What do you think?
Rate this book
The Unwoven Warrior
"I am the Shadow of the Lion.
The one who will survive deaths without number.
The one who has lost everyone. The one wounded and betrayed.
I am not the Lion. He is dead.
I am his Shadow.
I am his revenge."
Amkela has always fought beside his older brother Nenkani, the Lion of the West and last hope of their people against the invading Karaphi Empire.
But when they are betrayed and hunted by Imperial airships, Amkela is offered power and revenge by an imprisoned being of visions and vines called dreaming-what-is-to-come. Thrust from his brother's shadow, Amkela must lead his people to freedom while keeping secret the terrible price he's paid.
When the shadow of the Empire falls across him, will Amkela be strong enough to save his people? Will he be strong enough to survive?
The one who will survive deaths without number.
The one who has lost everyone. The one wounded and betrayed.
I am not the Lion. He is dead.
I am his Shadow.
I am his revenge."
Amkela has always fought beside his older brother Nenkani, the Lion of the West and last hope of their people against the invading Karaphi Empire.
But when they are betrayed and hunted by Imperial airships, Amkela is offered power and revenge by an imprisoned being of visions and vines called dreaming-what-is-to-come. Thrust from his brother's shadow, Amkela must lead his people to freedom while keeping secret the terrible price he's paid.
When the shadow of the Empire falls across him, will Amkela be strong enough to save his people? Will he be strong enough to survive?
320 pages, Paperback
Published March 27, 2025
2 people are currently reading
7 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 22, 2025
Take the most mind-bending Blake Crouch-esque concepts, set them in a beleaguered Afrofantasy community making a desperate last stand against colonial eradication and you get this powerhouse of a genre-defying book. I barely know how to sum it up: every time I thought I knew where the story was going, it didn't just twist, it flipped to another plane of existence. At it's most basic, this is a high-action story of survival. Amkela has lived in the shadow of his older brother, charismatic war chief Nenkani. When betrayal leads to a total routing of their forces, the only hope for his people is for Amkela to broker a dangerous alliance with an entity beyond his comprehension. But THE UNWOVEN WARRIOR is also so much more than well choreographed fight scenes and a standard hero's journey. Every character has their own goals, and not all are 'part of the same whole'. It is a story that leaves you questioning what it means to a hero and if such a thing exists.
If you like a plot that keeps you on your toes and asks you to grapple with the very meaning of existence, you'll enjoy this!
Thanks to Mirari Press for providing me with a copy for review!
If you like a plot that keeps you on your toes and asks you to grapple with the very meaning of existence, you'll enjoy this!
Thanks to Mirari Press for providing me with a copy for review!
November 3, 2025
Thank you to Mirari Press for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
From the very first page, The Unwoven Warrior sinks its claws in with a world so vivid and tactile it feels alive — and slightly dangerous. Local Cape Town author Jon Keevy, best known for his inventive theatre work (Get Kraken, The Underground Library) and award-nominated game writing (Genital Jousting), brings that same bold, cross-media imagination to this novel. The result? A story that feels cinematic, layered, and bursting with life.
Keevy builds an African-inspired world stitched together with the bones of ancient alien technology — an ecosystem of sentient plants, airships, and crumbling myths that feel both familiar and otherworldly. It’s a beautifully blended sci-fi–fantasy hybrid, with just a smidge of horror lurking in the dark corners. His background in theatre shows through in the crisp dialogue and sense of rhythm, while his experience in game writing gives the narrative that immersive, player-in-the-world feel.
“His rage at what the soldiers had done to these people transformed into a righteous pride by their strength.”
At its core, The Unwoven Warrior is a “Chosen One gone wrong” story — destiny twisting back on itself, heroes questioning their purpose, and fate proving far less benevolent than legend suggests. Keevy doesn’t hand out easy answers, and I appreciate that. There were moments of awe, moments of dread, and moments when I simply whispered, “Wait, what just happened?” But that’s part of the fun — I closed the book with a head full of wonder and more than a few questions still lingering.
