A Cry to War

The Last Warrior King #1

by E.O. Odiase, K.N. Pumpuni

Book Background:

The book is set in thirteenth-century West Africa. It dramatises the conflicts, politics and triumphs of a number of West African Kingdoms, such as the Benin Kingdom, Ghanaian empire, Malian Kingdom and the Fulani people. The story stretches across countries, seas and continents, showing the great variation in language, customs and traditions between tribes but also the unity displayed by different characters to overcome adversity.

Book Blurb:

A generation has passed, and the devastation of war is slowly fading away but the scars remain, lingering in the hearts and minds of many. In an era of peace, King Ewuare remains conflicted, torn between opening closed wounds or allowing his reign of peace and prosperity to continue.

As the King tries to resolve his moral conflict, the gods have a different agenda. Sinister and supernatural forces amass on the summit of the Agbon mountains, deep into the clouds, where no man dare stray, where the wind bites cold and the forest stays forever frozen.

Within, lies a tale of Kings and Queens, warriors and commoners, slaves and sorcerers, and the consequences of their hurried actions. African tribes head to battle with swords forged of bronze and steel, wild beasts bending to the will of man and fighting side by side.

Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Africa, African Literature

324 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 18, 2019

About the author

E.O. ODIASE IS AN AMAZON BESTSELLING AUTHOR IN AFRICAN LITERATURE.

Growing up, we were taught colonial and post-colonial African history. It is rare to hear of African history, tales, or traditions before slavery. The lack of information pushed me to uncover a broader truth about our my culture. For a few years now, I have visited several museums, showing a variety of ancient artefacts, such as the Benin Bronzes.

My fascination for storytelling and the truth told through it, combined with extensive research, both in-person and online has allowed me to paint a picture of the lives of our West African ancestors and mythology.

Nosa Odiase is a Kings College London graduate, with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He is a Chartered Engineer and has been working in the industry for over six years.

Reviews

[Deborah Obida · Rating 3 out of 5]

A big thanks to the authors who provided this book in exchange for an honest review

I hate that GR don't have a half start rating and the rating is only up to 5 instead of ten, cause technically this book is a two and a half star rating, its more than two but not up to three.

I'm going to start this review with things I like about this book, it has such great potential but it was no where near getting explored, the fact that two people wrote this made it all the more sad. The depictions of the kingdoms, the characters, even though some were one dimensional was well portrayed. I also enjoyed reading about the relationships between the characters. The magic system is a classic African vodoo and the plot is one of a kind.

Moving on to things I dislike in this book, the sex scenes were way too detailed, its a fantasy book more details should be paid to the fight scenes, if it were 50 50 I wouldn't complain but the sex got 70% great details and the fighting 30% which just sucks. The writing style is just the worst, the author was alternating between contemporary English and Old English and the combination was extremely cringy. Even though I like the plot I have to admit the beginning was beyong weak. There are better ways for the authors to start the book.

[Sydneroo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 stars

*An ARC copy of this book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review*

⚜️ Synopsis - A Cry to War is about revenge. Revenge of Kings. Revenge of a brother. Revenge of a sister. Revenge of a couple. The kingdom was peaceful and thriving. But when King Ewuare started to hear someone close to him whisper thoughts of revenge in his ear and when he started to receive visions, guilt for not revenging his fathers death arose. Now, 20 years after his fathers death he must decide if war is the answer.

⚜️ Main Characters -
This symbol "✨" means the character is my fav!

King Ewuare - King of Mombaka
✨ Queen Adana - King Ewuare's first wife
Meha - King Ewuare's second wife and certified bitch
✨ Eweka - Young blacksmith and friend to
Esigie -Eweka's younger broth
Kamunde - King Ewuare's first son. "Rightful" heir to the Mombaka throne (Adana's son). The "weak" heir in his father's eyes
✨ Mandisa - King Ewuare's son and ideal choice to rule after Ewuare's reign (Adana's son)
Kofi - Royal Navy, Master Sailor
✨ Kwame - fisherman
Afua - fisherman's wife
King Jafari - Killed King Ewuare's father
Kalao - King Jafari's son
King Khalifa- friend of King Ewaure
Falana - King Khalifa's wife
Fa'agoul - assassin
✨ Djamena - girl who deserved way more...
Zakaria - wealthy man who gambles in the pits and Colosseum and owns brothels

⚜️ The Pros - the story is fast paced as it keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what is going to come next. At some points in this book I felt as it was kind of similar to how ASOIAF made me feel when I first read it (not as good as the author has room to grow but potential is there). Due to the fast pace, I believe this concept would make a great TV show. I enjoyed all of the females in the book... besides Meha. Adana was my absolute favorite as she is a sweet bad ass. All the characters kept me engaged, whether I hated their guts or wanted them to succeed. Everyone was well developed. I actually felt a wide spectrum of emotions while reading this (love, happy, hate, sad, you name it) and I thank the author for ripping my heart out and sewing it back shut multiple times. Haha

