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The Ivory Staff
How was young Samiyah to know that her simple grace, wit, and beauty—exceptional traits given her peasant class—would land her in the middle of a chessboard of high-level political turmoil or that the love that blinds politics, the hate that blinds brotherhood, and the lust that blinds love would flip that chessboard on its side?
Rife with passionate dialog, edgy suspense, and epic conflict, this Dark Fairy Tale follows our heroine as she journeys to heal a nation broken by the internal prejudices of class warfare, armed with nothing but stark determination.
Rife with passionate dialog, edgy suspense, and epic conflict, this Dark Fairy Tale follows our heroine as she journeys to heal a nation broken by the internal prejudices of class warfare, armed with nothing but stark determination.
- GenresFantasy
463 pages, Paperback
First published October 23, 2015
About the author
Lachi
2 books67 followersLachi is a world touring recording artist, award winning music executive, Disability Culture champion, Recording Academy National Trustee, and producer of a GRAMMY-Nominated album. Born legally blind, Lachi created the organization RAMPD (Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities), a consultancy group, collaborating on disability-inclusive solutions with the likes of Netflix, Live Nation and more, while bringing opportunities to its growing global network of creative professionals with disabilities. Lachi is also the host of PBS American Masters series Renegades, which celebrates unsung American heroes with disabilities. Lachi's latest book, I Identify as Blind (Penguin Random House / Tiny Reparations Books), is a collection of essays using humor, straight talk, and celebrity interviews to celebrate and amplify Disability Culture, identity, and power to mainstream discussion.
Named a USA Today Woman of the Year, an ADCOLOR Innovator and included on both the 2025 Billboard Pride and 2025 Forbes Accessibility 100 lists, Lachi’s cultural activism has landed her spots on national ads and TEDx stages, discussions with the White House, NPR, and the BBC, and features in People, TIME Magazine, Good Morning America and the New York Times.
Named a USA Today Woman of the Year, an ADCOLOR Innovator and included on both the 2025 Billboard Pride and 2025 Forbes Accessibility 100 lists, Lachi’s cultural activism has landed her spots on national ads and TEDx stages, discussions with the White House, NPR, and the BBC, and features in People, TIME Magazine, Good Morning America and the New York Times.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 15, 2015
M. Lachi's The Ivory Staff is an intriguing blend of a literary dark fairy tale that plumbs great depths encompassing political intrigue, tragedy, fratricide, corruption, ethnic cleansing, and class distinction. It is also a story of the power of love in the face of the most daunting of circumstances and obstacles.
The setting of the narrative is the make-believe island of Mutarobi on the Gulf of Gabes in the western arm of the Mediterranean Sea, southeast of the Tunisian Kerkennah Islands and sandwiched between Sicily's Pelagie islands and the port cities of Libya. And it is here where we meet the principal actors of the yarn, a fifteen-year old boy, Maliko, his Uncle Pan, who is the revered Mutaro or king of the Mutarobi, and Saab, a bashir or chief male servant.
As the story unfolds, we find Maliko snooping around in a forbidden room in the palace where he lives. He notices a rectangular case decorated with intricate gold renderings of dragons, lions, and other dangerous animals sitting on a small, square side-table. When he is about to lift the lid of the case, Uncle Pan shows up and smacks Maliko's hand away from the forbidden box causing him to tip over a lantern. The lantern's hot oil is dangerously spread all over the room as well as on Maliko's clothes and body.
The next morning when Maliko questions his Uncle Pan concerning something he alluded to in the forbidden room concerning his mother, he is silenced. Frustrated, Maliko, knowing that he is an orphan and was adopted, practically begs Uncle Pan to tell him about his parents and what they were like, however, Uncle Pan replies that he would tell him later, thus initially denying him his quest to find out the truth about his parents.
This now sets the stage for two separate articulate, introspective and revealing narratives recounted to Maliko, one by Uncle Pan and the other by Saab as they reminisce on their lives and their respective connections to Maliko's mother, the beautiful strong willed peasant girl, Samiyah (Siya).
Siya was from the Madani tribe that were considered to be of a lower class than the privileged Kasimo that also comprised some extremists that wanted the Madani tribe to be exterminated. We also learn about two brothers, Prince Chad and Prince Ali, sons of Mutaro Ole continually competing against each other to win their father's approval. What is more, we are filled in about a very critical and unthinkable lottery that would be conducted by Prince Chad who is determined to find a wife outside of his own tribe. The lottery would produce several winners and Chad would choose one who would then be presented at the Annual Ball of Mutarobi where he would be named successor to his father as Mutaro. One of the winners turns out to be Siya and, as we will discover, her appearance will have a lasting repercussion affecting the lives of Chad, Uncle Pan, Saad and Maliko.
