, sword and sorcery is also referred to as “dark fantasy” after all, but the fact that Imaro comes home to his family butchered before his very eyes is a heartwrenching plot development and scene that only an unempathetic asshole would not be affected by. This adds a new level of darkness to Imaro’s brooding character as not only is he dealing with the demons and traumas of his past; he lets the spirit of vengeance fill him.
As Imaro is preparing to face the murderer of his family, so too are the former warring kingdoms of Nyumbani casting off their differences and uniting to go to war against the threat of the darksome Naamans. This is not done easily or immediately but takes time as certain nations enter into the alliance reluctantly and it takes them a while to stop grinding the proverbial axe.
The supporting cast of characters we know and love are back; the gentle scholar Pomphis and the Zanjian sea-captain Rabir and his colorful crew, including a host of new ones.
There are some engaging battle scenes including a rather disturbing battle with the undead at sea, but a lot of this book focuses on Imaro being hot on the trail of the sorcerer Bohu and growing more deeply into who he truly is. This volume focuses way more on character development than the preceding volumes, and there are also plenty of surprises in store. While not as exciting and action-packed in some ways as the preceding volumes, I still enjoyed it. I’m just saddened to have recently learned it and its sequel, “The Naama War” are now out of print. I hope they are brought back so more can read this pioneering sword and soul saga of Imaro. Its place in sword and sorcery literature history is undeniable.

I give Imaro: The Trail of Bohu a 4.5 out of 5.

[James T · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was very good. Ultimately, it’s a travelogue and a bridge towards something bigger, both in terms of story and shift of genre.

The first two Imaro books were sword and sorcery but with Saunder’s unique African cultural and mythological flavor. This book transitions to a more heroic of epic fantasy quality.

There are some critiques to be made. Maybe it’s a bit too predictable, or maybe everyone hating Imaro is a bit tiring, or maybe even the chosen one narrative is a bit contrived, but none of that really matters.

For example, the crew slowly turning against Imaro and the captain builds an incredible tension. The mystery of Imaro’s identity being revealed after the previous two books is deeply gratifying.

The book flows great, it reminds me of the “airport paperback” quality of Lin Carter’s better books. It’s something you can’t put down and can read briskly. Saunders has definitely grown as a writer over the course of the series.

The term “Sword and Soul” is used to describe this micro genre of sword and sorcery that Saunders created. I find it very fitting. The characters are more emotional, and less archetypal (or if you want to be derogatory 2 dimensional) that sword and sorcery mainstay characters. However, their emotions don’t have the banality of contemporary fantasy characters. They are fittingly “soulful” like a song, but not mundane like characters of grimdark fantasy.

It’s a real shame this author wasn’t appreciated more in his lifetime. I hope he’s watching down on the world, maybe hanging out with some of his imagined Cloud Striders, happy that in passing his works have been given a second life and newfound attention.

I’ve become a huge fan of the series. This analogy is inelegant but it works. Sword and Sorcery is my favorite meal. Let’s say it’s like a pizza. Saunder’s married each slice of that pizza with a complementary flavor of their his own cultures cuisine. He even did one better, because each slice is a different unique cultural tone.

I can’t imagine being one of the people who read this series in the 80s awaiting for a conclusion that seemed like it was never coming. I’m looking forward concluding the series.

I went into the Imaro series with minor trepidation. The cynic in me wondered if people were overselling it do to the unfortunate passing of the author, or as some virtue signaling thing in our hyper-polarized climate. But no, rest assured that cynicism was without merit.

This series is one of the all time greats of Sword and Sorcery and Saunders deserves as much love as Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, C.L. Moore, Henry Kuttner, Fritz Leiber and Michael Moorcock.

So spread the word, and read the book if you haven’t yet!

[Will Cockrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third book in the Imaro series is a different animal from the first two. It's a complete novel rather than a series of interconnected short stories and novellas fit together in a novel-length book. That has the effect of making it much harder to put down, since you don't get the same sense of satisfaction when you get to the end of a "chapter" that you got with the first two books. That also explains why I got it read in about four evenings' time. It's great. You always want to know what's going to happen next. Once all the pieces of the puzzle are in front of you the climax is a bit predictable, but no less satisfying for it. It's a perfect lead-in to the next (and I REALLY hope not the last) chapter in Imaro's adventures.