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booksthatburn's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
THE SORCERER OF THE WILDEEPS is lyrical and fantastic, with excellent prose made somehow even better by the audiobook narrator's performance. This falls into a particular category of story for me, one where it feels so good to read on a sentence-by-sentence level that I'm fine being confused by the overall story. The focus jumps around suddenly and unpredictably, with the narrative shifting more often as the ending nears.
The worldbuilding is immersive, conveying the language barrier in the gap between what Demane thinks and how stilted his speech is with the rest of the caravan. I love the way AAVE is used by the caravan brothers, forming a blend between casual speech and Demane's smatterings of technical knowledge that he keeps trying to apply to what's happening. It creates a visceral sense of the language barrier he experiences, wanting to say so much more but not having the words, or frustrated that the closest words don't carry the meanings he intends.
The ending is ambiguous, but it's clearly meant to be unresolved rather than a teaser or cliffhanger. There is a sequel, but it seems to be an indirect follow-up.
The worldbuilding is immersive, conveying the language barrier in the gap between what Demane thinks and how stilted his speech is with the rest of the caravan. I love the way AAVE is used by the caravan brothers, forming a blend between casual speech and Demane's smatterings of technical knowledge that he keeps trying to apply to what's happening. It creates a visceral sense of the language barrier he experiences, wanting to say so much more but not having the words, or frustrated that the closest words don't carry the meanings he intends.
The ending is ambiguous, but it's clearly meant to be unresolved rather than a teaser or cliffhanger. There is a sequel, but it seems to be an indirect follow-up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Colonisation, Cursing, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Animal death, War, Grief, Slavery, Racism, Sexism, Misogyny, and Vomit
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, and Excrement
janae's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I absolutely CANNOT give this less than five stars. I was absolutely sucked into a different world from the very first page. This book is slow, like thick grits, you can't just suck it all down. You have to take your time. I would re-read every paragraph two or three times, not even intentionally. Just out of pure reflex. Sometimes I didn't understand, but other times I just needed to take it in a few times.
For a lover of black queer fantasy, this was rain on dry soil.
The ending left me devastated and sad, but I can't say unsatisfied. Just full of emotions.
I recommend this for anyone who loves fantasy, black books, lovable characters, complex relationships, queerness, magic, and gods.
For a lover of black queer fantasy, this was rain on dry soil.
The ending left me devastated and sad, but I can't say unsatisfied. Just full of emotions.
I recommend this for anyone who loves fantasy, black books, lovable characters, complex relationships, queerness, magic, and gods.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia
sproutedpages's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Gore
Minor: Homophobia and Racial slurs
Use of racial slurs, use of homophobic slur.darksstars's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
What a fantastic read! I loved this book through and through. My only criticism is that I wish it had been longer. I absolutely fell in love with Demane, the main character, and wished I could have spent more time with him. But it seems the author specializes in short stories, so I believe he meant the story to be just as long as he needed it to be.
The writing was challenging at time, but I didn't mind re-reading passes to decode what had been said. If anything, it made the book more enjoyable. It made me spend more time with it and I paid attention to a lot more details I would've otherwise.
Despite the book being short, I'm astounded as how varied of a cast the author was able to establish. The brothers all had individuality, through their unique speech or behavior, even if they were only mentioned a few times.
If you pick up this (and you should) be ready for a different reading experience than you might have had before. But fear not. Let it gently take your hand and pull you along for a most beautiful trip through the Wildeeps.
The writing was challenging at time, but I didn't mind re-reading passes to decode what had been said. If anything, it made the book more enjoyable. It made me spend more time with it and I paid attention to a lot more details I would've otherwise.
Despite the book being short, I'm astounded as how varied of a cast the author was able to establish. The brothers all had individuality, through their unique speech or behavior, even if they were only mentioned a few times.
If you pick up this (and you should) be ready for a different reading experience than you might have had before. But fear not. Let it gently take your hand and pull you along for a most beautiful trip through the Wildeeps.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
stbyleth's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
I don't think I outright disliked this book but also I think I did.
I couldn't follow along with the "plot" whatsoever because the author just was not describing what was ACTUALLY happening. You know the feelings you get when you watch a movie but keep dozing off, but every so often you wake up and have this bizarre clarity about what is going on? That's what this book felt like the entire time.
"Plot" is in scare quotes because I don't think there actually was one, even if I could have followed along. The caravan was supposed to go through the Wildeeps to deliver the merchants but I couldn't figure out why this was important. The prose wasn't purple prose in the way people normally think. The prose was lacking in substance entirely. "Flashbacks" are interspersed throughout but only the barest of context clues are given to help the reader figure out that's indeed what is happening.
The characters (besides Demane and the Captain) felt distinct from each other, though, and I did enjoy their banter. Demane and the Captain might as well have been the same person. We're supposed to also believe that Demane and the Captain have been together and love each other but they have close to no interactions. I also didn't understand the casual homophobia.
I think I'm mostly just disappointed in this book. The start was strong and interesting. The summary was also interesting which is why I picked it up. For anyone who thought the same as me: You can read it, but just be warned it's not written how the summary implies it is. I don't think I'll be picking up anything else by this author.
I couldn't follow along with the "plot" whatsoever because the author just was not describing what was ACTUALLY happening. You know the feelings you get when you watch a movie but keep dozing off, but every so often you wake up and have this bizarre clarity about what is going on? That's what this book felt like the entire time.
