Moon Witch Spider King by Marlon James
In Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Sogolon the Moon Witch proved a worthy adversary to Tracker as they clashed across a mythical African landscape in search of a mysterious boy who disappeared. In Moon Witch, Spider King, Sogolon takes center stage and gives her own account of what happened to the boy, and how she plotted and fought, triumphed and failed as she looked for him. It’s also the story of a century-long feud—seen through the eyes of a 177-year-old witch—that Sogolon had with the Aesi, chancellor to the king. It is said that Aesi works so closely with the king that together they are like the eight limbs of one spider. Aesi’s power is considerable—and deadly. It takes brains and courage to challenge him, which Sogolon does for reasons of her own.
Both a brilliant narrative device—seeing the story told in Black Leopard, Red Wolf from the perspective of an adversary and a woman—as well as a fascinating battle between different versions of empire, Moon Witch, Spider King delves into Sogolon’s world as she fights to tell her own story. Part adventure tale, part chronicle of an indomitable woman who bows to no man, it is a fascinating novel that explores power, personality, and the places where they overlap.
The first book in this series had me kinda feeling it and kinda not.
I wasn’t quite sure if I enjoyed the read or if I didn’t.
This sequel though was a VERY different experience!
I loveddddd it and enjoyed it SOOOO much more than the first one in the series.
Maybe because it is told from a female perspective–a STRONG one for that matter–and I just felt MUCH more of a connection to her than I did to the main characters in the first book.
I also thought it was easier to follow–everything just flowed better.
Sogolon is a POWERFUL force of a woman, yall.
She is a fighter and warrior in ALL ways possible.
She takes ZERO SHIT from any human (ESPECIALLY men) OR any mystical force for that matter.
She fights against every single gender role and expectation placed upon her that sees her as “less than” or “unworthy”….she REFUSES to succumb to any male standard set for her. She finds her own way and her own power and makes her own decisions.
It’s interesting because in the first book you only see her as an adversary…as a “bad guy” per se…
But this book sheds light on the age old theory that you never know someone’s full journey until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.
FACTS.
And look…I ended up liking her WAY more than I liked Tracker or the Leopard from the first book.
The narration of this audiobook is done by Bahni Turpin, who has narrated several other books I have listened to over the past couple years. She is freakin’ PHENOMENAL just like the male author of the first book, Dion Graham. She made this book SO compelling and captivating….she is SUCH a tremendous storyteller!
Something else I loved about this book was that the characters use profanity PERFECTLY.
I know that may sound strange but hear me out on this—sometimes I feel like in entertainment (AND in real life) people tend to curse for no good reason or just to be extra.
Which in my opinion is no fun at all and takes away all the power and spice curse words bring to our dialogue.
Now listen, yall KNOW I am not a stranger to dropping some f bombs in my daily life…and I’m totally fine with LOTS of profanity use🤣….but they gotta pack PUNCH.
Not just saying words just to say them.
Using profanity without a purpose and just for the sake of it ain’t my jam….it kinda falls flat and loses all the energy it can bring.
Words like “bitch” and “fucking” can be the most PERFECT adjectives or nouns or expletives and in THIS book, they are used in EXACTLY the best ways at EXACTLY the right times…they bring what is needed to many powerful and necessary and sometimes humorous moments.
Profanity perfection, yall. Love it. I strive for it. This has it.
This story–like the first book–is dark, mysterious, mystical, magical and thrilling. It also has biting humor, emotional roller coasters, intense story telling and real life learning.
There is strong dialogue between the broad range of characters and very vivid imagery of the numerous landscapes and settings they travel to.
This book–just like the first–is a mix of African mythology, African history and the author’s fantasy world.
Still super fascinating to read.
The male author did an impressive job of writing from a woman’s perspective, which is REALLY REALLY rare…actually almost NONEXISTENT in my opinion.
Some of the sex scenes he didn’t get *quite* right, BUT he did WAY better than most do and I gotta admit, for the most part was pretty spot on.
WELL DONE, sir. 👏
The last 1/3 of the book other familiar characters from the first book pop up…I was wondering when they would make their appearance and it was cool to remember the scene when they did.
I admittedly DID get a little lost at the end of the story….but it was all good.
I did find my way back by the ending. 🤣
This book was TREMENDOUS, my book loving friends.
There is one more book in this trilogy that has not been released yet.
My opinion after the 1st book was that I was indifferent about making it to the 3rd….but this 2nd installment TOTALLY changed my mind!
I can’t wait til it’s released….and I can’t wait to see what character’s POV is next….