A well-deserved nod goes to Nerine Dorman for her excellent editing — the prose feels lean yet lyrical, and the pacing never falters. Every scene feels purposeful, yet there’s always room for curiosity to breathe.
In short: The Unwoven Warrior is bold, imaginative, and deeply rooted in a sense of place. Keevy proves himself a master of world-building and tone — equal parts myth-maker, tinkerer, and storyteller. I loved the setting so much, I wish I could step into it (though I’m not sure I’d survive there).
From the very first page, The Unwoven Warrior sinks its claws in with a world so vivid and tactile it feels alive — and slightly dangerous. Local Cape Town author Jon Keevy, best known for his inventive theatre work (Get Kraken, The Underground Library) and award-nominated game writing (Genital Jousting), brings that same bold, cross-media imagination to this novel. The result? A story that feels cinematic, layered, and bursting with life.
Keevy builds an African-inspired world stitched together with the bones of ancient alien technology — an ecosystem of sentient plants, airships, and crumbling myths that feel both familiar and otherworldly. It’s a beautifully blended sci-fi–fantasy hybrid, with just a smidge of horror lurking in the dark corners. His background in theatre shows through in the crisp dialogue and sense of rhythm, while his experience in game writing gives the narrative that immersive, player-in-the-world feel.
“His rage at what the soldiers had done to these people transformed into a righteous pride by their strength.”
At its core, The Unwoven Warrior is a “Chosen One gone wrong” story — destiny twisting back on itself, heroes questioning their purpose, and fate proving far less benevolent than legend suggests. Keevy doesn’t hand out easy answers, and I appreciate that. There were moments of awe, moments of dread, and moments when I simply whispered, “Wait, what just happened?” But that’s part of the fun — I closed the book with a head full of wonder and more than a few questions still lingering.
A well-deserved nod goes to Nerine Dorman for her excellent editing — the prose feels lean yet lyrical, and the pacing never falters. Every scene feels purposeful, yet there’s always room for curiosity to breathe.
In short: The Unwoven Warrior is bold, imaginative, and deeply rooted in a sense of place. Keevy proves himself a master of world-building and tone — equal parts myth-maker, tinkerer, and storyteller. I loved the setting so much, I wish I could step into it (though I’m not sure I’d survive there).
May 18, 2025
Keevy has delivered an impressive debut novel with The Unwoven Warrior. Rich characters, an extremely well-imagined and constructed mythology, a well-defined landscape, fantastic villains, great fight scenes, meaningful relationships and a strong lead in Amkela make for a compelling read as our protagonist is thrust, quite against his will, into the role of hero and into a story that leads him not only into the war to save his people the Inyentu but into a war with himself – quite literally, and I won’t give any more away than that.
So, to set the scene while avoiding spoilers, very basically the story goes that Amkela follows his brother Nenkani and the Last Defenders into a resistance fight against the invading Karaphi Empire. But things don’t go to plan and the Last Defenders find themselves up against the wall and their leader, Nenkani, dead. And this is when Amkela comes across an imprisoned plant being called dreaming-what-is-to-come who strikes a bargain with him: I’ll help you and your people if you help me out of my prison. And so Amkela’s fate is sealed and a great force, much more powerful than the Inyentu and the Karaphi is released. And so what is a pretty run-of-the-mill, David versus Goliath set-up, takes a very different turn.
Billed as Afrofantasy I’ve found it very genre-blendy. It’s got the magic and fantasy deeply inspired by African history, culture, and mythology, but there are powerful elements of science fiction with extremely advanced off-world technology (not to mention a world with two moons), and then this really beautiful creation of a mythology and culture that feels more reminiscent of social science fiction than pure fantasy.
I loved travelling with Amkela across the landscape of this world (so much so that I read the book twice) and am looking very forward to seeing how Keevy expands on it and the story in his next books.