⚜️ The Cons - I personally enjoy going and seeing what the character do or did instead of being told. There was a lot of telling instead of showing. I also think the magic part of the story could have been explained a lot more. I found the Agbon Forest very interesting but it was never explored much farther. Actually, a big mystery happens in the beginning involving the Agbon Forest and a conclusion was never met or even sought for sadly. The writing needed some work as this is a new author and an ARC copy but it didn't distract me from the story much. The only parts that did distract me was the sex scenes and there are only about 3 I believe. These personal cons is what made me rate this book 3.5 stars.

⚜️ Continuing - I believe this is a first book in a series as the ending left on a big cliff hanger. The problem is all but 2 of my favorite character/ "heros" made it out alive in this first novel so I'm not sure if I would like to continue. When you kill too much so soon, it leaves the reader with nothing left to look forward to. I love these 2 characters so maybe that will encourage me to continue but by the next book I might have forgotten that not everyone died. LOL

⚜️ Recommending - this is an adult novel. Includes graphic sex, murder, war, slave trade, force fighting, and other adult topics. Definitely not a YA book.

[Sade]

🖤
*This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.*

So even though i try not to DNF books that are given for review purposes no matter how bad it might be, this book had way too many negatives for me to continue reading without doing serious harm to my kindle. Anyways since i did not finish it i will not be rating it but for all intents and purposes, this would be a one star rating for me.

🖤🖤
Set in 1267AD West Africa but where characters are using words like 'oga and madam'. King Ewuare decides 20 years after the death of his father that he wants revenge, because....revenge is dish best served 20 years cold?

Obviously, because this is fantasy, he has nightmares visions & yup, the gods say war is in.

🖤🖤🖤
So look, guys, I grew up reading books written by African writers, reading the best of African literature. Way before i had an inkling that there was this whole other world of books, books like Trouble in Form Six, Without a Silver Spoon, The passport of Mallam Ilia, Second Chance, Sugar Girl, Wives Revolt, The Concubine, Weep not Child, to name a few were what nurtured my love for reading. This book is, as far as i'm concerned a stain on African literature.

🖤
If this book was food, it would be without spice. Dull, bland and completely tasteless and this a lot from me, considering that i'm usually ready to grit my teeth and read a book no matter how bad it is, to the end.
It falls short of everything it means to be fantasy novel or even a novel worth reading, be it in it's prose, characterisation, plot, world building.

All in all, not a book i would recommend to anyone, unfortunately. However, if you feel like inflicting pain on your brain for no reason, give this book a try.

[Sandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Gods are dead; they answer no prayers...

This was a tough read to get through I almost Dnf'd it but I spent money on it and I wanted to get my moneys worth also I like giving a one star rating in good faith.

The plot of this story wasn't plausible to me why would a grown man, a leader, a king risk a 20year peace to exact revenge for his father who died in battle?... okay I guess. The writing is awful, it reads like those compositions we had 40 minutes to write in primary school, there is no variation of sentences in the paragraphs and a lot of repetition of adverbs and descriptors, that paired with a lot of telling and no showing made the story very stilted. I am more annoyed because it was written by two people and I am assuming an editor was involved as well, although it does not read like it.
There are various inconsistencies that grated on me and I found hard to ignore, this story was supposedly set in 13th century west Africa ,or inspired by, but there is the use of the words like oga, madam, horny, turned on, puke and gag reflex this just shows no research was done here.

Aside from that, there is a lot of head hopping from major characters to minor character and it doesn't serve to move the plot forward in any way I did not enjoy that .Additionally there are really graphic sex scenes that bombard you from nowhere I don't usually mind sexual content but here we could be in the middle of a scene and then it pants to people having sex and I'm like where in the world did that come from.

The female characters are sorely underdeveloped, not that the men are either, their entire motivations are in relation to the males in the story and that is always a red flag for me I saw that the second book focuses on the women but I don't think I will be reading it.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! I've never read a fantasy historical war fiction novel before, and this novel was pretty rock solid! I had a few questions for the author while reading this book, and I was quite surprised on all the intricate layers that went into building the various kingdoms in the book. I really enjoyed that there was a great buildup to the war, and there was plenty of action and no dull moments in the book. There was a great amount of detail that went into the character development, which was very appreciative! The sex scenes and violence were also very graphic and detailed, which suits the overall content in the book.

However, I was deeply engaged and enthralled as I read about the death of Prince Jafari and how the war began. I was on the edge of my seat reading this wondering what was going to happen next. The betrayal, love, loss, tragedy, and revenge was all encapsulated into this great work of fiction. The cliffhanger just put me over the edge, and when I learned that this was a trilogy, I felt better knowing that there is going to be more to this epic novel.

Well done!

[Shannaka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phenomenal!

This was my first character driven fantasy book and my first African novel and I must say it set a standard and has opened my eyes up to the world of fantasy. I am a contemporary girl but I definitely think I will start trying fantasy now.

The world building was good. The characters were pretty fleshed out for the most part. I could distinguish between the kingdoms, the kings and their families. The storylines were so easy to follow. I felt like I was a part of the action while reading. I LOVED that the female characters were not just secondary to the main Kings. They had an important and well defined part in the book. From the younger characters to the older characters I just loved this book all the way around.

Of course there is a cliffhanger but what good book doesn’t have one. I suspect this will have a part two or be a part of a series. I’m excited about it too!

Definitely worth the read!

[E.O. Odiase · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think the book is awesome. Of course, I would say that, I wrote it. In any case, it is a much-needed addition to the literary table, weaving rich African culture and mythology into modern literature.

[Marjorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A war has begun because of the death of Prince Jafari. Plans are being made and preparation is made for war.
This story is so good. Once you begin reading it, you'll find yourself not stopping until you get to the end. You will find sketched maps to show the area of where the war takes place. There are others that you will find of women and the cages where prisoners were kept. These pictures give the story even more reality.
While you read, you'll feel as though you are part of the story. There are those you are cheering for and those you'll shed tears for.
The Cry of War is sent out to all five Kingdoms to find who will reign the longest.
I liked that in the back of the book there is information of everyone involved in the war. Who they were and their line in their family. This I really liked.
This book would make a great addition to your bookshelf. It would be a really good gift to give.
I give this book 5 stars but only because I am unable to give it any more. I loved reading it.

[Linda Isakson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I volunteered to read and review this book. The story's backbone is good and has promise. But the writing desperately needs a professional editor. The tone and style changed too often between pages. The pace of the story did not have a natural flow--too many parts lingered over unimportant details and other important scenes were too hastily glossed over. This book has a lot of potential, and with a substantial amount of reworking could be a really good read.

[Chidi Nkwocha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the buildup to the war. No dull moments. Sleek writing. Great character depiction. The 3rd person omniscient POV makes the story even more interesting. The sex and violence scenes are quite graphic -suits the epic content. In all, this is a world class bestseller whose future movie adaptation would compete favourably with the likes of Game of Thrones.

[Shobo Mayowa]

Great read. This is my first African novel that deftly combines genres like crime, fantasia, romance to mention a few. The scenes of violence and romance is hardcore too. The narrative is set in medieval times amalgamating several cultures. The flow is also very coherent, you're in for good times.

[Kristel Greer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was sent a copy for review.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.
This is Book 1 in The Last Warrior King series. It has an opulent story set in medieval West Africa and centres on powerful and ancient African kingdoms. Surrounded by rich backdrops of lush and enchanted forests, punishing deserts and treacherous mountains, a young boy called Eweka escapes a deathly plan against him and sets out to travel across the lands of all kingdoms to find secret treasure. Alongside this quest we are thrown into a narrative about feuding tribes, revenge and a power struggle to rule the kingdom that is held by King Ewuare. It is full of strong and complex characters with independent and interconnected motivations making for a layered and intriguing plot with back stabbing, infighting and family drama.

If this wasn’t enough to get you interested there is also a God called Ogun who is displeased with this people so he enlist one of his sorcerers to raise an army, weaponised them and use them to protect his Orbs (creatures of varying size from dwarfs to giants) and fight to rid the world of men and start creation over again.

I give this 3.5 🌟. It has many compelling characters across all three storylines that made the plot fascinating to read. A great deal of thought went into the world building and setting the scene of the current hostilities. As much as this added depth to the plot it also made the pacing slow. I felt the narrative lacked detail for crucial events which occurred off page and only vaguely explained afterwards. At times I felt more description and explanation was given to the graphic sex scenes than to important and epic battle scenes which followed them. I have no issue with the sex scenes themselves other than they received more attention to other more relevant moments. The book definitely keeps your attention and has a unique and epic tale at its centre which I hope continues to develop and that the characters are fleshed out to uncover more about their personalities and what drives them. Overall a good first book in the series and I look forward to reading Book 2 this month.

[Francisca Pinto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro a pesar de sus errores me ha gustado bastante!

Debo decir que me ha costado empezar, fue un poco lento pero decidí continuar porque con lo que leía sabía que algo grande iba a pasar, y pasaron cosas grandes pero creo que se darán más en el siguiente libro, es por esto mismo que me he quedado con un poco de gusto a poco.

Pero aún así le tengo mucha fe y estoy ansiosa por empezar el segundo libro!! Ya lo tengo en mis manos y si no alcanzo este mes, lo leeré en Febrero.

Para los que quieran saber, este es el libro con el cliché de fantasía que se divide en distintos reinos que antes eran uno pero se rebelaron para poder ser independientes y 20 años después Ewuare, actual rey e hijo del antiguo soberano asesinado, decide tomar venganza a petición de los dioses mandando a su hijo y un amigo de él a asesinar al príncipe Jaffar, hijo del asesino de su padre.

Lo que conté es solo el primero y puede que el segundo capítulo, hay traiciones familiares, asesinato, abuso sexual, esclavitud y muchas cosas que no las veo innecesarias en la historia, muchas veces los autores pecan de omitir estas cosas que siempre han existido y creo que son muy necesarias de contar, aunque sean cosas muy crudas.

Mi pero con este libro es que no sé si será mi edición, pero le faltó pulir un poco en el tema de la corrección ya que muchas veces encontré palabras mal escritas y frases un poco raras, hay que poner ojo en esas cosas o el lector se distrae, como me ha pasado a mí.

Si recomiendo que lean esta historia, porque a pesar de os clichés y algunos errores de edición es una historia que vale la pena, donde todos los personajes son queridos u odiados según les corresponda, además de ser todos necesarios de alguna forma.

Admito que esperaba más, como dije me he quedado corta pero espero que con el segundo libro llegue lo que me esperaba leer en este primer libro.

[Hannah Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this book 4 stars. A Cry to War is a fantasy historical war fiction that is set in 13th century West Africa. The main plot is about several nations fighting due to wrongdoings, greed ,and misdeeds. There is much drama and politics in this book for sure which causes it to be fairly slow-paced. I definitely got a little bit of a GOT vibe starting halfway into the book but can’t go into detail without spoiling it(sorry).

During this book the actions and greed of Kings and Queens create turmoil throughout the tribes. All the while the gods are plotting their own destruction and revenge against their people.

My favorite characters of this book, two brothers Esegie and Eweka, find themselves drawn into opposites sides of a war due to the ruling family’s greed and thirst for revenge. During this book they find themselves in odd circumstances overcoming assassinations, slavery, and attempt to follow the will of Olokun their goddess.

This book really picked up the pace about 1/3 of the way in. My far I’m looking forward to hearing Hasina and and Esigie’s story the most in A Dance for the Gods. A Cry to War definitely had a different writing style than I was used to which I found jarring but refreshing overall.

WARNING: this book does end on a cliff hanger! I can’t wait to read A Dance for the Gods which will be released on 2/16/2021!

[Lila · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 27%.

I just had to. I like the plot and I think having it be inspired by real history is absolutely amazing. However, while I usually enjoy the writing style of African authors, I find this one to be incomplete. The way characters talk is not believable and there are a lot of things missing.

I will probably come back to it sometime in the future and try to get through it again.

[Moustapha Diop · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, thanks to the author for sending me an ARC copy of this book.
I don't even how where to start, other than saying that this book couldn't be more accurate. You can tell the author has done an amazing amount of research in this book, and the description is always so elaborate and vivid, it gets a little overwhelming at times but that's just because of my personal preferences (I prefer when there is as little description as possible). It is easy to see the story as something that actually happened instead of a fiction, because everything, from the everyday life of the characters to the slavery that is a recurrent theme in this book, is like a retrospective of the life of our ancestors back in the day.
About the characters, the one that I particularly liked was Eweka. At first he just seems like our regular secondary character, but I ended up caring about him even more than King Ewuare and his family (except for Adana and Hasina). His storyline was fascinating, and the most beautifully written scene of this whole book is related to him : I literally held my breath because I knew what was going to happen, even if I was hoping it wouldn't until the very last second (not giving up any spoilers, you'll just have to see for yourself).
I only wished that there were more supernatural elements to the story, because I was expecting more going into it, especially African mythology-based creatures. The writing and dialogs were also a little confusing at times, but maybe that's because it's not really what I'm used to, which is why I'm giving it 4 out of 5 stars.
Overall I really enjoyed this book, and I will gladly pick up the sequel.

[Sy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me two-step in with the positives first. I did enjoy learning about Thirteenth century West Africa, and appreciated how no attention to detail was left out when describing some events and locations. One event in particular I felt like I was really there. The Royal wedding of King Ewuare’s daughter, I attended, wearing my cloth of course.

The book caught my attention at the beginning and then just as quickly as it caught it, it was gone because of some random 50 shades of grey scene that hit me out of nowhere. The sex scene was real graphic, and considering how lengthy the book blurb is definitely needed a ‘hey FYI’ warning or some sort of notice that sex would be such a large part of the book. All of the sex scenes were very vivid, and were given more presence and commitment than war itself. Which undermines the book title.

Full review on my Website. Gifted by Authors.

https://www.frizzandgo.com/blog/acryt...