What do you think?
Rate this book
The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps #1
The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps
Critically acclaimed author Kai Ashante Wilson makes his commercial debut with this striking, wondrous tale of gods and mortals, magic and steel, and life and death that will reshape how you look at sword and sorcery.
Since leaving his homeland, the earthbound demigod Demane has been labeled a sorcerer. With his ancestors' artifacts in hand, the Sorcerer follows the Captain, a beautiful man with song for a voice and hair that drinks the sunlight.
The two of them are the descendants of the gods who abandoned the Earth for Heaven, and they will need all the gifts those divine ancestors left to them to keep their caravan brothers alive.
The one safe road between the northern oasis and southern kingdom is stalked by a necromantic terror. Demane may have to master his wild powers and trade humanity for godhood if he is to keep his brothers and his beloved captain alive.
Since leaving his homeland, the earthbound demigod Demane has been labeled a sorcerer. With his ancestors' artifacts in hand, the Sorcerer follows the Captain, a beautiful man with song for a voice and hair that drinks the sunlight.
The two of them are the descendants of the gods who abandoned the Earth for Heaven, and they will need all the gifts those divine ancestors left to them to keep their caravan brothers alive.
The one safe road between the northern oasis and southern kingdom is stalked by a necromantic terror. Demane may have to master his wild powers and trade humanity for godhood if he is to keep his brothers and his beloved captain alive.
224 pages, ebook
First published September 1, 2015
267 people are currently reading
11915 people want to read
About the author
Kai Ashante Wilson
27 books394 followersKai Ashante Wilson's stories 'Super Bass' and the Nebula-nominated 'The Devil in America' can be read online gratis at Tor.com.
His story «Légendaire.» can be read in the anthology Stories for Chip, which celebrates the legacy of science fiction grandmaster Samuel Delany.
His debut short novel The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps won the 2016 Crawford Award. Kai Ashante Wilson lives in New York City.
His story «Légendaire.» can be read in the anthology Stories for Chip, which celebrates the legacy of science fiction grandmaster Samuel Delany.
His debut short novel The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps won the 2016 Crawford Award. Kai Ashante Wilson lives in New York City.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 969 reviews
November 7, 2016
DSKL@()*$SJDL#NRK#JNFLKNGSN@KMNCJNKS#(*$&FJNSRKJWR ARGH!!
Okay. Vexation voided, frustration exfoliated.
So I’m gonna lay into this mafa. I gonna take a machete upside this beyotch, gonna show you guts, some shock-of-white-bone, a little bit o critique hoodoo.
But before I do, allow me to expound on why I must needs wage this figurative war. I believe in the ‘Challenging’ book [exhibits A, B, & C]. A disparaging of the easy pleasure read being not my intent, I nevertheless offer the following thesis: the most worthwhile and memorable reading experiences usually involve a level of difficulty. These books, by the hammer and chisel of structure, language, and character, reshape our preconceived notions on race, gender, culture, history, epistemology, or even basic story-telling. The shattering of long-held beliefs is a beautiful cataclysm, and I might state with no qualification that human experience contains no greater sublimity than the upward transformation of a mind.
And yet the same key which unlocks heaven can also unlock hell. It’s often difficult to distinguish between literature whose challenge is a function of its complexity and literature whose challenge is a function of obscurity or bad writing. These latter, lesser quality doppelgangers can be quite the malediction. I would posit that, indeed, they can weigh the entire readership down. They can lead to anti-elitism, nihilism, and ennui. I have witnessed first-hand their effect on young readers especially, who get turned off literature as a result of assignments by undiscriminating English teachers. As such, I’m a regular assassin of the pseudo challenging [exhibits A, B, & C], a class of literature which, alas, contains The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps.
Which I regret real hard. This bro Kai Ashante Wilson got some srz writing chops. Bones ‘n cojones a-plenty this g-thug gangsta masta flash blaster gots. He can chalk a wicked storm… when he wanna. Slash the first hunnered-fitty pages and you got a mad killer story here. Stone cold quality, and ain’t that a shame?
Because, the obvious talent of the author and my enjoyment of the final 50 pages notwithstanding, the first hundred fifty are a bore and a chore and I shall lay before thee, on the altar of your consideration, my ruminations on why.
The first failing: an incongruous interweaving of two disparate dictions. On one hand, the unknown narrator writes in a sophisticated and antiquated style that I have, herein, attempted to replicate. This, juxtaposed with dialogue replete with urban slang, the type of whipsong back n’ forth you might encounter in a rap battle between two gangs in the hood. There IS a deeper literary purpose for this, in that it approximates the dual nature of the book’s protagonist Demane, who is a demi-god, containing both mortal fallibilities (i.e. the ‘lower’ diction of the dialogue) and divine powers (i.e. the ‘higher’ diction of the narration). You could even argue it serves as a sort of implicit societal commentary, a check against racial preconceptions – after all, why am I calling this diction ‘lower?’ What makes it ‘lower’ exactly? Unfortunately, this duality of diction is one of those conceits that doesn’t quite work in application. In actuality, the checkerboard language constantly pulls the reader out of the story, reminding us over and over of the artificiality of the work in our hands. It’s like a kung-fu movie where the wires are obvious on the actors’ backs. Does it MATTER how beautiful their choreography, how magnificent their palikinesis*, given it’s so obviously manufactured?
*This book also contains the style gimmickry of footnotes. Here's mine: I invented the word palikinesis because I have long sought a word to mean ‘the motion of a warrior’ and found none. So palikinesis – ‘the motion of battle.’
Problemo numero duo: This bae be one big oozy blob o structureless guano. Just cuz, ima use my bro Orson Scott Card’s structures. He throw down quatro categoricals: Milieu – in this story, some regular negro enter a cray-cray land and be all, what up with this cray cray land? Sorcerer Demane ain’t no regular negro – he FROM the cray cray land. So it ain’t no exploration of the cray cray. Character – in this story, some negro get all fed up with his shit and be like, eff the po-po, imma change my life. Sorcerer Demane ain’t like that, he chill as a caravan guard. He ain’t gon’ change a dayum thang, and dun wanna anyway. Idea – in this story, there be some wild n crazy mystery. some hollah mystery, like who dun killed this bro or like in 2001: Space Odyssey, what up wit dat black stone and dem monkeys? Ain’t no mystery here, tho. Mebs wat this lion-creature wizard ‘jukiere’ doin killin’ folk on the Road the caravan gotta traverse, but it ain’t much. Event – in this story, some crazy shit be going down in the fabric of the universe, like dat cray mafa Sauron be knockin some tall-ass pointy eared crackas left n right or that white bruh Emperor Palapatine be unbalancing the force like crackas always doin. But ain’t no imbalance in this story. And dems the quatro.
In other words, the Sorcerer of the Wildeeps appears blind to story-telling structure. Plot remains elusive throughout the first three-fourths of the book, which find not their home in the Wildeeps but in a waystation called the Station. In fact, the events of the first 150 pages are completely inconsequential to the events of the last 50.
This MAY have been interesting had there been any stakes in this section, but there aren’t. What does Demane want? The human heart of The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps is a love story between protagonist Demane & his fellow demi-god, the Captain. Demane yearns to couple with the Captain, physically & emotionally.
But he does. Nothing stands in their way. Social stigma, maybe, but this is anemic in the supreme. Such stigma is implied rather than explicit. The book lazily assumes that today’s societal standards apply to this [non-contemporary, fantasy setting]. What does the Captain want? Dunno. What’s stopping them from getting what they want? Dunno. Why are these characters even part of the Caravan? Dunno.
When I was halfway through The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps, I had the opportunity to expound upon it to an acquaintance over supper. I mentioned how its epidermis of beautiful language exacerbates its lack of plot or stakes. I analogized in the following manner: an unscrupulous automobile merchant sells you a classic 1967 mustang, gorgeous, except it lacks an engine. Fie you conniving merchant and your Machiavellian chicanery! You’d rather have been sold an ugly car with no engine because then at least you’d have had reasonable expectations. At least your cynicism would have been increased to only the (N-1)th degree. At least you wouldn’t have been so vulnerable to the merchant’s dastardly deception.
