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Black Leopard, Red Wolf
(The Dark Star Trilogy #1)
by
In the first novel in Marlon James's Dark Star trilogy, myth, fantasy, and history come together to explore what happens when a mercenary is hired to find a missing child.
Tracker is known far and wide for his skills as a hunter: "He has a nose," people say. Engaged to track down a mysterious boy who disappeared three years earlier, Tracker breaks his own rule of always wo ...more
Tracker is known far and wide for his skills as a hunter: "He has a nose," people say. Engaged to track down a mysterious boy who disappeared three years earlier, Tracker breaks his own rule of always wo ...more
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Paperback, 640 pages
Published
February 4th 2020
by Riverhead Books
(first published February 5th 2019)
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Start your review of Black Leopard, Red Wolf

NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NO THANK YOU NOPE.
to say this isnt for me is an understatement, but to claim this is a book for the masses is just a straight up lie. this has been pitched as one of the most buzz-worthy books of 2019 and i had really high hopes for this. but it takes a very particular kind of person to enjoy this story, and that person is definitely not me. i have a lot of thoughts about this, so bear with me.
honestly, this is the most pretentious book i have ever read. its so fa ...more
to say this isnt for me is an understatement, but to claim this is a book for the masses is just a straight up lie. this has been pitched as one of the most buzz-worthy books of 2019 and i had really high hopes for this. but it takes a very particular kind of person to enjoy this story, and that person is definitely not me. i have a lot of thoughts about this, so bear with me.
honestly, this is the most pretentious book i have ever read. its so fa ...more

This book is a lot--a labyrinth within a maze, an enigma within a conundrum. Beautifully intense prose that doesn't allow for lazy reading. Immense physicality--a very embodied narrative. The length is... a lot. I don't mind a long book but if you're expecting this to be a traditional fantasy novel you're going to get smacked in the face. The plot is meandering and elusive. There are a hundred characters and settings. Epic is truly the word for this book in terms of scope, narrative, ambition, e
...more

Feb 04, 2018
karen
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
dear-hero-imprisoned,
oh-no-biiiiiiirds
looking for great books to read during black history month...and the other eleven months? i'm going to float some of my favorites throughout the month, and i hope they will find new readers!
oooh, goodreads choice awards semifinalist for BEST FANTASY 2019! what will happen?

as you can see, i am very far behind in my reading challenge, and this book is largely to blame. i have been looking forward to this book for a whole year, and i’d planned on spending the day of its release reading all 620 page ...more
oooh, goodreads choice awards semifinalist for BEST FANTASY 2019! what will happen?

as you can see, i am very far behind in my reading challenge, and this book is largely to blame. i have been looking forward to this book for a whole year, and i’d planned on spending the day of its release reading all 620 page ...more

book: *is an epic fantasy*
me: hm. ok
book: *is set in a fantasy version of Africa and is deeply rooted in African mythology, complete with vampires, witches, necromancers, shape-shifters and double-crossing ex-boyfriends while on a mercenary job*
me: oh shit. ohgh fuck!!!!!
me: hm. ok
book: *is set in a fantasy version of Africa and is deeply rooted in African mythology, complete with vampires, witches, necromancers, shape-shifters and double-crossing ex-boyfriends while on a mercenary job*
me: oh shit. ohgh fuck!!!!!

It seems rather simplistic to say the book isn’t enjoyable, especially since I doubt that’s what the author was aiming for in the first place, but it’s certainly no easy fare either way. While it’s sold as a fantasy novel, it’s styled more in the vein of the classical poetic tradition, an inventive and challenging blend of imagination, myth, and history. Of course, the African foundation brings with it different types of stories and forms than those which underly the Greek/Roman mythic tradition
...more

Feb 11, 2019
Tatiana
marked it as dnf
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
those who appreciate high-brow lit, NOT GOT fans
Recommended to Tatiana by:
promise of Afro-centric fantasy
I surrender.
I can handle many things as a reader:
The highly stylized, dense prose, when you don't really understand what's going on but just have to immerse yourself in a narrative until it starts making sense.
All the raping and gore and general fixation on penis as THE center of everyone's world.
Messiness of time lines.
James uses every tool in his toolbox of pretentious literary devices. If he wants to dedicate half a page to explaining that Leopard smells like ass, ok, fine, go for it (#higha ...more
I can handle many things as a reader:
The highly stylized, dense prose, when you don't really understand what's going on but just have to immerse yourself in a narrative until it starts making sense.
All the raping and gore and general fixation on penis as THE center of everyone's world.
Messiness of time lines.
James uses every tool in his toolbox of pretentious literary devices. If he wants to dedicate half a page to explaining that Leopard smells like ass, ok, fine, go for it (#higha ...more

