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Imaro: The Quest for Cush (Imaro #2)

Charles R. Saunders

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What Members Thought

Nov 12, 2020 Clint rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: studies-in-fantasy, sword-sorcery, dead-trees, fantasy, sword-sorcery-group-read, 2020

I enjoyed this volume more than volume 1. Like book 1, it is a series of adventures stitched together to make a novel. Book 1 takes up half the book, the other three books are much shorter. Things I liked:

- Saunders sets up what I assumed to be a battle between Bulgula and Imaro, then pulls the rug out from under the reader.

- Imaro struggles with switching from being the protector to being the protected. Later, he fears being tamed, only to subject to being so.

- I really dug Imaro being infli ...more

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Jan 09, 2023 J.W. Wright rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy-science-fiction, owned

Imaro’s lover, Tanisha has been kidnapped. On top of this, he knows the diabolical demon gods known as the Mashataan and their dread servants, the High Sorcerers of Naama, desire to snuff out his life, and plan total domination of the lands of Nyumbani. Storming into the nearby jungle wilderness to search for Tanisha, he happens upon a strange pygmy named Pomphis who is being tortured by sinister, barbaric warriors. Cutting down the villains, Imaro rescues Pomphis and learns of a lost city in th Imaro’s lover, Tanisha has been kidnapped. On top of this, he knows the diabolical demon gods known as the Mashataan and their dread servants, the High Sorcerers of Naama, desire to snuff out his life, and plan total domination of the lands of Nyumbani. Storming into the nearby jungle wilderness to search for Tanisha, he happens upon a strange pygmy named Pomphis who is being tortured by sinister, barbaric warriors. Cutting down the villains, Imaro rescues Pomphis and learns of a lost city in the depths of the jungle, pregnant with evil, that Tanisha has been taken to. So begins a new path of destiny for the warrior of the Ilyassai……

Imaro II: The Quest for Cush is a fix-up novel by Charles R. Saunders composed of five short stories further following the adventures of Imaro. Picking up where the first book left off, in the story Mji Ya Wzimu, Imaro is in hot pursuit of a kidnapped Tanisha, when he rescues a pygmy of the Bambuti tribe named Pomphis from the evil, sadistic clutches of mysterious dark warriors known as the Mizingus. Imaro befriends Pomphis and the little man reveals he is from Cush, a legendary kingdom of great wealth and advanced civilization. He tells Imaro he was a scholar that learned deep secrets of the history of the world, and also tells him that Tanisha has been taken into a lost city in the depths of the jungle that happens to be the lair of the Mizingus. The Mizingus come from a wicked, now-sunken empire known as Atlan, who allied themselves with the demonic Mashaatan and waged war upon Nyumbani ages ago. Imaro and Pomphis set out to infiltrate the lost city to rescue Tanisha. Mji Ya Wzimu has to be the best short story in this collection, in my personal opinion. It’s everything that an Imaro tale should be.

Mwenni is the second story in the collection, where, after rescuing Tanisha and defeating the Mizingus, Imaro finds out from Pomphis that the pygmy scholar was sent on a mission to find him exclusively, to bring him back to Cush, and to the Kandisa, their matriarchal ruler. The next stop of the three adventurers on the way to Cush is the huge metropolis of Mwenni, situated by the Eastern Ocean, where Imaro, Pomphis, and Tanisha hope to get passage to Cush from one of the sea-going vessels. Things don’t go quite as planned and Imaro ends up fighting in the local gladiatorial tournament, as well as uncovering foul sorcery in the city by the hand of another one of the wicked High Sorcerers of Naama,who are also known as the Erriten. This story is enjoyable as there is much action in the gladiatorial fights and in the final confrontation, but the whole ordeal with the ox-cart and the alcohol merchant at the beginning is ridiculously drawn out and more than a little irritating.

The third story is entitled Bana-Gui where Imaro, Tanisha and Pomphis are crossing the grasslands on the way to the port city of Moshambi, in hopes of once again gaining passage to Cush when they come upon an isolated and rather primitive tribe called the Rindille, who seem friendly, but Imaro soon uncovers their dark secret and an underground world of horror. This tale is engaging, interesting, action-packed, as well as touching.

In the fourth tale, The Bahari Mashiriki, the three adventurers reach the port city of Moshambi and hire the tough sea captain Rabir to take them to Cush on his ship, the Epesi Nyuni. But all is not smooth sailing as the vessels crew is attacked on the high seas by demonic minions of the shadowy Naamans. This makes for a satisfying high-seas adventure yarn.

Cush, the closing story is more of an epilogue that, while interesting in revealing the splendorous sights of Cush when the adventurers finally arrive there, as well as the intriguing character of the Kandisa, is not full of action like the stories preceding it.

Imaro II: The Quest for Cush might not be as high-quality as the first volume preceding it, but it is nevertheless a good and essential entry in Charles R. Saunders Imaro Saga. I give it a 4 out of 5. ...more

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Jul 22, 2014 Joseph rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: own

This is probably the best sword and sorcery novel I have read in the last decade. Granted I haven't been reading in that genre for awhile, as I did not think there were still works for me to discover that would invoke that same sense of wonder I was given when I first started reading books in this genre. Well, now I stand corrected. Charles Saunders' writing is poetic, but not overly flowery, his plotting and pacing are masterful, and his characters are interesting, varied and believable in thei ...more

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