"Plot" is in scare quotes because I don't think there actually was one, even if I could have followed along. The caravan was supposed to go through the Wildeeps to deliver the merchants but I couldn't figure out why this was important. The prose wasn't purple prose in the way people normally think. The prose was lacking in substance entirely. "Flashbacks" are interspersed throughout but only the barest of context clues are given to help the reader figure out that's indeed what is happening.
The characters (besides Demane and the Captain) felt distinct from each other, though, and I did enjoy their banter. Demane and the Captain might as well have been the same person. We're supposed to also believe that Demane and the Captain have been together and love each other but they have close to no interactions. I also didn't understand the casual homophobia.
I think I'm mostly just disappointed in this book. The start was strong and interesting. The summary was also interesting which is why I picked it up. For anyone who thought the same as me: You can read it, but just be warned it's not written how the summary implies it is. I don't think I'll be picking up anything else by this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Minor: Homophobia
erebus53's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. It chucks you in the deep end a bit at the start but any fantasy or science fiction reader would find a footing pretty quickly, as it leans in hard to it's show-don't-tell ways.
I see some similarities to (of all things?!) Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. In both we are immersed in a world explained by scientific and theoretic under underpinnings that we know we know little of, with queer love, and anime-style hyper-violent action fight scenes. I've never really been one for fight scenes or battles so the splurt and slice does little for me, and leaves me feeling a little like hardly anything relevant has happened.
The descriptions are sumptuous and creative. The author has a real handle on simile and metaphor that can make seemingly bland things seem visceral and organic. The best things in the way the story is told though, are the dialogue and the world. This is probably even more striking in the Audiobook performance. The "brothers" feel like Black American soldiers...
... kinda want to understand where those soldiers are going and what for though. The whole book feels like it left off at the end of the first chapter and you've come to your first crossing, but nowhere near the end of your journey.
I see some similarities to (of all things?!) Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. In both we are immersed in a world explained by scientific and theoretic under underpinnings that we know we know little of, with queer love, and anime-style hyper-violent action fight scenes. I've never really been one for fight scenes or battles so the splurt and slice does little for me, and leaves me feeling a little like hardly anything relevant has happened.
The descriptions are sumptuous and creative. The author has a real handle on simile and metaphor that can make seemingly bland things seem visceral and organic. The best things in the way the story is told though, are the dialogue and the world. This is probably even more striking in the Audiobook performance. The "brothers" feel like Black American soldiers...
... kinda want to understand where those soldiers are going and what for though. The whole book feels like it left off at the end of the first chapter and you've come to your first crossing, but nowhere near the end of your journey.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Medical content, Murder, and Sexual content
zed_dog's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
3.5
I loved this book stylistically— the hodgepodge of language; the weird, almost stream-of-consciousness structure (I had to rewind the audiobook a few times in some sections to figure out what was going on, but I didn’t mind); the scenes between the two lovers were deliriously beautiful—just enough suggestive description to capture a powerful, tender connection. These scenes were sparse enough that, as another reviewer said, the reader ends up sharing Demane’s longing.
The reason I’m not rating this more highly is that it turns out to be a massive case of Bury Your Gays. I can see why Ashante Wilson chose to kill off the side-gay couple for the sake of plot, because killing one gave the other a reason to leave himself vulnerable to monster attack…but I do not understand why the Captain had to die. Why does he die?? Was it suicide-by-jaguar? Was it an accident, the moment of distraction when Demane calls out to him? I didn’t get why he gave up.
Like, I foresaw heartbreak: Demane having to stay in the wildeeps to replace the evil sorcerer, and Captain choosing to leave him—it definitely seemed like Demane’s hope about persuading him away from his violent vocation was a doomed one, but I thought it would be because the Captain felt a sense of duty to keep protecting the Brothers, and would always choose to do things in the hardest, most self-sacrificing way possible—he’d never have gone away with Demane just to let himself be happy. So if the writer wanted heartbreak, they already had a character-driven way to do it—I just don’t see a character reason or a plot reason that the Captain had to die.
The reason I’m not rating this more highly is
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Sexual content
Minor: Sexual assault
rorikae's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
'The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps' by Kai Ashante Wilson is a fantasy novella that follows the 'sorcerer of the wildeeps' as he protects a caravan travelling to a distant city. Wilson's writing is evocative and it's easy to find yourself in the story with the characters. I did find the worldbuilding a bit frustrating, mostly because the novella format doesn't allow a lot of time to do the amount of worldbuilding that I believe is needed. This is a fantastical world that we get bits and pieces of throughout the story but I left the book at the end a little bit confused as to the full picture. The travels of the caravan and Demane's work to protect them fit well within the novella length but I wanted more about his past and the world that surrounds him. Some of this may have been lost in my listening to the audiobook and it may help to return to this book in the physical form in the future. I am interested in the sequel as it is clear that Wilson has created an engaging world, even if I found it a little bit hard to grasp the full scope.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Blood, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, and Racial slurs
maximauve's review
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Homophobia
willdarlingg's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I adored every second of this book. The rich world building and the many-faceted characters made reading this such a gorgeous experience, and I want more so badly. Ashante Wilson did an incredible job of mixing past and present, corporeal and ethereal, dream and reality, I was in constant awe of the writing. There was so much love and tenderness shown all these men, and it was just such a whole and representation of queerness, friendship, and otherness. The ending did take me by surprise, but it wasn't necessarily unexpected. I hope to pick up the next book in the series as soon as possible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Homophobia
The f-slur is used in one instance.