When I made this comparison, I thought I was just being clever. But it was, in fact, prophetic.
Cuz this bitch gets real. After hunnered fitty, this homeboy gets itself an engine and it freakin moves. It soars. My bruhs, D and the Captain, actually get to the Wildeeps and they got a real hanker for some killin’ vengeance and dat cray lion-beast ‘jukiere’ dun wanna let em have it and it real sexy. I mean, it helped that the distracting language shifts between dialogue & description were eliminated, but primarily it was the addition of an internal structure over which the well-written coating could be hung. You know, a plot. The powerful description made SENSE when Demane and the Captain traversed the Wildeeps, moving from planet to planet throughout the cosmos in a haphazard maze of space/time discontinuities. The sense of wonder was palpable. I found myself rapidly churning through the ink-scape, engaged in frenzied, fevered page-turning, actually interested in what occurs next. That’s the power of having character stakes.
So…. GAH. Frustrating. I didn’t really want to lay into this. I take minimal joy in it. I like its fresh perspective, its more intimate scope. And the author's talent at wordcraft is undisputed. But that doesn’t change the reality of the reader's time being wasted for 150 pages. If only the author had taken a machete to his story, I wouldn’t have needed to. If only he had hacked off that structureless blob in the front and provided the salient points in sharp staccato within the journey & hunt, then he’d have had a fantastic novelette. That’s not what we got though. We got a confusing, bipolar, dramatically unbalanced novella. Basically, we got bad juju, and that’s the truth, bruh.
Okay. Vexation voided, frustration exfoliated.
So I’m gonna lay into this mafa. I gonna take a machete upside this beyotch, gonna show you guts, some shock-of-white-bone, a little bit o critique hoodoo.
But before I do, allow me to expound on why I must needs wage this figurative war. I believe in the ‘Challenging’ book [exhibits A, B, & C]. A disparaging of the easy pleasure read being not my intent, I nevertheless offer the following thesis: the most worthwhile and memorable reading experiences usually involve a level of difficulty. These books, by the hammer and chisel of structure, language, and character, reshape our preconceived notions on race, gender, culture, history, epistemology, or even basic story-telling. The shattering of long-held beliefs is a beautiful cataclysm, and I might state with no qualification that human experience contains no greater sublimity than the upward transformation of a mind.
And yet the same key which unlocks heaven can also unlock hell. It’s often difficult to distinguish between literature whose challenge is a function of its complexity and literature whose challenge is a function of obscurity or bad writing. These latter, lesser quality doppelgangers can be quite the malediction. I would posit that, indeed, they can weigh the entire readership down. They can lead to anti-elitism, nihilism, and ennui. I have witnessed first-hand their effect on young readers especially, who get turned off literature as a result of assignments by undiscriminating English teachers. As such, I’m a regular assassin of the pseudo challenging [exhibits A, B, & C], a class of literature which, alas, contains The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps.
Which I regret real hard. This bro Kai Ashante Wilson got some srz writing chops. Bones ‘n cojones a-plenty this g-thug gangsta masta flash blaster gots. He can chalk a wicked storm… when he wanna. Slash the first hunnered-fitty pages and you got a mad killer story here. Stone cold quality, and ain’t that a shame?
Because, the obvious talent of the author and my enjoyment of the final 50 pages notwithstanding, the first hundred fifty are a bore and a chore and I shall lay before thee, on the altar of your consideration, my ruminations on why.
The first failing: an incongruous interweaving of two disparate dictions. On one hand, the unknown narrator writes in a sophisticated and antiquated style that I have, herein, attempted to replicate. This, juxtaposed with dialogue replete with urban slang, the type of whipsong back n’ forth you might encounter in a rap battle between two gangs in the hood. There IS a deeper literary purpose for this, in that it approximates the dual nature of the book’s protagonist Demane, who is a demi-god, containing both mortal fallibilities (i.e. the ‘lower’ diction of the dialogue) and divine powers (i.e. the ‘higher’ diction of the narration). You could even argue it serves as a sort of implicit societal commentary, a check against racial preconceptions – after all, why am I calling this diction ‘lower?’ What makes it ‘lower’ exactly? Unfortunately, this duality of diction is one of those conceits that doesn’t quite work in application. In actuality, the checkerboard language constantly pulls the reader out of the story, reminding us over and over of the artificiality of the work in our hands. It’s like a kung-fu movie where the wires are obvious on the actors’ backs. Does it MATTER how beautiful their choreography, how magnificent their palikinesis*, given it’s so obviously manufactured?
*This book also contains the style gimmickry of footnotes. Here's mine: I invented the word palikinesis because I have long sought a word to mean ‘the motion of a warrior’ and found none. So palikinesis – ‘the motion of battle.’
Problemo numero duo: This bae be one big oozy blob o structureless guano. Just cuz, ima use my bro Orson Scott Card’s structures. He throw down quatro categoricals: Milieu – in this story, some regular negro enter a cray-cray land and be all, what up with this cray cray land? Sorcerer Demane ain’t no regular negro – he FROM the cray cray land. So it ain’t no exploration of the cray cray. Character – in this story, some negro get all fed up with his shit and be like, eff the po-po, imma change my life. Sorcerer Demane ain’t like that, he chill as a caravan guard. He ain’t gon’ change a dayum thang, and dun wanna anyway. Idea – in this story, there be some wild n crazy mystery. some hollah mystery, like who dun killed this bro or like in 2001: Space Odyssey, what up wit dat black stone and dem monkeys? Ain’t no mystery here, tho. Mebs wat this lion-creature wizard ‘jukiere’ doin killin’ folk on the Road the caravan gotta traverse, but it ain’t much. Event – in this story, some crazy shit be going down in the fabric of the universe, like dat cray mafa Sauron be knockin some tall-ass pointy eared crackas left n right or that white bruh Emperor Palapatine be unbalancing the force like crackas always doin. But ain’t no imbalance in this story. And dems the quatro.
In other words, the Sorcerer of the Wildeeps appears blind to story-telling structure. Plot remains elusive throughout the first three-fourths of the book, which find not their home in the Wildeeps but in a waystation called the Station. In fact, the events of the first 150 pages are completely inconsequential to the events of the last 50.
This MAY have been interesting had there been any stakes in this section, but there aren’t. What does Demane want? The human heart of The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps is a love story between protagonist Demane & his fellow demi-god, the Captain. Demane yearns to couple with the Captain, physically & emotionally.
But he does. Nothing stands in their way. Social stigma, maybe, but this is anemic in the supreme. Such stigma is implied rather than explicit. The book lazily assumes that today’s societal standards apply to this [non-contemporary, fantasy setting]. What does the Captain want? Dunno. What’s stopping them from getting what they want? Dunno. Why are these characters even part of the Caravan? Dunno.
When I was halfway through The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps, I had the opportunity to expound upon it to an acquaintance over supper. I mentioned how its epidermis of beautiful language exacerbates its lack of plot or stakes. I analogized in the following manner: an unscrupulous automobile merchant sells you a classic 1967 mustang, gorgeous, except it lacks an engine. Fie you conniving merchant and your Machiavellian chicanery! You’d rather have been sold an ugly car with no engine because then at least you’d have had reasonable expectations. At least your cynicism would have been increased to only the (N-1)th degree. At least you wouldn’t have been so vulnerable to the merchant’s dastardly deception.
When I made this comparison, I thought I was just being clever. But it was, in fact, prophetic.
Cuz this bitch gets real. After hunnered fitty, this homeboy gets itself an engine and it freakin moves. It soars. My bruhs, D and the Captain, actually get to the Wildeeps and they got a real hanker for some killin’ vengeance and dat cray lion-beast ‘jukiere’ dun wanna let em have it and it real sexy. I mean, it helped that the distracting language shifts between dialogue & description were eliminated, but primarily it was the addition of an internal structure over which the well-written coating could be hung. You know, a plot. The powerful description made SENSE when Demane and the Captain traversed the Wildeeps, moving from planet to planet throughout the cosmos in a haphazard maze of space/time discontinuities. The sense of wonder was palpable. I found myself rapidly churning through the ink-scape, engaged in frenzied, fevered page-turning, actually interested in what occurs next. That’s the power of having character stakes.