In this brief review it is quite difficult to convey the full flavor of this mesmerizing feast of a book that portrays situations that can easily be seen as metaphors reflecting several issues that we can relate to and which many of us experience in our own lives. However, best of all we must not forget Lachi's distinctive, unique and sometimes even chilling voice as she crafts a stunning, sprawling novel where enormous risks are taken, not least that of demanding our understanding for the monstrous and unthinkable. In addition, her development of plot is perfectly calibrated as she maintains all of the elements of the yarn in suspension.
Follow Here: http://goo.gl/HTN1qF
To Read Norm's Interview With M. Lachi
The setting of the narrative is the make-believe island of Mutarobi on the Gulf of Gabes in the western arm of the Mediterranean Sea, southeast of the Tunisian Kerkennah Islands and sandwiched between Sicily's Pelagie islands and the port cities of Libya. And it is here where we meet the principal actors of the yarn, a fifteen-year old boy, Maliko, his Uncle Pan, who is the revered Mutaro or king of the Mutarobi, and Saab, a bashir or chief male servant.
As the story unfolds, we find Maliko snooping around in a forbidden room in the palace where he lives. He notices a rectangular case decorated with intricate gold renderings of dragons, lions, and other dangerous animals sitting on a small, square side-table. When he is about to lift the lid of the case, Uncle Pan shows up and smacks Maliko's hand away from the forbidden box causing him to tip over a lantern. The lantern's hot oil is dangerously spread all over the room as well as on Maliko's clothes and body.
The next morning when Maliko questions his Uncle Pan concerning something he alluded to in the forbidden room concerning his mother, he is silenced. Frustrated, Maliko, knowing that he is an orphan and was adopted, practically begs Uncle Pan to tell him about his parents and what they were like, however, Uncle Pan replies that he would tell him later, thus initially denying him his quest to find out the truth about his parents.
This now sets the stage for two separate articulate, introspective and revealing narratives recounted to Maliko, one by Uncle Pan and the other by Saab as they reminisce on their lives and their respective connections to Maliko's mother, the beautiful strong willed peasant girl, Samiyah (Siya).
Siya was from the Madani tribe that were considered to be of a lower class than the privileged Kasimo that also comprised some extremists that wanted the Madani tribe to be exterminated. We also learn about two brothers, Prince Chad and Prince Ali, sons of Mutaro Ole continually competing against each other to win their father's approval. What is more, we are filled in about a very critical and unthinkable lottery that would be conducted by Prince Chad who is determined to find a wife outside of his own tribe. The lottery would produce several winners and Chad would choose one who would then be presented at the Annual Ball of Mutarobi where he would be named successor to his father as Mutaro. One of the winners turns out to be Siya and, as we will discover, her appearance will have a lasting repercussion affecting the lives of Chad, Uncle Pan, Saad and Maliko.
In this brief review it is quite difficult to convey the full flavor of this mesmerizing feast of a book that portrays situations that can easily be seen as metaphors reflecting several issues that we can relate to and which many of us experience in our own lives. However, best of all we must not forget Lachi's distinctive, unique and sometimes even chilling voice as she crafts a stunning, sprawling novel where enormous risks are taken, not least that of demanding our understanding for the monstrous and unthinkable. In addition, her development of plot is perfectly calibrated as she maintains all of the elements of the yarn in suspension.
Follow Here: http://goo.gl/HTN1qF
To Read Norm's Interview With M. Lachi
June 23, 2019
took too long to get to the dark
Overall 3 out of 5 stars
Performance 3 out of 5 stars
Story 3 out of 5 stars
Lost. Confused. Then just down right frustrated. The Ivory Staff was filled with some interesting characters, secrets, lies, deception, and then there was the forbidden. The forbidden was what lured me in. Okay that is partial true. The idea of a dark fairy tale lured me in. For me things were slow.
The narrator did the job necessary to provide a vivid picture.
Overall 3 out of 5 stars
Performance 3 out of 5 stars
Story 3 out of 5 stars
Lost. Confused. Then just down right frustrated. The Ivory Staff was filled with some interesting characters, secrets, lies, deception, and then there was the forbidden. The forbidden was what lured me in. Okay that is partial true. The idea of a dark fairy tale lured me in. For me things were slow.
The narrator did the job necessary to provide a vivid picture.
November 19, 2015
Book Review originally published here: http://www.iheartreading.net/book-tou...
In The Ivory Staff, fifteen-year-old Maliko is snooping around in the forbidden room. The forbidden room is supposedly strictly off-limits, in particular the forbidden box stored inside the room. His Uncle Pan stops him from snooping inside the box, making Maliko suspect the box has something to do with his mother. As an orphan, the topic is always on Maliko’s mind, but Uncle Pan refuses to open up about it.