By now, one can easily identify certain features that define the "Jamesian" style: cinematic violence, shameless sexuality, perverse, sharp humor and wit, flawlessly rendered settings, and virtuosic, rhythmic language. There is also the strong presence of the fantastic: ghosts and spirits, obeah women and demons who haunt the pages of his visceral stories.
Black Leopard, Red Wolf finds Marlon James at the peak of his powers, unafraid to shed the cloak of realism that won him the Man Booker prize ...more
Black Leopard, Red Wolf finds Marlon James at the peak of his powers, unafraid to shed the cloak of realism that won him the Man Booker prize ...more

In the middle of the book, I wanted to close it forever and HIT THE ROAD WITH MY JACK (I meant Jack Daniels bottle) DON’T WANT TO READ THIS NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE!
Or they tried to make me go rehab or read this book! And I said no, no, no (for both of them!!!!)
So I left my two stars, take my cannoli and take the longest swag from my Chardonnay to recover!
I’m not sure I’m reading the same book with the lovers and fans. Maybe after writing so much teasing reviews, the publishers start to pull pran ...more
Or they tried to make me go rehab or read this book! And I said no, no, no (for both of them!!!!)
So I left my two stars, take my cannoli and take the longest swag from my Chardonnay to recover!
I’m not sure I’m reading the same book with the lovers and fans. Maybe after writing so much teasing reviews, the publishers start to pull pran ...more

I felt oddly removed from this book at the beginning, and by the end I was crying every other page. So there's that.
...more

DNF at 40%
it's a pretty good book, I suppose. if you like them dipped in dog shit, cows piss and utterly rotten.
If i were the publisher and someone had brought this book to me, I'd have advised them to consider getting some help. I don't know what is wrong with Marlon James, but I am pretty sure something is malfunctioning in his brain. Whatever the case, I am really curious to know what was going on in his life when he decided to write this book, and what kind of head space was he in when he ...more
it's a pretty good book, I suppose. if you like them dipped in dog shit, cows piss and utterly rotten.
If i were the publisher and someone had brought this book to me, I'd have advised them to consider getting some help. I don't know what is wrong with Marlon James, but I am pretty sure something is malfunctioning in his brain. Whatever the case, I am really curious to know what was going on in his life when he decided to write this book, and what kind of head space was he in when he ...more

I read and reviewed this book for Lambda Literary, where my full review can be found; my thoughts also can be found on my blog.
Full of violence, suspense, and mystery, Black Leopard, Red Wolf charts the adventures of an unforgettable pair of mercenaries as they hunt for a lost boy. Taking place in a fictional continent based on Iron Age Africa, the colossal, six-part tale hybridizes fantasy, historical fiction, and epic. In terse but intricately constructed prose, Tracker, or “Red Wolf,” recount ...more
Full of violence, suspense, and mystery, Black Leopard, Red Wolf charts the adventures of an unforgettable pair of mercenaries as they hunt for a lost boy. Taking place in a fictional continent based on Iron Age Africa, the colossal, six-part tale hybridizes fantasy, historical fiction, and epic. In terse but intricately constructed prose, Tracker, or “Red Wolf,” recount ...more

Feb 21, 2019
Spencer Orey
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
magic-forests
Imagine the X-Men in a fantastical ancient Africa, on a wild roadtrip through nonstop magical terrors.
It started a bit slow for me, but by 200 pages in, I was hooked. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time. Can't wait for the sequels and the movie.
The violence in this book (especially the ceaseless sexual violence) can be very challenging and disturbing, but I think it makes a strong point that written violence should feel disturbing. It shouldn't be easy to gloss over the battles. Vio ...more
It started a bit slow for me, but by 200 pages in, I was hooked. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time. Can't wait for the sequels and the movie.
The violence in this book (especially the ceaseless sexual violence) can be very challenging and disturbing, but I think it makes a strong point that written violence should feel disturbing. It shouldn't be easy to gloss over the battles. Vio ...more