So…. GAH. Frustrating. I didn’t really want to lay into this. I take minimal joy in it. I like its fresh perspective, its more intimate scope. And the author's talent at wordcraft is undisputed. But that doesn’t change the reality of the reader's time being wasted for 150 pages. If only the author had taken a machete to his story, I wouldn’t have needed to. If only he had hacked off that structureless blob in the front and provided the salient points in sharp staccato within the journey & hunt, then he’d have had a fantastic novelette. That’s not what we got though. We got a confusing, bipolar, dramatically unbalanced novella. Basically, we got bad juju, and that’s the truth, bruh.
March 21, 2016
After seeing literally dozens of reviews for this novella, I had to see for myself what was going on here... I'd read only one other story from Wilson previously, and it didn't blow me away - but this - this was great.
A few of the reviews I'd seen criticized the style as being opaque and/or confusing. I didn't find it so at all. On the contrary, it was much more straightforward than the other story I'd read ('The Devil in America.') Sure, there's a gradual reveal of information which adds depth to the scenario - but that's kind of the point.
The 'Sorcerer' is Demane, a young man who's been hired to be one of a number of caravan guards, accompanying a group of merchants through the dangerous wilderness known as the Wildeeps. 'Sorcerer' is the nickname he's earned for his seemingly-magical knowledge and abilities. Although he's a brawny fighter, healing is where he really excels. From the start, it's clear that Demane hails from what we would call a much more progressive and egalitarian society than his fellow guards. But although the ignorance and savagery that he is faced with on a daily basis often disgusts and depresses him, he has a deep respect for the Captain of his crew.
Unsurprisingly, the caravan's owner ignores warnings in favor of profits, and heads into the Wildeeps. As the story progresses, we learn more of Demane's past, and the truth about his background.
The finale is both action-packed and heartbreaking. I fail to see how anyone who has ever felt like an outsider, surrounded by the ignorant masses, could not love this story. If you've ever thought you've found the one person who could understand you...
In addition, the world introduced here is wholly intriguing. I'd love to learn more!!!
_____
March 2016: Nominated for Hugo.
A few of the reviews I'd seen criticized the style as being opaque and/or confusing. I didn't find it so at all. On the contrary, it was much more straightforward than the other story I'd read ('The Devil in America.') Sure, there's a gradual reveal of information which adds depth to the scenario - but that's kind of the point.
The 'Sorcerer' is Demane, a young man who's been hired to be one of a number of caravan guards, accompanying a group of merchants through the dangerous wilderness known as the Wildeeps. 'Sorcerer' is the nickname he's earned for his seemingly-magical knowledge and abilities. Although he's a brawny fighter, healing is where he really excels. From the start, it's clear that Demane hails from what we would call a much more progressive and egalitarian society than his fellow guards. But although the ignorance and savagery that he is faced with on a daily basis often disgusts and depresses him, he has a deep respect for the Captain of his crew.
Unsurprisingly, the caravan's owner ignores warnings in favor of profits, and heads into the Wildeeps. As the story progresses, we learn more of Demane's past, and the truth about his background.
The finale is both action-packed and heartbreaking. I fail to see how anyone who has ever felt like an outsider, surrounded by the ignorant masses, could not love this story. If you've ever thought you've found the one person who could understand you...
In addition, the world introduced here is wholly intriguing. I'd love to learn more!!!
_____
March 2016: Nominated for Hugo.
October 16, 2015
I wish to preface this review by saying I was entranced by this story and I loved it with all my heart – the same heart that was PULLED FROM MY CHEST AND STOMPED ON by its ending. Oh, look: my heart bleeding at Kai Ashante Wilson’s feet.
The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps follows a caravan traversing a dangerous road.
It’s a story about brothers in arms, the army of warriors hired to defend the caravan. The bothers all stem from different backgrounds, with different languages and cultures. They are all men (if there is one major criticism I have for this story is this one: where are all the women?) and they all support and are loyal to one another. They joke, they fight.
And here we have this guy – the narrator – Demane, a big bear of a man, a warrior and also a doctor, a healer. In his own mind and his own language what he does, the way he cures, it is all science and physics. To others, he is a sorcerer.
I mention that Demane is a big bear of a man on purpose. This is a narrative that beautifully subverts expectations around warriors, around the idea of manhood and masculinity. If Demane is a bear, he is a Care Bear. He wants to fix the world’s pain.
He cares deeply for his comrades and above all for their Captain. Isa.
Isa, who like Demane is a demigod, a descendant from immortal beings. Demane is big and strong whereas Isa is smaller, agile and his hair is covered at all times because without his headscarf, his hair would eat sunshine and he would become even stronger. Isa doesn’t speak: he sings. So, it’s a love story too. Between Demane and Isa and from Demane’s perspective and voice we really know what he feels for Isa. It’s harder to tell what Isa feels.
The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps is the first novella published by Tor.com’s new program. It is quite the start for their new publishing venture – this novella is incredibly dense and it’s definitely not an easy read, but it’s ultimately rewarding (as well as devastating) in a myriad of ways.
It’s not an easy read because the narrative is anything but straightforward. It’s nonlinear, intricate, complex, meandering. It is rewarding because the world building is intriguing, the story does wonders with the idea of masculinity and manhood, the main romance is a LGBT one and the way that it explores language is incredible. The latter does add a layer of difficulty because there is a lot of code switching: the narrator thinks in his own mother tongue, but then there is the language he speaks with his comrades, each with their own common usages. But it is oh, so clever.
It is devastating because at its heart, this is a tragedy. And here is where I am conflicted about it and why it took me so long to write this review even though I read this story a long time ago.
The narrative is ambiguous in places: does Isa really sing when he speaks or is that Demane’s love for him that makes him hear his beloved’s voice as song? Is Isa self-destructive because of his past, because of his age? In many ways, the ending is foreshadowed in different ways – in the footnotes, how people tell the tale of Isa, in a later conversation between Demane and him. Because of this foreshadowing, because of the world building and because of who the characters are, this story feels like it couldn’t be anything but a tragedy and the ending feels very organic.
But it is still a tragic ending that happens to the two queer characters in the story (although not, thankfully, because they are queer). And here we go back to the problem of scarcity: in which mainstream SFF is plagued with tragic queer stories and sometimes, it feels as though queer characters never get a happy ending and it is so… frustrating. Sad-making. And I so wished that Care Bear Demane had his happy ending with his beautiful Isa who sang songs and had sunshine hair.
To paraphrase its own writing, I finished reading The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps and on both cheeks I bore a delta of rinsed skin.
The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps follows a caravan traversing a dangerous road.
It’s a story about brothers in arms, the army of warriors hired to defend the caravan. The bothers all stem from different backgrounds, with different languages and cultures. They are all men (if there is one major criticism I have for this story is this one: where are all the women?) and they all support and are loyal to one another. They joke, they fight.
And here we have this guy – the narrator – Demane, a big bear of a man, a warrior and also a doctor, a healer. In his own mind and his own language what he does, the way he cures, it is all science and physics. To others, he is a sorcerer.
I mention that Demane is a big bear of a man on purpose. This is a narrative that beautifully subverts expectations around warriors, around the idea of manhood and masculinity. If Demane is a bear, he is a Care Bear. He wants to fix the world’s pain.
He cares deeply for his comrades and above all for their Captain. Isa.
Isa, who like Demane is a demigod, a descendant from immortal beings. Demane is big and strong whereas Isa is smaller, agile and his hair is covered at all times because without his headscarf, his hair would eat sunshine and he would become even stronger. Isa doesn’t speak: he sings. So, it’s a love story too. Between Demane and Isa and from Demane’s perspective and voice we really know what he feels for Isa. It’s harder to tell what Isa feels.
The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps is the first novella published by Tor.com’s new program. It is quite the start for their new publishing venture – this novella is incredibly dense and it’s definitely not an easy read, but it’s ultimately rewarding (as well as devastating) in a myriad of ways.
