I thought Heart of Darkness was fantastic. I found it very thought provoking and a perspective much difference from other stories.
When Konrad described the sun/water in the first chapter for five pages, I set it down. As a writer myself, I can appreciate detail, but I feel like both he and Stephen King put in way too much detail. King could spend twenty pages on the process of paint drying.
When Konrad described the sun/water in the first chapter for five pages, I set it down. As a writer myself, I can appreciate detail, but I feel like both he and Stephen King put in way too much detail. King could spend twenty pages on the process of paint drying.
You can skip the details and play Spec Ops: The Line. It is based on Conrad's book.
Tracker is a nameless mercenary who is known throughout the tribal kingdoms for his nose. Many also know him for his mouth. For his mouth is quick to shoot off at the expense of others as well as his own. As our narrator, Tracker takes us on several journeys that revolve around his search for a missing boy. Along the way Tracker encounters many monsters, some of which are men and others are literal monsters, witches, royalties, shapeshifters, and a harsh land that is even more unforgiving than the inhabitants.
Featuring graphic violence and sexual content this is a fantasy epic that spins tropes around and re-imagines familiar stereotypes in African myths and lore. Many have made note of the violence and sexual nature of the book. James is unforgiving. Rape, killing, torture and everything in between is here. He does not shy away from these as each is met full on with no skirting or beating through the bush. They simply are things that happen like anything else. These events aren't glorified. James does not linger on them, but they are still brutal and shapes the world around Tracker even more.
If you are squeamish in any capacity this book is not for you. If you're uncomfortable reading about rape (gang and bestiality included), violence against (and committed by) children, torture, and descriptive violence then you will not enjoy this book. Of course the book is not all raping, killing, and gay sex. Without these events and encounters the highs of the book and the show of humanity throughout would not be nearly as significant or impactful. The book is beautiful in it's capacity to mirror humankind with no disguise.
Along with Tracker is a mish-mash of mercenaries and unlikely allies. Each character bringing a unique perspective to the story with their own motivations, beliefs, and moral compasses. Throughout the book the theme of perspective is obvious. Monsters aren't monsters to some, but mothers. A Queen to one is a traitor to another. These small intricacies really brings the book to life. The narrative is fairly linear, but the complexity of the world is palpable on every page. Each character has their own reasoning and emotions and these things pull them all together on a thread. As a reader it is easy to get caught up in the continual push and pull of characters. Is a monster showing remorse a rehearsed ploy or an authentic showing of emotion? Throughout Tracker tries to be the black and white, whittling even the most complex story down to a single line, but in doing so misses the intricacy of perspective. Perhaps the monster is really remorseful, but to the Tracker emotions don't change behavior and the monster is still very much a monster.
From the onset I loved this book. The style of language James uses throughout is beautifully written and subtly complex. James weaves a baroque style into every page and it is completely mesmerizing. At times it can feel fragmented, broken, or even confusing. I personally restarted after about fifty pages and had settled into the diction of book. I found myself making notation after notation for a line, phrase, or entire passage. Each passage, sentence, and word acts as a foundation for this magical and deadly world our narrator exists in. James develops a fantastic cast of characters, builds a world that is as deadly as it is beautiful, and relates all this through a narrator that is not without flaws. A narrator that presumably may not even be fully truthful.
This is without a doubt one of my favorite fantasy books and I highly anticipate the sequels. Of recent memory it is one of the most uniquely written and rewarding reads. A book I would highly recommend to all, but with caution. While I absolutely loved this book I also recognize it is not for everyone. Some will be turned off from the writing style. Others will be confused the whole read. Others may faint at a devastating gang rape scene. Black Leopard, Red Wolf is the book I wanted Children of Blood and Bone to be. An African fantasy that is unforgiving in it's description of humanity's baseness and glory. A beautifully rendered tale with complex characters and an intricate, complex world. A book that begs to be reread halfway through not only to pick up missed details from the richness of lore, characters, and the world itself, but also because the writing itself makes this an absolute joy to read.
Spoiler
Not everything the eye sees should be spoken by the mouth.
Fury is a cloud that leaves my mind empty and my heart black.
Blood still behaves like blood even if separated by the sand.
Family was not always family in the bush, and friend was not always friend. Even wife was not always wife.
"**** the gods, for now I feel like I can skip on air," I said out loud. Blood was boundary, family a rope. I was free, I told myself. And would tell myself all night and all day for three days.
A dead thing never lies, cheats, or betrays, and what was a family but a place where all three bloom like moss.
Like, I like. Dislike, I love. Disgust, I can feel. Loathing, I can grab in the palm of my hand and squeeze. And hatred, I can live in hatred for days. But the smug smile of indifference on someone's face makes me want to hack it off.
Nobody ever gets betrayed by their enemy.
No woman is raised for a man to use.
A girl is a hunted animal.
All you ever did was watch woman suffer and blame her for it.
A man will suffer misery to get to the bottom of truth, but he will note suffer boredom.
Men with one sad god. You act like old women who forget they they were young women. Your one god, who thinks pleasure is a lesser thing.
When kings fall they fall on top of us.
You sound like fathers where I am from who blame the daughter for rape, saying, Had you not legs to run away? Had you not lips to scream? You think as they do that suffering from cruelty or escaping it is a matter of choice or means, when it is a matter of power.
"Where is the woman that you have hurt and abandoned?
She hurt herself.
Then she must be a woman of more power and means than me. Every scar
I have, it is somebody else who put it there."
A YA book was never going to be that, which is why I feel the way I do about them.
Sounds like what I was hoping it would be, my only worry is I don't know the series release schedule. If it was known to be every year like CoBaB, I'd be fine. I don't want to get into a Kingkiller Chronicle. I think it'll be my next read if nothing jumps out to me. I'll probably finish All the Pieces Matter tomorrow.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by G Perico
If I ain't got it, then I gotta take it
I can't hide who I am, baby I'm a gangster
In the Rolls Royce, steppin' on a mink rug
The clique just a gang of bosses that linked up
From what I've been able to find over the past couple of days there will be two year interval between each and he claims he is good at meeting deadlines.
With CoB&B I guess I expected more lore and mythology than what was given to us. Black Leopard, Red Wolf almost acts as a primer in comparison. So many details and characters.
03-23-2019, 06:03 PM
