A review by athenas99
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was an interesting read. At first, I didn’t like it very much and the first 50 pages or so was a slog, but it gets much better when Tracker becomes an adult. He was a really dynamic and fascinating character. I really liked how James handled his sexuality (it’s acknowledged as different, but also a non-issue) and I think Tracker is equal parts principled and vicious. I liked that the narrative called out his misogyny and played him against Sogolon, the anti-witch, who also leapt off the page. I don’t like that his tension with his mother was resolved off-page. Besides the characters, I really liked the world-building and incorporation of African mythology and speech patterns. The dialogue was fantastic and believable. All that said, I think the story was often confusing and convoluted. There needed to be some expedition to set up the backstory of the North v. South, and also the geography of the wider world. For example, I still have no idea what / where Fassisi is. I also felt like the graphic scenes (of sexual and/or violent nature) could be overkill, even though they were vivid. 
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