It’s not an easy read because the narrative is anything but straightforward. It’s nonlinear, intricate, complex, meandering. It is rewarding because the world building is intriguing, the story does wonders with the idea of masculinity and manhood, the main romance is a LGBT one and the way that it explores language is incredible. The latter does add a layer of difficulty because there is a lot of code switching: the narrator thinks in his own mother tongue, but then there is the language he speaks with his comrades, each with their own common usages. But it is oh, so clever.
It is devastating because at its heart, this is a tragedy. And here is where I am conflicted about it and why it took me so long to write this review even though I read this story a long time ago.
The narrative is ambiguous in places: does Isa really sing when he speaks or is that Demane’s love for him that makes him hear his beloved’s voice as song? Is Isa self-destructive because of his past, because of his age? In many ways, the ending is foreshadowed in different ways – in the footnotes, how people tell the tale of Isa, in a later conversation between Demane and him. Because of this foreshadowing, because of the world building and because of who the characters are, this story feels like it couldn’t be anything but a tragedy and the ending feels very organic.
But it is still a tragic ending that happens to the two queer characters in the story (although not, thankfully, because they are queer). And here we go back to the problem of scarcity: in which mainstream SFF is plagued with tragic queer stories and sometimes, it feels as though queer characters never get a happy ending and it is so… frustrating. Sad-making. And I so wished that Care Bear Demane had his happy ending with his beautiful Isa who sang songs and had sunshine hair.
To paraphrase its own writing, I finished reading The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps and on both cheeks I bore a delta of rinsed skin.
June 17, 2022
Okay, I LOVED this!! I see a lot of mediocre reviews, but honestly I think that's more a marketing problem than a book problem. This book has a lot more in common with Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe than say Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter. And the description is kind of misleading.
The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps is a SCI-FANTASY, and it is relatively literary, so it's not going to hold your hand through the world-building or making connections. You need to use context clues and oblique references to put together what's going on. And it's kind of brilliant.
Set in a world (perhaps a future earth?) where aliens and alien technology are too advanced to be understood as anything other than magic, this follows a man who isn't human traveling through dangerous places with the man he loves and the rest of his crew. Wilson deftly uses language to demonstrate linguistic and cultural differences, having his main character code switch between the AAVE (African American Vernacular English) inspired language of the humans and his internal dialogue of technical, academic english. It's a cool linguistic trick and for readers thrown that the dialogue sounds modern, I'm guessing they were thinking of this as a pure fantasy, not a futuristic sci-fantasy that may be based in a future or alternate earth.
This is the second thing I've read from this author and I adore his writing. This was beautiful, interesting, intentional, and clever. I'm kind of blown away at the richness of the world and characters Wilson was able to evoke in just a novella.
The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps is a SCI-FANTASY, and it is relatively literary, so it's not going to hold your hand through the world-building or making connections. You need to use context clues and oblique references to put together what's going on. And it's kind of brilliant.
Set in a world (perhaps a future earth?) where aliens and alien technology are too advanced to be understood as anything other than magic, this follows a man who isn't human traveling through dangerous places with the man he loves and the rest of his crew. Wilson deftly uses language to demonstrate linguistic and cultural differences, having his main character code switch between the AAVE (African American Vernacular English) inspired language of the humans and his internal dialogue of technical, academic english. It's a cool linguistic trick and for readers thrown that the dialogue sounds modern, I'm guessing they were thinking of this as a pure fantasy, not a futuristic sci-fantasy that may be based in a future or alternate earth.
This is the second thing I've read from this author and I adore his writing. This was beautiful, interesting, intentional, and clever. I'm kind of blown away at the richness of the world and characters Wilson was able to evoke in just a novella.
December 31, 2017
i liked the style and the energy of this book very much. it’s an appealing mash-up of traditional fantasy adventure tropes peppered with harlem renaissance/jazz age cadence:
The horseman pulled up short. (Breeze blowing northwesterly still: Fat-Man’s bowels let go)
and others more modern and hip-hop-rambunctious:
there’s also some nice work with different accents, written phonetically, and multi-lingual utterances, usually untranslated, which along with those instances of playful cadence, gives the prose a musicality that is very pleasing to read.
i’d heard great things about this one (and even better things about its sequel A Taste of Honey) and since i’d really liked both of the free tor shorts i’d read by this author (The Devil in America and Super Bass), i decided it was time to pay for my play and give a little $$ to tor to show my appreciation for all the freebies they’ve given us all over the years on their site.
i’m glad i read this one, and i’m excited to read the follow-up, although i did get a bit confused in places. all the TSIM/TSOA stuff went right over my head, and i wasn’t always clear who knew what about whom, in terms of powers and romantic relationships. this is most likely my own failing - i get lost a lot whenever i attempt to read fantasy, and i freely admit that i rushed the ending a bit, desperate to dive into the unexpected pre-release gift of Down Among the Sticks and Bones, which is also a tor title, so i feel less guilty than i would otherwise.
the adventure parts were great, and i loved the ending (despite my less-than-ruminative attention to it), and any stuff i didn’t understand was just detail-stuff that didn’t affect my overall positive feelings about the story and the characters.
i already bought A Taste of Honey (more $$$ to YOU, tor!!), and i'm looking forward to reading it, and i promise i will give it all the attention it deserves, because even if i'm dumb at fantasy, i love the way this man writes.
come to my blog!
Merged review:
WELCOME TO DECEMBER PROJECT!
last year, i carved out my own short story advent calendar as my project for december, and it was so much fun i decided to do it again this year! so, each day during the month of december, i will be reading a short story and doing the barest minimum of a review because ain't no one got time for that and i'm already so far behind in all the things. however, i will be posting story links in case anyone wants to read the stories themselves and show off how maybe someone could have time for that.
here is a link to the first story in last year's project,
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
which in turn links to the whole monthlong project, in case you wanna do some free short story reading of your own! links to the stories in this year's advent-ure will be at the end of each review.
enjoy, and the happiest of decembers to you all!
DECEMBER 4
You know your better when you see her.
this is so short, i'm not even sure it qualifies as a story so much as just another blink in this world. but honestly, i am growing to love his writing and this world more and more, so even though this is just a brief moment in the world, i am intrigued and left wanting more. give to me the more.
read it for yourself here:
https://play.google.com/books/article...
DECEMBER 1
DECEMBER 2
DECEMBER 3
DECEMBER 5
DECEMBER 6
DECEMBER 7
DECEMBER 8
DECEMBER 9
DECEMBER 10
DECEMBER 11
DECEMBER 12
DECEMBER 13
DECEMBER 14
DECEMBER 15
DECEMBER 16
DECEMBER 17
DECEMBER 18
DECEMBER 19
DECEMBER 20
DECEMBER 21
DECEMBER 22
DECEMBER 23
DECEMBER 24
DECEMBER 25
DECEMBER 26
DECEMBER 27
DECEMBER 28
DECEMBER 29
DECEMBER 30
DECEMBER 31
The horseman pulled up short. (Breeze blowing northwesterly still: Fat-Man’s bowels let go)
and others more modern and hip-hop-rambunctious:
”You almost got him! That was gold, my nigga! Not fake, not fool’s, not dross: GOLD. Nigga, it was some official shit you just did, almost beating the captain like that! That, my nigga, was straight up gold-plated LIKE SHIT.”
there’s also some nice work with different accents, written phonetically, and multi-lingual utterances, usually untranslated, which along with those instances of playful cadence, gives the prose a musicality that is very pleasing to read.
i’d heard great things about this one (and even better things about its sequel A Taste of Honey) and since i’d really liked both of the free tor shorts i’d read by this author (The Devil in America and Super Bass), i decided it was time to pay for my play and give a little $$ to tor to show my appreciation for all the freebies they’ve given us all over the years on their site.
i’m glad i read this one, and i’m excited to read the follow-up, although i did get a bit confused in places. all the TSIM/TSOA stuff went right over my head, and i wasn’t always clear who knew what about whom, in terms of powers and romantic relationships. this is most likely my own failing - i get lost a lot whenever i attempt to read fantasy, and i freely admit that i rushed the ending a bit, desperate to dive into the unexpected pre-release gift of Down Among the Sticks and Bones, which is also a tor title, so i feel less guilty than i would otherwise.
the adventure parts were great, and i loved the ending (despite my less-than-ruminative attention to it), and any stuff i didn’t understand was just detail-stuff that didn’t affect my overall positive feelings about the story and the characters.
i already bought A Taste of Honey (more $$$ to YOU, tor!!), and i'm looking forward to reading it, and i promise i will give it all the attention it deserves, because even if i'm dumb at fantasy, i love the way this man writes.
come to my blog!Merged review:
WELCOME TO DECEMBER PROJECT!
last year, i carved out my own short story advent calendar as my project for december, and it was so much fun i decided to do it again this year! so, each day during the month of december, i will be reading a short story and doing the barest minimum of a review because ain't no one got time for that and i'm already so far behind in all the things. however, i will be posting story links in case anyone wants to read the stories themselves and show off how maybe someone could have time for that.
here is a link to the first story in last year's project,
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
which in turn links to the whole monthlong project, in case you wanna do some free short story reading of your own! links to the stories in this year's advent-ure will be at the end of each review.
enjoy, and the happiest of decembers to you all!