Mar 24, 2019
☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣
rated it
did not like it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Maniaks. Boring porn & torture addicts. Lovers of disjointed ramblings.
Recommended to ☘Misericordia☘ by:
I was deluded by GOT-themed marketing.
Eh, is this book for serious? Was everyone reading some book other than the one I did?
This is supposed to be some kind of African Game of Thrones. At least it's often hyped as such.
Instead, I got something like an obscene cross between:
~ the Aboriginal myths of the African tribes,
~ blatant YA intermixed with hopelessly flat adult situations seemingly happening on each page,
- pointlessly gorish description of a bunch of adventures happening all over the place,
~ writings of some emigree who hasn ...more
This is supposed to be some kind of African Game of Thrones. At least it's often hyped as such.
Instead, I got something like an obscene cross between:
~ the Aboriginal myths of the African tribes,
~ blatant YA intermixed with hopelessly flat adult situations seemingly happening on each page,
- pointlessly gorish description of a bunch of adventures happening all over the place,
~ writings of some emigree who hasn ...more

Now a Finalist for the National Book Award 2019
Fuck the gods!, as the protagonist of this epic would put it, this clearly is a 5-star-read, and I don't even like fantasy! James takes his readers to an ancient, otherwordly Africa, where themes of Greek and African mythology merge into a sprawling tale about the battles between different tribes and kingdoms, all of them with their own beliefs, powers, and cultures. We join our narrator Tracker, who possesses the gift of a heightened sense of smell ...more
Fuck the gods!, as the protagonist of this epic would put it, this clearly is a 5-star-read, and I don't even like fantasy! James takes his readers to an ancient, otherwordly Africa, where themes of Greek and African mythology merge into a sprawling tale about the battles between different tribes and kingdoms, all of them with their own beliefs, powers, and cultures. We join our narrator Tracker, who possesses the gift of a heightened sense of smell ...more

Blood, Sex and Magic
If you’re not put off by the violence and gross bits, then it’s a perfectly normal epic quest adventure.

The plot is like a wild run amuck-garden full of enchantment and evil. The writing is lush almost to the point texture or smell. Equally true for the sensual application of clay as for the torture by those hyena-bitches.
The narrative fragments in places, but some people like it when the camera shakes. Besides, the fellows are cute with their jealous fight and the buffalo i ...more
If you’re not put off by the violence and gross bits, then it’s a perfectly normal epic quest adventure.

The plot is like a wild run amuck-garden full of enchantment and evil. The writing is lush almost to the point texture or smell. Equally true for the sensual application of clay as for the torture by those hyena-bitches.
The narrative fragments in places, but some people like it when the camera shakes. Besides, the fellows are cute with their jealous fight and the buffalo i ...more

Feb 07, 2019
Marchpane
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
big-books,
2019-releases
Black Leopard, Red Wolf
is an epic sword-and-sorcery fantasy novel from Booker Prize-winning author Marlon James. This is not literary fiction dressed up in genre clothing! What it is: fantasy at its freshest and most exciting, deeply rooted in African history and myth.
Lone wolf Tracker and a rag tag bunch of shapeshifters, witches and mercenaries reluctantly team up to locate a missing child, encountering along the way all manner of winged demons, evil spirits, slavers, white scientists, an ...more
Lone wolf Tracker and a rag tag bunch of shapeshifters, witches and mercenaries reluctantly team up to locate a missing child, encountering along the way all manner of winged demons, evil spirits, slavers, white scientists, an ...more

Jan 28, 2019
Ron Charles
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
spooky-creatures,
special-needs
Stand aside, Beowulf. There’s a new epic hero slashing his way into our hearts, and we may never get all the blood off our hands.
Marlon James is a Jamaican-born writer who won the 2015 Man Booker Prize for “A Brief History of Seven Killings,” his blazing novel about the attempted assassination of Bob Marley. Now, James is clear-cutting space for a whole new kingdom. “Black Leopard, Red Wolf,” the first spectacular volume of a planned trilogy, rises up from the mists of time, glistening like visc ...more
Marlon James is a Jamaican-born writer who won the 2015 Man Booker Prize for “A Brief History of Seven Killings,” his blazing novel about the attempted assassination of Bob Marley. Now, James is clear-cutting space for a whole new kingdom. “Black Leopard, Red Wolf,” the first spectacular volume of a planned trilogy, rises up from the mists of time, glistening like visc ...more

I really, really, really wanted to like this. At first I was deeply engrossed, but within the span of fifty pages, I had all but zoned out. The stream-of-consciousness style of writing with an overuse of pronouns over names, stop-start stacatto style sentences and abundance of coarse sex just rubbed me wrong. The setting is rich, but almost glossed over. Characters are archetypal and dialogue is often a tedious back and forth of riddles where nothing makes sense. James frequently uses peusdo-dee
...more