So, to set the scene while avoiding spoilers, very basically the story goes that Amkela follows his brother Nenkani and the Last Defenders into a resistance fight against the invading Karaphi Empire. But things don’t go to plan and the Last Defenders find themselves up against the wall and their leader, Nenkani, dead. And this is when Amkela comes across an imprisoned plant being called dreaming-what-is-to-come who strikes a bargain with him: I’ll help you and your people if you help me out of my prison. And so Amkela’s fate is sealed and a great force, much more powerful than the Inyentu and the Karaphi is released. And so what is a pretty run-of-the-mill, David versus Goliath set-up, takes a very different turn.
Billed as Afrofantasy I’ve found it very genre-blendy. It’s got the magic and fantasy deeply inspired by African history, culture, and mythology, but there are powerful elements of science fiction with extremely advanced off-world technology (not to mention a world with two moons), and then this really beautiful creation of a mythology and culture that feels more reminiscent of social science fiction than pure fantasy.
I loved travelling with Amkela across the landscape of this world (so much so that I read the book twice) and am looking very forward to seeing how Keevy expands on it and the story in his next books.
September 3, 2025
My first afro-fantasy, and surely not the last!
Well structured, with rich mythology and wonderfully crafted characters, The Unwoven Warrior was a delightful surprise that, in a way, brought me full circle in my reading journey. Back in the day (you know, the early 2000s, all those many, many years ago) when eleven, twelve year old me was reading anything and everything she could get her hands on, I came across a book written about the life and tragedy of Boudicca and her people, and it was real and raw down to the blood spilled and the blood hidden, and while it may be a completely different continent with different tribes and people and threats and different gods, the same complexities of what it meant to be a hero and revered when perhaps one doesn’t completely deserve it, were explored.
To have good intentions. To have compassion. To sacrifice. To become someone...else. To be flawed.
The Unwoven Warrior is a book that leaves you with questions- and for me, one of them was whether I smart enough to read this, let alone try to tackle the daunting task of reviewing it 😅 regardless, vague'ish concepts (Stephen King and what the heck is IT, really, anyone?) only added to the mystic, and left me wanting more, wanting to understand.
It's rare, with fantasy being so heavy-handed with their tropes, to be completely caught unawares by plot twists in this day and age, and yet, friends, I was. And it was delightful.
Thank you to @miraripress for gifting me with a copy of The Unwoven Warrior in exchange for an honest review.
Well structured, with rich mythology and wonderfully crafted characters, The Unwoven Warrior was a delightful surprise that, in a way, brought me full circle in my reading journey. Back in the day (you know, the early 2000s, all those many, many years ago) when eleven, twelve year old me was reading anything and everything she could get her hands on, I came across a book written about the life and tragedy of Boudicca and her people, and it was real and raw down to the blood spilled and the blood hidden, and while it may be a completely different continent with different tribes and people and threats and different gods, the same complexities of what it meant to be a hero and revered when perhaps one doesn’t completely deserve it, were explored.
To have good intentions. To have compassion. To sacrifice. To become someone...else. To be flawed.
The Unwoven Warrior is a book that leaves you with questions- and for me, one of them was whether I smart enough to read this, let alone try to tackle the daunting task of reviewing it 😅 regardless, vague'ish concepts (Stephen King and what the heck is IT, really, anyone?) only added to the mystic, and left me wanting more, wanting to understand.
It's rare, with fantasy being so heavy-handed with their tropes, to be completely caught unawares by plot twists in this day and age, and yet, friends, I was. And it was delightful.
Thank you to @miraripress for gifting me with a copy of The Unwoven Warrior in exchange for an honest review.
September 9, 2025
‘The Unwoven Warrior’ is a bold debut from South African author Jon Keevy, bringing an African-inspired, genre-blending sci-fi fantasy story that excellently mixes mythology, culture, and technology. We follow Amkela, thrust from the shadow of his fallen brother into the role of the reluctant hero, navigating a world of betrayal, resistance, and war against the occupying Karaphi Empire. Obviously, things don’t go to plan, and Amkela finds himself in the precarious position of having to broker a sketchy alliance in order to (hopefully...) make it out on the other side.
