Hardback went straight to the Sunday Times Number One Bestseller slot and has now sold over 55,000 copies First novel in The Dark Star Trilogy, which follows the mystery of a lost child and a murder -- each novel will focus on one witness's testimony, but none of the testimonies will match -- the reader must decide what is trueA literary tour-de-force, conjuring a world of brutality and lust, power and vengeance, myth and magic --
an ancient African Game of ThronesFor readers of
A Brief History of Seven Killings (over 150,000 TCM), Neil Gaiman's
American Gods, Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea Trilogy and Margaret Atwood's Maddaddam trilogy
'A dangerous, hallucinatory, ancient Africa, which becomes a fantasy world as well-realised as anything Tolkien made, with language as powerful as Angela Carter's. I cannot wait for the next instalment' Neil GaimanA fantasy world as well-realized as anything Tolkien made, with language as powerful as Angela Carter's. It's as deep and crafty as Gene Wolfe, bloodier than Robert E. Howard, and all Marlon James...
I cannot wait for the next instalmentStand aside, Beowolf. There's a new epic hero slashing his way into our hearts...James is clear-cutting space for a whole new kingdom.
Black Leopard, Red Wolf rises up from the mists of time, glistening like viscera. James has spun
an African fantasy as vibrant, complex and haunting as any Western mythologyA miracle... If Charles R. Saunders'
Imaro series opened the door to new ways of telling epic fantasy, and N.K. Jemisin's
Inheritance trilogy leapt over the threshold, then Marlon James'
Black Leopard, Red Wolf just ripped the whole damn door off its hingesI can honestly say
I cannot wait for the next instalmentMarlon James possesses almost frightening levels of talent... His work is wholly original while paying homage to all the important literary ancestors.
An archetypal epic for the 21st centuryBlack Leopard, Red Wolf heralds the arrival of fantasy's next great saga and reaffirms James as
one of the greatest storytellers of his generationOne of the most talked-about and influential adventure epics since George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire was transformed into Game of ThronesThis book begins like a fever dream and merges into
world upon world of deadly fairy tales rich with political magic. Black Leopard, Red Wolf is a fabulous cascade of storytelling. Sink right in. I guarantee you will be swept downstream'
Black Leopard, Red Wolf ... affirms [James's] place as
one of our most talented living authors.What marks James's tale as his own is the wonder evoked through descriptive, unrelenting prose along with a focus on a
distinct mythology cobbled from history and folk tale. [A] propulsive narrative.THE SUNDAY TIMES NO.1 BESTSELLER
Escape into a world of magic and danger with THE DARK STAR TRILOGY. Drawing on a rich tradition of African mythology, fantasy and history, this is the story of a lost child, an extraordinary hunter, and a mystery with many answers . . .
*Perfect for fans of Pratchett, George R. R. Martin and Octavia Butler*
'The kind of novel I never realized I was missing until I read it. A dangerous, hallucinatory, ancient Africa, which becomes a fantasy world as well-realized as anything Tolkien made' Neil Gaiman
*****
Tracker is a hunter. Known throughout the thirteen kingdoms as one who has a nose, he always works alone. But he breaks his own rule when, hired to find a lost child, he finds himself part of a group of hunters, each stranger and more dangerous than the last.
As the mismatched gang follow the boy's scent from perfumed citadels to enchanted darklands, Tracker starts to wonder:
Who really is this mysterious boy?
Why do so many people want to stop him from being found?
And, most important of all, who is telling the truth and who is lying?
Marlon James weaves a breathtaking tapestry - at once ancient and startlingly modern - exploring the fundamentals of truth, limits of power, excesses of ambition, and our need to understand them all.
Chronicling the same events but telling a very different story - who will you believe? Read THE DARK STAR TRILOGY in any order! Book two, MOON WITCH, SPIDER KING, is available to pre-order now.
*****
'Complex, lyrical, moving and furiously gripping . . . This new book will propel James into a new galaxy of literary stardom' Observer
'A game-changing modern fantasy classic' Financial Times
'James has thrown African cultures, mythologies, religions, histories, world-views and topographies into the mighty cauldron of his imagination to create a work of literary magic' New Statesman