OK, I'm done with this one. I tried. Adding to my DNF pile, not to be revisited. I tried the audio. I love accents and this one was a heavy accent that required a lot of concentration on my part...and constant rewinding. I also had the print which I frequently had to use when I was confused. But it seemed I was more confused reading this one than I wanted to be. It's also very, very graphic. I'm not a prude but it just seemed to me a lot was unnecessary. I was so excited for this one but I've ma
...more

I have so many feelings about this one. Can't really see myself giving it a simple 1-5 rating. Needs a heck of a lot of discussion.
...more

Not only do I not wanna finish this novel. I don't even wanna wanna.
I was so looking forward to the experience. I sang the praises of Marlon James' A Brief History of Seven Killings. I refuse to suffer another 400 pages after surviving 300 pages, nearly half a doorstopper ravaged by the most, and most graphic of, gratuitous anal rapes/assaults of men, women, boys and beasts that have ever been rammed into a few hundred pages of literary fiction.
Mayhaps, this the way of this fantasy world, bu ...more
I was so looking forward to the experience. I sang the praises of Marlon James' A Brief History of Seven Killings. I refuse to suffer another 400 pages after surviving 300 pages, nearly half a doorstopper ravaged by the most, and most graphic of, gratuitous anal rapes/assaults of men, women, boys and beasts that have ever been rammed into a few hundred pages of literary fiction.
Mayhaps, this the way of this fantasy world, bu ...more

“Black Leopard, Red Wolf” by Marlon James is the first book on the Dark Star Trilogy. This trilogy has already been dubbed in the publishing world as “the African Game of Thrones” and I will tell you why soon. The publication date for this is January 2019 but thanks to those amazing people over at Riverhead Books I get an early peek into this enthralling tale.
We meet the main character Tracker, a hunter who is know for his nose- once he catches the scent of a person he cannot let it go until ...more
We meet the main character Tracker, a hunter who is know for his nose- once he catches the scent of a person he cannot let it go until ...more

My mom got me a book of African folklore when I was a kid but she didn’t check it out very carefully, and the end of the story is that it was full of dicks. Fuuullllll of dicks. I learned a lot from that book. One guy threshes grain with his dick. The trickster Eshu-Elegba is gender-fluid with a ten-foot dick.
“It was a very sensual and sensory world," says Marlon James, who’s woven African folktales - their tricksters and their shape-changing and their dicks - into this magisterial first chapter ...more
“It was a very sensual and sensory world," says Marlon James, who’s woven African folktales - their tricksters and their shape-changing and their dicks - into this magisterial first chapter ...more

You can watch my over-excited fangirl video review here!
What a wholly-immersive wild adventure this novel is! Going into it I knew Marlon James has a talent for writing intricate sweeping tales from having read his previous novel “A Brief History of Seven Killings". That book greatly enhanced his international prominence having won the Booker Prize in 2015. That same year I was one of the judges of The Green Carnation Prize and we also selected his novel as a winner - not just for the magnificen ...more
What a wholly-immersive wild adventure this novel is! Going into it I knew Marlon James has a talent for writing intricate sweeping tales from having read his previous novel “A Brief History of Seven Killings". That book greatly enhanced his international prominence having won the Booker Prize in 2015. That same year I was one of the judges of The Green Carnation Prize and we also selected his novel as a winner - not just for the magnificen ...more

This may be an unpopular opinion.
After reading glowing reviews of this book and listening to several passionate reviews with the author about his research and intentions, I was excited to read this book. It was quite a slog for me but I kept coming back to it to try to see what others were seeing.
Around halfway, the parts did coalesce and I felt I could finally sink into the story, but it also grew in violence at this point. So I take issue with two major components - this reads like a mind-dum ...more
After reading glowing reviews of this book and listening to several passionate reviews with the author about his research and intentions, I was excited to read this book. It was quite a slog for me but I kept coming back to it to try to see what others were seeing.
Around halfway, the parts did coalesce and I felt I could finally sink into the story, but it also grew in violence at this point. So I take issue with two major components - this reads like a mind-dum ...more

DNF at 88%, which is to say after nearly 550pp.
There is so much amazing about this book. African inspired fantasy, huge sense of culture, intriguing cast of characters, lots of really chewy stuff to think about, lovely use of language, and some really striking ideas and turns of phrase (the human-centipedy equivalent of what Europeans would call 'black magic' is 'white science'). It is horrifically violent, including much on page gore, slavery, rape and child abuse of the most horrifying sort, ...more
There is so much amazing about this book. African inspired fantasy, huge sense of culture, intriguing cast of characters, lots of really chewy stuff to think about, lovely use of language, and some really striking ideas and turns of phrase (the human-centipedy equivalent of what Europeans would call 'black magic' is 'white science'). It is horrifically violent, including much on page gore, slavery, rape and child abuse of the most horrifying sort, ...more

I don’t even know where to begin...
Trigger Warnings: EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF... and then some!
(Seriously, take my review with a grain of salt— I like obscene and weird shit, and that’s certainly not the majority’s cup o’ tea. I like a multi-layered story that may seem pretentious on the surface, but deeply nuanced under the grimy film on top.)
*What follows is not a coherent review, but just tidbits I jotted down while reading:
-The first 100 pages were like a very long Prologue. ...more
Trigger Warnings: EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF... and then some!
(Seriously, take my review with a grain of salt— I like obscene and weird shit, and that’s certainly not the majority’s cup o’ tea. I like a multi-layered story that may seem pretentious on the surface, but deeply nuanced under the grimy film on top.)
*What follows is not a coherent review, but just tidbits I jotted down while reading:
-The first 100 pages were like a very long Prologue. ...more

Brilliant, disturbing, intense, elaborate and ingenious are all words I'd use to describe Black Leopard, Red Wolf. Marlon James has taken the epic fantasy genre to a new level and in a different direction that feels uniquely his own. The setting is rich with African influences, supernatural beings like I've never seen/heard of before, and a brutality that reflects what life would really be like in a society filled with shape shifters, witches, demons, zombies, vampires and so much more. Many of
...more

If a Venn diagram showing who might love Black Leopard, Red Wolf existed, I think you’d find me quite snuggly nestled in its overlapping circles of fantasy and literary fiction.
Since it was announced, I’ve been absolutely jazzed about Marlon James’ new novel. Though it was a lot of work, A Brief History of Seven Killings left an indelible mark on my literary consciousness and imagining what the man behind that novel could produce in the world of fantasy was positively electrifying.
Black Le ...more
Since it was announced, I’ve been absolutely jazzed about Marlon James’ new novel. Though it was a lot of work, A Brief History of Seven Killings left an indelible mark on my literary consciousness and imagining what the man behind that novel could produce in the world of fantasy was positively electrifying.
Black Le ...more

[4.5*] Even if it weren’t riding a wave of pre-release hype based on its author’s reputation as a winner of the Man Booker Prize, Marlon James’s Black Leopard, Red Wolf would be a landmark epic fantasy. More than perhaps any recent work in the field since Steven Erikson wrapped the Malazan Book of the Fallen, this is a story that takes the “epic” aspect of the genre seriously and takes a running jump into the deep end with both feet.
Black Leopard, Red Wolf isn’t interested in any rules but its o ...more
Black Leopard, Red Wolf isn’t interested in any rules but its o ...more
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Mount TBR 2021: February Buddy Read - Black Leopard, Red Wolf | 7 | 18 | Feb 23, 2021 01:20AM | |
The Sword and Laser: BLRW: I’m just confused | 55 | 224 | Aug 07, 2020 04:33PM | |
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The Sword and Laser: BLRW: How was your alt-read? | 2 | 62 | Aug 03, 2020 01:54PM |
Marlon James is a Jamaican-born writer. He has published three novels: John Crow's Devil (2005), The Book of Night Women (2009) and A Brief History of Seven Killings (2014), winner of the 2015 Man Booker Prize. Now living in Minneapolis, James teaches literature at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota.
James was born in Kingston, Jamaica, to parents who were both in the Jamaican police: his mo ...more
James was born in Kingston, Jamaica, to parents who were both in the Jamaican police: his mo ...more
Other books in the series
The Dark Star Trilogy
(3 books)
Articles featuring this book
While books about anti-racism are trending on Goodreads and dominating the bestseller lists right now, some of our favorite Black authors are...
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No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“Bi oju ri enu a pamo.
Not everything the eye sees should be spoken by the mouth.”
—
21 likes
Not everything the eye sees should be spoken by the mouth.”
“A man will suffer misery to get to the bottom of truth, but he will not suffer boredom.”
—
15 likes
More quotes…
Feb 15, 2021 09:06AM
Mar 04, 2021 09:35AM