This book is one of breakneck action — you never know where the author is taking you next. The story simply races forward with an unpredictable energy, offering unforgettable characters and a setting that feels both strangely familiar and anxiously strange. It leaves you questioning your views of what a hero truly is supposed to be and if it’s all even worth it in the end…
It’s a wild ride, one that challenges the stock-standard tropes and that keeps you hooked to the last page. I would highly recommend this book to lovers of sci-fi and fantasy who are open to a story that doesn’t even bother to hold your hand as it races to the end.
Thank you to Mirari Press for the review copy! All opinions above are my own.
This book is one of breakneck action — you never know where the author is taking you next. The story simply races forward with an unpredictable energy, offering unforgettable characters and a setting that feels both strangely familiar and anxiously strange. It leaves you questioning your views of what a hero truly is supposed to be and if it’s all even worth it in the end…
It’s a wild ride, one that challenges the stock-standard tropes and that keeps you hooked to the last page. I would highly recommend this book to lovers of sci-fi and fantasy who are open to a story that doesn’t even bother to hold your hand as it races to the end.
Thank you to Mirari Press for the review copy! All opinions above are my own.
August 24, 2025
Are you looking for a unique South African fantasy featuring a compassionately flawed main character, refreshing magic systems, great world building and an ending that makes you go 'wait, that can't be the end... I have to wait how long for the sequel????'
Then the Unwoven Warrior by Jon Keevy is well worth a read. Amkela is a character that is vivid in his optimism and vulnerability. Yearning to be whole and Dreaming what is to come are fascinating entities that you will think about long after you close the book.
This is a tale of survival and at what cost. A tale of honouring those around you as well as those who cake before. A tale of hope and of loss.
I loved the elements of folklore that feel so similar to our own but with its own flare. I am very very jealous of the really great world building and as with most South African authors, Jon Keevy's characters shine with vivid dialogue and complex humanity.
A good fantasy has a way of making your imagination whirl and this book will do just that!
A massive thank you to Mirari Press for a copy to read!
Have you read this yet? What were your thoughts? Are you also wanting to bully Jon into giving you the sequel now!?
Then the Unwoven Warrior by Jon Keevy is well worth a read. Amkela is a character that is vivid in his optimism and vulnerability. Yearning to be whole and Dreaming what is to come are fascinating entities that you will think about long after you close the book.
This is a tale of survival and at what cost. A tale of honouring those around you as well as those who cake before. A tale of hope and of loss.
I loved the elements of folklore that feel so similar to our own but with its own flare. I am very very jealous of the really great world building and as with most South African authors, Jon Keevy's characters shine with vivid dialogue and complex humanity.
A good fantasy has a way of making your imagination whirl and this book will do just that!
A massive thank you to Mirari Press for a copy to read!
Have you read this yet? What were your thoughts? Are you also wanting to bully Jon into giving you the sequel now!?
August 13, 2025
Disclaimer: Mirari Press kindly sent me a copy of this novel in exchange for am honest review.
Amkela is the brother of Nenkani, the Lion of the West, and a member of the Inyentu, the Last Defenders of the Ancestors. Amkela has always been a shadow to his older brother, largely invisible among his tribe.
During a dramatic escape from the Mountain People, the Inyentu are infiltrated by a traitor, and after a great battle, most of the warriors are killed, including Nenkani.
Amkela wakes up in a cave the Inyentu used to hide from the Mountain People. Amkela is alive, but he's not the same as he was before. He now has the face and the body of his brother, and the combined strength of several warriors. In the midst of his death, Amkela was brought back to life by a mystical entity known as "dreaming what is to come", an entity that only he can see and hear. The entity promises to help Amkela fight for his people and save those left behind from the evil Empire.
As the Shadow becomes the Lion, and as the sky fills with zeppelins keeping track of the tribes below, people are gathering and joining together to build a safer future for themselves. After everything has been destroyed, there are still people that want to avenge those that were imprisoned and killed.
Amkela never felt good enough, and now he is respected and followed, loved by the young and the old.
Keevy's novel is a sweeping and epic fantasy drawn on African lore and magic realism. There is magic and ritual, and battles fought in a swirl of violence and dance. The relationships are heartbreaking and sad, and filled with honor and courage. The storytelling is beautiful, and the characters are vividly written. Though the concept of "dreaming what is to come" can be a little vague at times, there is also space for faith—faith in the unknown—that we need not always know everything.