DECEMBER 4
You know your better when you see her.
this is so short, i'm not even sure it qualifies as a story so much as just another blink in this world. but honestly, i am growing to love his writing and this world more and more, so even though this is just a brief moment in the world, i am intrigued and left wanting more. give to me the more.
read it for yourself here:
https://play.google.com/books/article...
DECEMBER 1
DECEMBER 2
DECEMBER 3
DECEMBER 5
DECEMBER 6
DECEMBER 7
DECEMBER 8
DECEMBER 9
DECEMBER 10
DECEMBER 11
DECEMBER 12
DECEMBER 13
DECEMBER 14
DECEMBER 15
DECEMBER 16
DECEMBER 17
DECEMBER 18
DECEMBER 19
DECEMBER 20
DECEMBER 21
DECEMBER 22
DECEMBER 23
DECEMBER 24
DECEMBER 25
DECEMBER 26
DECEMBER 27
DECEMBER 28
DECEMBER 29
DECEMBER 30
DECEMBER 31
September 22, 2017
Rating: 5* of five
Just...wow. Gorgeous. I'll pull a real review out of the tears and snot as soon as the jukiere's tusks rip themselves out of my flesh.
So, because I found a pull-quote from one of my reviews unattributed on Amazon, back to posting links to my blog.
#ReadingIsResistance to homophobia
THE SORCERER OF THE WILDEEPS http://tinyurl.com/y9mz4kkz
First of a series of SFnal fantasy works set in a distant future post-apocalyptic Africa. Delightful reading, beautiful prose-mongering, deeply satisfying in its blend of a future brought to us by FTL-traveling "gods" and their descendants left on Earth. Demane, the PoV character in this volume, is a demigod. His ancestress, a goddess, is presented in such a way as to be clearly human with genetic modifications. It's a wonderful blend of fantasy and SF tropes.
Demane's love for Isa, his Captain, is the most beautiful expression of true love between men I've seen in fantasy worlds. The series continues in A TASTE OF HONEY, and well beyond that or so I hope. Kudos to Tor.com and Author Kai Ashante Wilson for bringing this beautiful and necessary book to the world.
Just...wow. Gorgeous. I'll pull a real review out of the tears and snot as soon as the jukiere's tusks rip themselves out of my flesh.
So, because I found a pull-quote from one of my reviews unattributed on Amazon, back to posting links to my blog.
#ReadingIsResistance to homophobia
THE SORCERER OF THE WILDEEPS http://tinyurl.com/y9mz4kkz
First of a series of SFnal fantasy works set in a distant future post-apocalyptic Africa. Delightful reading, beautiful prose-mongering, deeply satisfying in its blend of a future brought to us by FTL-traveling "gods" and their descendants left on Earth. Demane, the PoV character in this volume, is a demigod. His ancestress, a goddess, is presented in such a way as to be clearly human with genetic modifications. It's a wonderful blend of fantasy and SF tropes.
Demane's love for Isa, his Captain, is the most beautiful expression of true love between men I've seen in fantasy worlds. The series continues in A TASTE OF HONEY, and well beyond that or so I hope. Kudos to Tor.com and Author Kai Ashante Wilson for bringing this beautiful and necessary book to the world.
April 4, 2016
I was all braced to love this, based on the reviews that I’d read. I wanted to, especially because the world is interesting, the relationships and the fact that it features a gay love story, and because it’s written half in vernacular, half in something more formal, which keeps it very much alive.
However, I had two problems. One was with the structure of the story. The last fifty pages were frenetic and packed full, exploding with stuff. The first hundred-fifty, however… barely went anywhere, and the story itself seemed to hide all the things that would have hooked me — the aforementioned relationship, more details about Demane and where he comes from… And the other problem is just that: there seems to be fascinating background to how the world was colonised? terraformed? is it Earth? It’s so hard to tell, and I wanted to know. I get that this is a novella and thus limited, but still, I wanted more than just that tantalising sense of what was going on — I wanted it to apply to the story more, I guess.
Something about the narration just bounced off me — it reminded me of Nnedi Okorafor’s writing in Lagoon, actually. I might try rereading it and see if it makes more of an impression, but I’m not in a hurry. Still, I’d be willing to try something else by Wilson.
Originally posted here.
However, I had two problems. One was with the structure of the story. The last fifty pages were frenetic and packed full, exploding with stuff. The first hundred-fifty, however… barely went anywhere, and the story itself seemed to hide all the things that would have hooked me — the aforementioned relationship, more details about Demane and where he comes from… And the other problem is just that: there seems to be fascinating background to how the world was colonised? terraformed? is it Earth? It’s so hard to tell, and I wanted to know. I get that this is a novella and thus limited, but still, I wanted more than just that tantalising sense of what was going on — I wanted it to apply to the story more, I guess.
Something about the narration just bounced off me — it reminded me of Nnedi Okorafor’s writing in Lagoon, actually. I might try rereading it and see if it makes more of an impression, but I’m not in a hurry. Still, I’d be willing to try something else by Wilson.
Originally posted here.
Want to read
June 2, 2016oh, yes.
yes, yes, yes, yes.
soon, beloved.
SOON.
yes, yes, yes, yes.
soon, beloved.
SOON.
June 4, 2020
On the surface, The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps is a story about Demane, a "sorcerer" accompanying the Captain he loves in a dangerous journey across the desert and then the Wildeeps, where he'll have to face something powerful and horrible. It's not necessarily always linear, and there's very little plot, because its heart is elsewhere.
I want to point out that I can't do this novella justice. This is a book whose very structure and use of English is a commentary on language and what's considered respectable, portraying the experience and struggles of a multilingual protagonist with that. I know I missed half of it because I'm ESL and don't recognize the nuances of different forms and registers of the English language that well. The irony isn't lost on me and I'm not sure how I feel about it?
That's far from the only thing this novella did with language, however. Code-switching is part of its structure on multiple levels, and language is used to lay down the worldbuilding, which even holds a sci-fantasy twist inside. One of the things I look for the most in short fiction is the unraveling of genre boundaries, so I really appreciated what I understood of this book. There are pieces of dialogue written in other languages as well - not something I often see in fantasy stories that don't seem to be directly tied to the Earth we know currently. I think this choice might have been made to use how these languages are coded in American society to "translate" the situations in terms an American might understand, which I have mixed feelings about.
(There are some... let's say puzzling choices made with Italian words, but this is an American book and I don't have it in me to have expectations anymore.)
It's also really gay! [You might want to know, though, that this is a before reading it.] It explores expectations placed on male sexuality and the meaning of masculinity across cultures, and the shock Demane feels relating to this as well, for many reasons - one of the more prominent being that while he's great at fighting (superhumanly so), his heart has always been in protecting and healing.
My appreciation for this is somewhat dampened by the absence of even one named female character (especially given that of the few women who do appear is an underage sex slave).
I want to point out that I can't do this novella justice. This is a book whose very structure and use of English is a commentary on language and what's considered respectable, portraying the experience and struggles of a multilingual protagonist with that. I know I missed half of it because I'm ESL and don't recognize the nuances of different forms and registers of the English language that well. The irony isn't lost on me and I'm not sure how I feel about it?
That's far from the only thing this novella did with language, however. Code-switching is part of its structure on multiple levels, and language is used to lay down the worldbuilding, which even holds a sci-fantasy twist inside. One of the things I look for the most in short fiction is the unraveling of genre boundaries, so I really appreciated what I understood of this book. There are pieces of dialogue written in other languages as well - not something I often see in fantasy stories that don't seem to be directly tied to the Earth we know currently. I think this choice might have been made to use how these languages are coded in American society to "translate" the situations in terms an American might understand, which I have mixed feelings about.
(There are some... let's say puzzling choices made with Italian words, but this is an American book and I don't have it in me to have expectations anymore.)
It's also really gay! [You might want to know, though, that this is a before reading it.] It explores expectations placed on male sexuality and the meaning of masculinity across cultures, and the shock Demane feels relating to this as well, for many reasons - one of the more prominent being that while he's great at fighting (superhumanly so), his heart has always been in protecting and healing.
My appreciation for this is somewhat dampened by the absence of even one named female character (especially given that of the few women who do appear is an underage sex slave).
December 13, 2015
Demane is a man with a family legacy that marks him as separate from other men, such that his companions refer to him as the Sorcerer. He is deeply loyal to his Captain, a man also marked by power but of a different sort, and their band of mercenary guardsmen. They find themselves at the city Mother of Waters where they hear stories of a malevolence that has made its home directly on the route that their caravan plans to take.
Language is the star of this unusual fantasy tale, and you can see how other reviewers describe it as "lyrical". I've been guilty of that adjective in the past myself, but I've come to believe that it means language of obvious beauty, but of a different enough structure as to be hard to readily parse. It's also clearly heavily influenced by modern African American speech and culture, something of which I'm profoundly ignorant (not my country), so I'm fairly sure that there are terms and references that I'm just missing completely. I think what I'm saying here is that I liked it despite finding it a bit hard to read.
The characters are also well fleshed out, including many of the mercenaries in the band, most of whom are as simple as such a job would believably attract, but also fully human. Demane is a complex man, but his motivations end up being surprisingly simple. Isa is a lot more complicated and it would have been nice to get more about his motivations.
In terms of story, this is really clever. This isn't so much a straight fantasy world as a science-fictional one where, for a few, the technology and science have passed into the Clarke "sufficiently-advanced" realm, whilst the rest of the world has slipped into barbarism. Demane's primary other-worldy skill other than his advanced knowledge comes into its own as he enters the Wildeeps and faces the creature there.
I believe there's a sequel planned for next year, and I think I'll be picking it up.
Language is the star of this unusual fantasy tale, and you can see how other reviewers describe it as "lyrical". I've been guilty of that adjective in the past myself, but I've come to believe that it means language of obvious beauty, but of a different enough structure as to be hard to readily parse. It's also clearly heavily influenced by modern African American speech and culture, something of which I'm profoundly ignorant (not my country), so I'm fairly sure that there are terms and references that I'm just missing completely. I think what I'm saying here is that I liked it despite finding it a bit hard to read.
The characters are also well fleshed out, including many of the mercenaries in the band, most of whom are as simple as such a job would believably attract, but also fully human. Demane is a complex man, but his motivations end up being surprisingly simple. Isa is a lot more complicated and it would have been nice to get more about his motivations.
In terms of story, this is really clever. This isn't so much a straight fantasy world as a science-fictional one where, for a few, the technology and science have passed into the Clarke "sufficiently-advanced" realm, whilst the rest of the world has slipped into barbarism. Demane's primary other-worldy skill other than his advanced knowledge comes into its own as he enters the Wildeeps and faces the creature there.
I believe there's a sequel planned for next year, and I think I'll be picking it up.
September 12, 2015
A launch title among Tor.com Publishing's late-2015 novella (or short novel, depending on how finely you choose to split hairs) line, Kai Ashante Wilson's The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps calls to mind the possibly apocryphal review Dorothy Parker is said to have bestowed upon a book by no less than Benito Mussolini. It is not a story to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.
All right, that may be a tad overly dramatic. But the advance hype surrounding Wilson's story is, regrettably, unmatched by the final product. Given that Wilson earned both a Nebula and World Fantasy nomination for his 2014 novelette "The Devil in America," it is understandable that expectations were high. But while it never for one moment lacks for ambition, The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps buries the grandeur of its creative vision beneath a murky narrative and prose often stylized to the point of obscurantism. It's as if Wilson set out to create as vivid and richly textured a world as he could imagine, only to make it as inaccessible and uninviting a place for us to visit as it could be.
Our protagonist is Demane, a demigod descended from a race of higher beings who have abandoned earth for the stars. (continued...)
All right, that may be a tad overly dramatic. But the advance hype surrounding Wilson's story is, regrettably, unmatched by the final product. Given that Wilson earned both a Nebula and World Fantasy nomination for his 2014 novelette "The Devil in America," it is understandable that expectations were high. But while it never for one moment lacks for ambition, The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps buries the grandeur of its creative vision beneath a murky narrative and prose often stylized to the point of obscurantism. It's as if Wilson set out to create as vivid and richly textured a world as he could imagine, only to make it as inaccessible and uninviting a place for us to visit as it could be.
Our protagonist is Demane, a demigod descended from a race of higher beings who have abandoned earth for the stars. (continued...)
April 2, 2021
Lovely and unexpected, and wholly unique with its language and manner.
Coming across this again after a while, I can't remember the specifics of the plot, but can still vividly recall the impact from the distinctive, poetic bearing this had. And after having read Marlon James's spectacular, senses rousing Black Leopard, Red Wolf this year, this now feels it could be a perfect, delicate appetizer for that stronger course.
Coming across this again after a while, I can't remember the specifics of the plot, but can still vividly recall the impact from the distinctive, poetic bearing this had. And after having read Marlon James's spectacular, senses rousing Black Leopard, Red Wolf this year, this now feels it could be a perfect, delicate appetizer for that stronger course.
June 30, 2018
Tell us, my son: how are you faring in those strange lands, so far from home? Whom have you chosen to walk with, to talk to: some good woman, some kind man?
Demane the Sorcerer joins Isa the Captain and others charged with guarding a caravan of merchants journeying through the Wildeeps.
Demane is faced with the divinity in his DNA, new love, and a necromantic beast that stalks the caravan.
A challenging and original novella blending science and fantasy. I am very interested in seeing more of this world.
Demane the Sorcerer joins Isa the Captain and others charged with guarding a caravan of merchants journeying through the Wildeeps.
Demane is faced with the divinity in his DNA, new love, and a necromantic beast that stalks the caravan.
A challenging and original novella blending science and fantasy. I am very interested in seeing more of this world.
September 3, 2022
Lovely and unexpected, and wholly unique with its language and manner.
Coming across this again after a while, I can't remember the specifics of the plot, but can still vividly recall the impact from the distinctive, poetic bearing this had. And after having read Marlon James's spectacular, senses rousing Black Leopard, Red Wolf this year, this now feels it could be a perfect, delicate appetizer for that stronger course.
______
(Reading updates).
Coming across this again after a while, I can't remember the specifics of the plot, but can still vividly recall the impact from the distinctive, poetic bearing this had. And after having read Marlon James's spectacular, senses rousing Black Leopard, Red Wolf this year, this now feels it could be a perfect, delicate appetizer for that stronger course.
______
(Reading updates).
June 4, 2016
Alas, the sometimes pseudo-intellectual, over the top, terrible (nearly incomprehensible for me at times) writing and completely unfitting slang, as well as the confusing setting of the novella made enjoying it impossible for me.
I found myself perpetually frowning or going back every few pages around the middle of the novella unsuccessfully trying to comprehend what had happend and even more importantly - why.
Unfortunately, not my cup of tea at all.
I found myself perpetually frowning or going back every few pages around the middle of the novella unsuccessfully trying to comprehend what had happend and even more importantly - why.
Unfortunately, not my cup of tea at all.
November 12, 2020
Yeah look, this was good. It had interesting characters, plot and some fairly solid world building considering the length of the book. I don’t know if I wasn’t paying enough attention, but nothing really gripped me and I couldn’t get that used to the writing style(I’m not saying that it was bad, but just not really for me). 6/10
Read
October 5, 2015The first in the Tor.com Publishing’s line of novellas, The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by the inimitable and powerful Kai Ashante Wilson is the story equivalent of the shot heard around the world. A rich, immersive, heartbreaking study in the character of Demane, one of the last grandchildren of the gods, and the mysterious, beautiful Captain, Wilson’s world is full of characters that honestly reflect the world we live, each with their own language and homeland and life, that they bring with them on the caravan they’re protecting through the magical and malevolent Wildeeps. Mixing up the language and imagery of epic fantasy and science fiction with the shorthand and vernacular of our own modern day, Wilson writes achingly beautiful prose through this vibrant story, where there is magic in the everyday, and mysteries centuries old that turn the world. Demane’s struggle between his nascent godhood and mortal life are the throughline of the tale, but there is so much more going on that I’ll need to reread this three or four times to really grasp everything. It’s a dense read for a novella, but rewarding, asking of the reader the same concentration and focus as the Captain does of his men. But I guarantee, if you give this novella the time and attention it absolutely deserves, you’re going to come away changed. Please, please read this, and share it, and enjoy your time with Demane and the Captain. — Marty Cahill
from The Best Books We Read In August: http://bookriot.com/2015/08/31/riot-r...
from The Best Books We Read In August: http://bookriot.com/2015/08/31/riot-r...
June 17, 2020
I NEED MORE! Honestly, I’m deducting a star just for that abrupt ending.
This was such a pleasure! A kind of Western African inspired fantasy/mythology, with a vivid, rich cultural life. The plot was somewhat wafty - I believe this group of people were basically just travelling? not sure for what, though - but the writing style made me think of Black Leopard, Red Wolf, which I enjoyed a lot. Though it’s so short and there’s literally no intro, and once you really wanted to know more, the blasted thing ends! The same thing happened when I read Sarah Gailey’s River of Teeth, I felt like we didn’t have enough time with the characters. There’s a part two, though, but no audio of it, so I guess I’ll have to eye-read what comes next ^^
Speaking of audio, it’s narrated by Kevin R. Free, whose name I recognized from my beloved Murderbot stories. I got curious along the way and googled him, and it turns out he’s that annoyingly happy Kevin from the competing radio station in Welcome to Night Vale who Cecil can’t stand! 🤯🤯🤯 Well, I only have myself to thank for not checking who he was earlier.
This was such a pleasure! A kind of Western African inspired fantasy/mythology, with a vivid, rich cultural life. The plot was somewhat wafty - I believe this group of people were basically just travelling? not sure for what, though - but the writing style made me think of Black Leopard, Red Wolf, which I enjoyed a lot. Though it’s so short and there’s literally no intro, and once you really wanted to know more, the blasted thing ends! The same thing happened when I read Sarah Gailey’s River of Teeth, I felt like we didn’t have enough time with the characters. There’s a part two, though, but no audio of it, so I guess I’ll have to eye-read what comes next ^^
Speaking of audio, it’s narrated by Kevin R. Free, whose name I recognized from my beloved Murderbot stories. I got curious along the way and googled him, and it turns out he’s that annoyingly happy Kevin from the competing radio station in Welcome to Night Vale who Cecil can’t stand! 🤯🤯🤯 Well, I only have myself to thank for not checking who he was earlier.
May 22, 2016
It was okay..... The characters reminded me of Joe Abercrombie, so if you're a fan of his, you'll probably enjoy this. Although it did have a few problems.
The quest isn't really inspiring, it's just a set of characters looking to get someplace because their caravan master tells them they have to.
The book could've been a lot better if it was longer, instead the author tries to cram way too much into a small amount of pages.
And lastly on my rant list, is the fact that it suffered from 'reread syndrome', where sentences don't make much sense so you have to go back and read it again until it does and then all of a sudden the author is talking about something completely different which throws you off course.
All in all, this had promise and was fairly entertaining. Just failed on the execution.
The quest isn't really inspiring, it's just a set of characters looking to get someplace because their caravan master tells them they have to.
The book could've been a lot better if it was longer, instead the author tries to cram way too much into a small amount of pages.
And lastly on my rant list, is the fact that it suffered from 'reread syndrome', where sentences don't make much sense so you have to go back and read it again until it does and then all of a sudden the author is talking about something completely different which throws you off course.
All in all, this had promise and was fairly entertaining. Just failed on the execution.
Want to read
September 5, 2020Tor free ebook of the month, through Sept. 5!
December 19, 2018
I really enjoyed this. At once a story that feels like it would be at home among Yoruba myths and a loving nod to a more modern audience who maybe doesn't see themselves in fairy tales very often, I loved the risks the author took, and I think they largely paid off.
CONTENT WARNING: (no actual spoilers, just a list of topics)
Things to love:
-The characters. Demane and Captain, all the Brothers...they were a rich bunch you couldn't help but like, laugh at and want to throttle.
-The world. Ooo it's cool, it's so cool. I love the mythical bits and what we learn about Demane's homeland.
-The magic. Such a great, imaginative blend of science and magic, of mythic and education.
-The language. While at times some of the word choices felt a bit self-conscious, the vocabulary overall seemed like part of the landscape--I had just as much fun clambering over it as I did the hills and deserts of this book. I also really enjoyed that we went from using words like "diaphanous" to AAE slang multiple times throughout a page. Of all the accents and dialects we get in fantasy, AAE is not one of them but it was a lot of fun hearing people talk like I hear people talk, and not just British accents (sorry, UK, I love your accents, too!) I thought that was great.
-The love story. I didn't see it coming (I never expect books to have a romance, which is a really just blatantly wrong assumption I keep making!) but it was charming.
Things I didn't love:
-The narrative structure. It was a bold choice, changing time periods, characters, tenses and POV throughout the book. I don't think it was bad, but it jarred me a lot more than I think I needed to be jarred.
-Some of the reveal. I did have a bit of a hard time following some of the scenes. I got the overall plot, but I seem to have missed a few of the dotted lines between stopping points.
-The end. So was it a cliffhanger? Or terribly sad? Either way, I wanted it not to be terribly sad not only because I prefer joy but also because this particular type of sadness becomes a pretty miserable trope, and I despise cliffhangers. Ambiguity is one thing--you know, was the sled a metaphor for hypothermia or just a sled? Did Wesley and Buttercup live happily ever after or did he die as soon as credits rolled? That's ambiguity. This felt more like it was just not answered. Again, maybe I slipped off the road (I know, you're not supposed to!), but either way I'm left wanting.
It was really a fabulous ride and I am so glad my group decided to buddy read this or I'd have dragged my feet.
CONTENT WARNING: (no actual spoilers, just a list of topics)
Things to love:
-The characters. Demane and Captain, all the Brothers...they were a rich bunch you couldn't help but like, laugh at and want to throttle.
-The world. Ooo it's cool, it's so cool. I love the mythical bits and what we learn about Demane's homeland.
-The magic. Such a great, imaginative blend of science and magic, of mythic and education.
-The language. While at times some of the word choices felt a bit self-conscious, the vocabulary overall seemed like part of the landscape--I had just as much fun clambering over it as I did the hills and deserts of this book. I also really enjoyed that we went from using words like "diaphanous" to AAE slang multiple times throughout a page. Of all the accents and dialects we get in fantasy, AAE is not one of them but it was a lot of fun hearing people talk like I hear people talk, and not just British accents (sorry, UK, I love your accents, too!) I thought that was great.
-The love story. I didn't see it coming (I never expect books to have a romance, which is a really just blatantly wrong assumption I keep making!) but it was charming.
Things I didn't love:
-The narrative structure. It was a bold choice, changing time periods, characters, tenses and POV throughout the book. I don't think it was bad, but it jarred me a lot more than I think I needed to be jarred.
-Some of the reveal. I did have a bit of a hard time following some of the scenes. I got the overall plot, but I seem to have missed a few of the dotted lines between stopping points.
-The end. So was it a cliffhanger? Or terribly sad? Either way, I wanted it not to be terribly sad not only because I prefer joy but also because this particular type of sadness becomes a pretty miserable trope, and I despise cliffhangers. Ambiguity is one thing--you know, was the sled a metaphor for hypothermia or just a sled? Did Wesley and Buttercup live happily ever after or did he die as soon as credits rolled? That's ambiguity. This felt more like it was just not answered. Again, maybe I slipped off the road (I know, you're not supposed to!), but either way I'm left wanting.
It was really a fabulous ride and I am so glad my group decided to buddy read this or I'd have dragged my feet.
December 18, 2018
3.5 stars rounded up.
The last 20% were beautiful. The words not so much told a story, but painted a picture filled with emotion. Yet I had a hard struggle with the first 80%, sometimes having to re-read pages to try to get into the flow.
The last 20% were beautiful. The words not so much told a story, but painted a picture filled with emotion. Yet I had a hard struggle with the first 80%, sometimes having to re-read pages to try to get into the flow.
dnf
June 19, 2023DNF @ 17%
Just wasn't working for me. And then the fae were mention. Naw, man.
Just wasn't working for me. And then the fae were mention. Naw, man.
October 10, 2016
"One of the best reads of the year they said..."
This is an extremely protentious bromance fantasy about a warrior and a mage going to fight a tiger-thing. It uses the language of the "street" to tell the story. I can't recall ever reading the word "skullf*cked" in a Fantasy before. The author goes for "look at me WRITING" prose that constantly distracts from the meagre plot. I did not like it one bit.
My favourite review I have read on Goodreads is Erik's review of this book. It's why this review is only a few sentences, just read Erik's it is brilliant.
He capture perfectly what the writing is like but does it better. If you have read the book I don't know how you can not find it hilarious. If you haven't read the book, his review is better then actually reading it.
A sample
So I’m gonna lay into this mafa. I gonna take a machete upside this beyotch, gonna show you guts, some shock-of-white-bone, a little bit o critique hoodoo.
and
In this story, there be some wild n crazy mystery. some hollah mystery, like who dun killed this bro or like in 2001: Space Odyssey, what up wit dat black stone and dem monkeys? Ain’t no mystery here, tho. Mebs wat this lion-creature wizard ‘jukiere’ doin killin’ folk on the Road the caravan gotta traverse, but it ain’t much.
THAT was great - "The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps" was not
This is an extremely protentious bromance fantasy about a warrior and a mage going to fight a tiger-thing. It uses the language of the "street" to tell the story. I can't recall ever reading the word "skullf*cked" in a Fantasy before. The author goes for "look at me WRITING" prose that constantly distracts from the meagre plot. I did not like it one bit.
My favourite review I have read on Goodreads is Erik's review of this book. It's why this review is only a few sentences, just read Erik's it is brilliant.
He capture perfectly what the writing is like but does it better. If you have read the book I don't know how you can not find it hilarious. If you haven't read the book, his review is better then actually reading it.
A sample
So I’m gonna lay into this mafa. I gonna take a machete upside this beyotch, gonna show you guts, some shock-of-white-bone, a little bit o critique hoodoo.
and
In this story, there be some wild n crazy mystery. some hollah mystery, like who dun killed this bro or like in 2001: Space Odyssey, what up wit dat black stone and dem monkeys? Ain’t no mystery here, tho. Mebs wat this lion-creature wizard ‘jukiere’ doin killin’ folk on the Road the caravan gotta traverse, but it ain’t much.
THAT was great - "The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps" was not
September 4, 2015
*WAVES ARMS* Read this! And if it's anything to go by, go ahead and pre-order all the other Tor.com novellas as well. BUT THIS REVIEW IS ABOUT THIS GLORIOUS BOOK.
"Sumptuous" doesn't really do the language here justice. I read a ton of short fiction with language that I truly enjoy, but nothing novella or novel-length in quite some time. This ended that drought. And the plotting sure isn't bad either (IT'S GODDAMN GREAT). The dialogue is fantastic, the world-building is amazing, and the action is visceral as hell. THE MAGIC IS SCIENCE-Y AND EARTHY. AND THE CHARACTERS! DEMANE. THE CAPTAIN. CUMALO. ALL THE CARAVAN GUARDS. Even the *vague eyebrow waggling* creature, in the same way the shark was a looming background character in Jaws.
"The Devil in America", and Wilson's other short fiction, has been on my list for a while, and I'm about to go on a spree, for sure.
"Sumptuous" doesn't really do the language here justice. I read a ton of short fiction with language that I truly enjoy, but nothing novella or novel-length in quite some time. This ended that drought. And the plotting sure isn't bad either (IT'S GODDAMN GREAT). The dialogue is fantastic, the world-building is amazing, and the action is visceral as hell. THE MAGIC IS SCIENCE-Y AND EARTHY. AND THE CHARACTERS! DEMANE. THE CAPTAIN. CUMALO. ALL THE CARAVAN GUARDS. Even the *vague eyebrow waggling* creature, in the same way the shark was a looming background character in Jaws.
"The Devil in America", and Wilson's other short fiction, has been on my list for a while, and I'm about to go on a spree, for sure.
September 8, 2016
Oh my, this book. It took me a while to get into it, even rereading the first chapters because I didn't understand a word, but after that I just fell deeper and deeper in love with it.
The characters, especially Demane and Captain, so beautiful.
The language, so strange and difficult for me to fully comprehend, painted colorful pictures and once understood gave that overall tingly feeling that just makes you smile.
The story, so interwoven and straight forward it felt like a bedtime story.
Listen to me, don't let the struggles in the beginning or the confusion put you off, it is a beautiful book. And so worth the work it was to read it.
PS: It might be easier for English native speakers.
The characters, especially Demane and Captain, so beautiful.
The language, so strange and difficult for me to fully comprehend, painted colorful pictures and once understood gave that overall tingly feeling that just makes you smile.
The story, so interwoven and straight forward it felt like a bedtime story.
Listen to me, don't let the struggles in the beginning or the confusion put you off, it is a beautiful book. And so worth the work it was to read it.
PS: It might be easier for English native speakers.
January 17, 2021
This story had the makings of something I would really love but unfortunately I couldn't connect with the style of narration. It was disjointed and quite hard to follow. I kept hoping that as the story unfolded it would become easier to understand, which didn’t happen, if anything it became worse. At times I though I must have missed something and that was why I was so lost but no, I hadn’t. The structure of the story made no sense and it didn’t feel like a cohesive story, it felt super all over the place and I didn’t find anything that made me care for the story or the characters.
The setting and some of the author’s use of language is interesting, but there was just so much more that I wanted to know about the world and the characters that in the end I was really disappointed.
The setting and some of the author’s use of language is interesting, but there was just so much more that I wanted to know about the world and the characters that in the end I was really disappointed.
May 30, 2018
Edit: I just noticed that Karla Ortiz received an award from Spectrum for this cover. In looking her up, I notice I've seen her a number of times. Good stuff.
(something from Tor that I think karen reviewed)
***
Beautifully written, original, and emotionally compelling. 5 stars except for the ending.
(something from Tor that I think karen reviewed)
***
Beautifully written, original, and emotionally compelling. 5 stars except for the ending.
December 17, 2018
I love this book. Kai Ashante Wilson has such a way with words. He weaves together threads of different voices into a gorgeous tale that has the fantastical feeling of a legend while remaining very personal with Demane. I love the way the reader is given just tantalizing glimpses of the world-building and the mythology into which this story fits. In contrast, the scenes of Demane's life that are described on page are vividly detailed, and the balance of the two really works for me.
September 16, 2015
READ THIS READ THIS READ THIS!!!
This thing blew my socks off. It is short, evocative, and beautiful. I just went and bought everything else Wilson has published.
This isn't a real review. Just go read this fucking book.
This thing blew my socks off. It is short, evocative, and beautiful. I just went and bought everything else Wilson has published.
This isn't a real review. Just go read this fucking book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 969 reviews