From two different perspectives, we next get the story of Samiyah, Maliko’s mother, a beautiful peasant girl who ends up in the middle of political turmoil. The story is enlightening, different, and it shows an interesting blend of characters, all of them with unique personalities.
I loved the worldbuilding. The story is set on a fictional island of the coast of North Africa, and focuses a lot on the quarrels between two tribes, but it’s this cultural undertone that makes it intriguing. I thought Saab was one of the most interesting, genuine characters in the book. All of the characters had flaws and were realistic, but I found I had an instant connection to Saab.
Fans of new adult books and fantasy will love this book. The worldbuilding is great, and it’s an interesting blend of politics, scheming, the difference between two classes and the discrimination and issues that brings, that combined in a plot that kept me on the edge of my seat.
In The Ivory Staff, fifteen-year-old Maliko is snooping around in the forbidden room. The forbidden room is supposedly strictly off-limits, in particular the forbidden box stored inside the room. His Uncle Pan stops him from snooping inside the box, making Maliko suspect the box has something to do with his mother. As an orphan, the topic is always on Maliko’s mind, but Uncle Pan refuses to open up about it.
From two different perspectives, we next get the story of Samiyah, Maliko’s mother, a beautiful peasant girl who ends up in the middle of political turmoil. The story is enlightening, different, and it shows an interesting blend of characters, all of them with unique personalities.
I loved the worldbuilding. The story is set on a fictional island of the coast of North Africa, and focuses a lot on the quarrels between two tribes, but it’s this cultural undertone that makes it intriguing. I thought Saab was one of the most interesting, genuine characters in the book. All of the characters had flaws and were realistic, but I found I had an instant connection to Saab.
Fans of new adult books and fantasy will love this book. The worldbuilding is great, and it’s an interesting blend of politics, scheming, the difference between two classes and the discrimination and issues that brings, that combined in a plot that kept me on the edge of my seat.
November 24, 2017
It took me a bit to get into this story, partly due to the narration (discussed below). Everything starts off so full of sunshine, kids laughing, family camaraderie, etc. and I was expecting a dark fantasy novel. Now, the story does take a walk on the darkside for much of the book but it takes a little while to get there. Maliko is on the cusp of manhood and has many questions about his parentage. His Uncle Pan and a chief leader, Saab, take us back a generation as they relate the tale of Maliko’s mom, Samiya (AKA Siya).
The world building was the most interesting part of this book. This is a fantasy of sorts that takes place on a mythical island Mutarobi off the coast of Africa set in our modern world. So there’s a distant United States and bill folds and flush toilets and such. There’s not really any magic, just these characters in Mutarobi trying to make the best of a bad situation. The land is in balance at the beginning of the tale but then the bulk of the story happens in this lengthy flashback. The Madanis used to be subjugated by the ruling class, the Kasimo. The tale of Samiya, a Madani, shows us how terrible the subjugation is and how corrupt most of those in power are.
I had difficulty getting attached to any of the characters. Perhaps Maliko is my favorite but he has only a small role at the beginning and the end. I do enjoy flawed characters but I had trouble discerning the nature of each one. For instance, there’s a main character who professes a great love for Samiya and later in thestory he reflects on the simpler and innocent times like the big celebration ball where he met her and all he wanted to do was violate her. Yep. Violate, as in rape. The characters use those two terms interchangeably. So I had trouble rooting for this ‘hero’ especially as he didn’t ever learn that rape is essentially a bad thing.
Samiya goes to this grand ball, feeling it a great privilege to have been invited since she is of the Madani tribe. Yet she goes there full well knowing she may be violated by a ruling Kasimo, and she counts this as a blessing and a chance to increase her value. Hmmm…. yeah. I needed a bit more to make that work for me. So I didn’t really see Samiya as a hero either though later she does become a tragic character.
All the view points are from the male characters and I felt this left an imbalance. Samiya comes off as a bit of a doe-eyed bimbo at the beginning of her tale. Her favorite things to do are please other people and laugh. To me, that sounds like something a 6 year old would say at a beauty pageant. Later she gets a little depth as we see how motherhood affects her, but even then her sensuality is the most important characteristic to the story. We are told how she has these other great abilities, like being able to do intricate math in her head. Yet we never see it. She wasn’t a well rounded character and all the other female characters have very small roles. We never get to ride around in their heads and are left to infer their inner feelings and thoughts by what they say and do. Meanwhile, we get to hang out in the guys’s heads and hear all about their appreciation of the female form, their loves and lusts, and concerns over STDs.
About half-way through the story, the pace finally picks up and big stuff starts happening. I definitely enjoyed the second half of the book quite a bit more than the first half. The characters are reaping the fruits of their deeds and not all are pleased! There’s some drama and murder and possible adultery and big upheavals. The ending was satisfying, explaining to Maliko how the Mutarobi he knows and loves came to be. All together, I give this 3.5/5 stars.
The Narration: John Hawks has a very pleasant voice and an accent fitting for this story. However, there were so many mispronounced words that I often lost track of the story as I puzzled out what was meant. For instance, the word curtsy is pronounced as kurdside, writhed is pronounced as wreathed, glowered is pronounced as glow red, etc. Also, there wasn’t much distinction in character voices and that made it difficult to keep track of who was doing and saying what. His female voices lacked femininity. Also, there were several sentences repeated in the recording. Sometimes the recording sounded like it was done in a cavern. On the other hand, his pacing was good. 2.5/3 stars for the narration.
I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by M. Lachi. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.
The world building was the most interesting part of this book. This is a fantasy of sorts that takes place on a mythical island Mutarobi off the coast of Africa set in our modern world. So there’s a distant United States and bill folds and flush toilets and such. There’s not really any magic, just these characters in Mutarobi trying to make the best of a bad situation. The land is in balance at the beginning of the tale but then the bulk of the story happens in this lengthy flashback. The Madanis used to be subjugated by the ruling class, the Kasimo. The tale of Samiya, a Madani, shows us how terrible the subjugation is and how corrupt most of those in power are.
I had difficulty getting attached to any of the characters. Perhaps Maliko is my favorite but he has only a small role at the beginning and the end. I do enjoy flawed characters but I had trouble discerning the nature of each one. For instance, there’s a main character who professes a great love for Samiya and later in thestory he reflects on the simpler and innocent times like the big celebration ball where he met her and all he wanted to do was violate her. Yep. Violate, as in rape. The characters use those two terms interchangeably. So I had trouble rooting for this ‘hero’ especially as he didn’t ever learn that rape is essentially a bad thing.
Samiya goes to this grand ball, feeling it a great privilege to have been invited since she is of the Madani tribe. Yet she goes there full well knowing she may be violated by a ruling Kasimo, and she counts this as a blessing and a chance to increase her value. Hmmm…. yeah. I needed a bit more to make that work for me. So I didn’t really see Samiya as a hero either though later she does become a tragic character.
All the view points are from the male characters and I felt this left an imbalance. Samiya comes off as a bit of a doe-eyed bimbo at the beginning of her tale. Her favorite things to do are please other people and laugh. To me, that sounds like something a 6 year old would say at a beauty pageant. Later she gets a little depth as we see how motherhood affects her, but even then her sensuality is the most important characteristic to the story. We are told how she has these other great abilities, like being able to do intricate math in her head. Yet we never see it. She wasn’t a well rounded character and all the other female characters have very small roles. We never get to ride around in their heads and are left to infer their inner feelings and thoughts by what they say and do. Meanwhile, we get to hang out in the guys’s heads and hear all about their appreciation of the female form, their loves and lusts, and concerns over STDs.
About half-way through the story, the pace finally picks up and big stuff starts happening. I definitely enjoyed the second half of the book quite a bit more than the first half. The characters are reaping the fruits of their deeds and not all are pleased! There’s some drama and murder and possible adultery and big upheavals. The ending was satisfying, explaining to Maliko how the Mutarobi he knows and loves came to be. All together, I give this 3.5/5 stars.
The Narration: John Hawks has a very pleasant voice and an accent fitting for this story. However, there were so many mispronounced words that I often lost track of the story as I puzzled out what was meant. For instance, the word curtsy is pronounced as kurdside, writhed is pronounced as wreathed, glowered is pronounced as glow red, etc. Also, there wasn’t much distinction in character voices and that made it difficult to keep track of who was doing and saying what. His female voices lacked femininity. Also, there were several sentences repeated in the recording. Sometimes the recording sounded like it was done in a cavern. On the other hand, his pacing was good. 2.5/3 stars for the narration.
I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by M. Lachi. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.
October 12, 2015
I really love this book ..it hooked me up.i just wanted to say that you can't resist on reading the adventure that happened.
I need more challenges like more books or series from this book .I love the author too much cause without this person this beautiful adventure wouldn't exist at all. I am very happy to reading and enjoying this story :) of course.
I need more challenges like more books or series from this book .I love the author too much cause without this person this beautiful adventure wouldn't exist at all. I am very happy to reading and enjoying this story :) of course.
October 19, 2015
A fascinating read and a book you will treasure. It is compelling from beginning to end. I don't want to give anything away so go get it and you'll love it! Karon bihari
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews