A review by pageglue
Incognegro: Renaissance by Mat Johnson

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This prequel to Incognegro depicts Zane’s origin story. Starting out as a columnist for the social pages, he gets invited to a book launch of a white author who has written a book set in Harlem. But one of the attendees is found dead, dismissed by the police as a suicide. But Zane is suspicious and wants to investigate, but as a journalist for a Black newspaper, he doesn’t get very far. In order to get access to people and places, he needs to pass as white.

The best thing about this prequel are the characters and the setting. Zane is inspired by the up-and-coming writers of the Harlem Renaissance and wants to be a part of that scene, so it was really cool to have that as the backdrop of the story. The mystery in this book wasn’t as good as the first one. It was decent, kept me engaged the whole way through, but without the jaw-dropping gasps like the first one.