Amkela is the brother of Nenkani, the Lion of the West, and a member of the Inyentu, the Last Defenders of the Ancestors. Amkela has always been a shadow to his older brother, largely invisible among his tribe.
During a dramatic escape from the Mountain People, the Inyentu are infiltrated by a traitor, and after a great battle, most of the warriors are killed, including Nenkani.
Amkela wakes up in a cave the Inyentu used to hide from the Mountain People. Amkela is alive, but he's not the same as he was before. He now has the face and the body of his brother, and the combined strength of several warriors. In the midst of his death, Amkela was brought back to life by a mystical entity known as "dreaming what is to come", an entity that only he can see and hear. The entity promises to help Amkela fight for his people and save those left behind from the evil Empire.
As the Shadow becomes the Lion, and as the sky fills with zeppelins keeping track of the tribes below, people are gathering and joining together to build a safer future for themselves. After everything has been destroyed, there are still people that want to avenge those that were imprisoned and killed.
Amkela never felt good enough, and now he is respected and followed, loved by the young and the old.
Keevy's novel is a sweeping and epic fantasy drawn on African lore and magic realism. There is magic and ritual, and battles fought in a swirl of violence and dance. The relationships are heartbreaking and sad, and filled with honor and courage. The storytelling is beautiful, and the characters are vividly written. Though the concept of "dreaming what is to come" can be a little vague at times, there is also space for faith—faith in the unknown—that we need not always know everything.
May 18, 2025
This is an excellent book with beautiful and substantial world-building following well developed characters and a riveting story.
May 19, 2025
Action packed and beautifully bizarre
May 22, 2025
Riveting, tense, and hugely satisfying.
May 27, 2025
A highly imaginative, action-packed, thrilling and beautiful read
May 29, 2025
Beautifully descriptive writing in an unpredictable fight for survival by fascinating characters. Thoroughly enjoyable.
August 24, 2025
I encountered the wonderful writer, Jon Keevy, for the first time at the launch of this debut novel.
The beautiful cover design by Bongane Mahlangu instantly captured my attention, and Keevy's warmth and genuine interest in writing stories and building worlds convinced me that this is a project — and author — that I would like to support. It's clear that his intentions to write Afrofuturist fiction are to honour and celebrate the cultures, people and language it's inspired by.
My favourite part of spending time in this novel was reading about its world and its mythology. Keevy is inventive and intriguing; he knows a thing or two about worldbuilding, and his love of the genre really shows in the novel. His characters are interesting, and his use (and disruption) of tropes and archetypes made the novel fresh, while still immersing the reader in a world that felt somehow familiar (to people who've spent time with Africa).
Keevy's action scenes are graphic and gripping; I could picture the graphic novel or animated retellings. The plot seemed a bit unfinished, but that's often the case in sprawling fantasy works like this, I guess. The Unwoven Warrior, though not the most polished and well-paced project, is an enjoyable read for anyone interested in local speculative fiction. I will be reading Keevy again!
The beautiful cover design by Bongane Mahlangu instantly captured my attention, and Keevy's warmth and genuine interest in writing stories and building worlds convinced me that this is a project — and author — that I would like to support. It's clear that his intentions to write Afrofuturist fiction are to honour and celebrate the cultures, people and language it's inspired by.
My favourite part of spending time in this novel was reading about its world and its mythology. Keevy is inventive and intriguing; he knows a thing or two about worldbuilding, and his love of the genre really shows in the novel. His characters are interesting, and his use (and disruption) of tropes and archetypes made the novel fresh, while still immersing the reader in a world that felt somehow familiar (to people who've spent time with Africa).
Keevy's action scenes are graphic and gripping; I could picture the graphic novel or animated retellings. The plot seemed a bit unfinished, but that's often the case in sprawling fantasy works like this, I guess. The Unwoven Warrior, though not the most polished and well-paced project, is an enjoyable read for anyone interested in local speculative fiction. I will be reading Keevy again!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews