Title: Black Leopard, Red Wolf.
Series: The Dark Star Trilogy #1.
Writer(s): Marlon James.
Publisher: Bond Street Books (Doubleday Canada).
Format: Hardcover.
Release Date: February 5th 2019.
Pages: 640.
Genre(s): Fantasy.
ISBN13: 9780385690324.
My Overall Rating: ★★★★☆.
Life has never been straightforward for many out there. The answers to our questions often lie within more questions and leave us dangling from cliffs praying that our paths will be clearer the next day or the day after. It’s through life trials that we are brought to understand the harshest truths about who we are and who we will become. With every enigma, we introspect and adapt to our reality trying to make the most out of what we have. Sometimes it’s through horrid, intense and insane events that we break the glass around us and truly grasp what we see. Author of the Man Booker Prize for his novel A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James stuns the world with his latest epic fantasy novel marking the first of his Dark Star trilogy, Black Leopard, Red Wolf. With the help of a cast of mysteriously quirky characters, our hero finds himself in the midst of stories within stories that will lead him to more questions and answers that he is not ready for.
What is Black Leopard, Red Wolf about? Set within a distinctive African mythology, the story focuses on a skilled young hunter known as Track who has the ability to track down just about anyone anywhere thanks to his peculiar nose. One day, he is tasked with the mission to track down a boy who disappeared for over three years. As a mercenary who works alone, he’s to break his own rule and pursues his mission accompanied by a handful of peculiar characters, including the shape-shifting man-animal Leopard. As he quickly realizes that his path to discovering this boy is riddled with dangerous obstacles, Tracker is thrown in a whirlpool of doubt and existential questions. To come out of this deadly, murderous and brutal trial unscathed would only be one of the many lies he will soon face head-on.
There are books out there that will not look to sugarcoat the world it builds for the reader. The raw and cruel truth is therefore unleashed on them as they try to hold onto the thinnest ropes that they can find within the narrative filled with smoke and mirrors. These stories will drop you into the abyss with no end in sight, bombard you with surrealism and explode your senses whether you want it all to end or not, leave you helpless and hungry for a safety net that can capture you and secure you from harm’s way. Marlon James’ novel is one of those novels that does not look to give away freebies to the reader. Black Leopard, Red Wolf is a psychedelic mosaic that lures you into its intangible reality and invites you to try and untangle the stories that crawl out of every character’s mouths. It doesn’t help when these characters have their own stories to tell, nested within one another, and soaked in lies and deception. To demystify this universe, only the patient would dare and only the perseverant will succeed.
Although the story is cacophonic and tentacular, it is also how it is told that renders this story so compelling, epic and enigmatic. Marlon James does the impossible by bringing to life a universe that encompasses so much history and culture. Every character is oozing with his own personal experience and displays their personalities without a single restraint. Their language, dialogues, and banter make them unique in every sense of the word. But what really stands out is the raw perception of life of every character and the author’s will to keep the entire story as obscene and violent as its reality is. There isn’t a moment throughout this story where you’ll find a cushion to fall back as the violence, the obscenity and the sexuality is cranked up to the highest level possible. This is no story for the faint of heart as the story’s complexity is beyond any ordinary tale.
Black Leopard, Red Wolf is a chaotic story-telling triumph, by virtue of exquisite prose, that follows a young man, in a world riddled with violence, as he overcomes the vicious obstacles along the way to his self-discovery.
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for sending me a copy for review!
Roars and Echoes 
I’ve been so curious about this book, it sounds like something I’d love. Awesome review, Lashaan😁
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is brutal and a crazy challenge! Hope you get the chance to test it out. Thank you, Tammy! 😀
LikeLike
Fantastic review Lashaan! I was going to buy this, but then backed off because of some of the things I read about it. Now I’m rethinking my decision.🤷🏻♀️
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Kim! It has a gazillion trigger warnings attached to it. It is brutal in so many ways. I do hope you’ll get the chance to test it out if all that does not steer you away!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow wow Lashaan!!! And to say that I was first drawn to the cover seeing it on IG! But now…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahah thanks, Sophie! Glad it piqued your interest. I’d be curious to hear your reactions to it if you ever give it a try. 😀
LikeLike
Fantastic review! I’ve seen mixed reviews for this on Goodreads so really didn’t know what to expect from your review.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Nicki! 😀 Oh yes. It’s very brutal and I can understand why people would dislike it. There’s nothing cute about the world he created for this trilogy.
LikeLike
Love your review 🙂 You make this sound so good, even though i haven’t considered reading it before. Now i’m kinda intrigued 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Norrie! I’m glad to hear it caught your attention now hahaha It’s crazy brutal and if you do try it, be warned. It won’t be about puppies and rainbows! Hahaha 🤣
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great review, I’ve been intrigued about this book but haven’t seen too many people here talking about it. The African mythology aspect sounds really interesting!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much! I actually saw it around quite a lot, being praised for what it dared unveil to the world. It’s unique but very brutal and challenging. Hope you “enjoy” it if you ever give it a try!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve seen this book around and been hesitant to pick it up. Now I will! Fantastic review.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s challenging in so many ways. It won’t be an easy read and it’ll likely be very confusing. I hope you “enjoy” it when you get the chance to try it out! Thank you so much! 😀
LikeLike
Thanks for the heads up!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Were you tired or on drugs when you wrote this? Using words like “tentacular” and “perseverant”…
Come on man, you sound like a used car salesman here!
😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahahah it’s probably cause I literally translated it all from French to English as I wrote those words. I can assure you that I knew beforehand that this book would get negative stars if you ever to read it. You can gladly stay away from it. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
That would explain it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a great review but I have read really mixed reviews on Goodreads . But this sounds interesting 💕
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep, not everyone will enjoy this one. It’s tricky and challenging. Thanks, Priyasha! 🙂
LikeLike
Excellent review. The one word I use when describing it is challenging. In so many ways…
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is the perfect word for it indeed. Crazy challenging. Thank you! I wonder where book 2 will go next…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cool review! Heard a lot of good thing about this one – goes to my TBR 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Be careful, it’s brutal hahah I’d be curious to see what your take would be on it. I’ve seen only mixed reviews for it. It’s either you love it or hate it. I haven’t seen anyone in the middle hahah
LikeLiked by 1 person
Huh, that makes me even more interested 😉
I’m putting it on my TBR, but it’s gotten so long recently I don’t know when I’m going to read it 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good heavens. This book sounds like you need to read it word for word to understand. How long did this type of book take you to read? I don’t know how you can read something like this and work on your rigorous program at the same time. That in itself is mind blowing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahahah it took forever! 😂 But good thing that I read to escape and I love challenges! My “easy” reads are my manga/comics anyways. At least this one was challenging but rewarding!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m so curious about this book, it sounds amazing but it’s hard to imagine how it truly is!! 😮 Oh, and now I know that Whirlpool isn’t just a brand that sells dishwashers 😂😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can assure you that it’s a traumatizing experience. I’d warn anyone who wants to pick it up because of its graphic content. Hahahaha a whirlpool is way more than a dishwasher! 😛
LikeLiked by 1 person
If I didn’t already want to read it, this description — “a psychedelic mosaic” — sure would have made me add it to my TBR. Can’t wait to get to this because James is one of my fav authors.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah yes, expect all the triggers in the world with this one. And believe me when I say it’ll take a lot of time to indulge its content; it doesn’t help that it’s lengthy too hahaha
LikeLike
Yup, that’s the common critique about it: that it’s triggering and takes a while to get into. I gotta try it when I’m fully in the mood.
LikeLiked by 1 person