The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps
By Kai Ashante Wilson
Our main character is Demane, a man from a place he only thinks of as the Green Hills, which seems to be a very isolated, backcountry kind of place. I say this because we learn that Demane had to learn the customs and traditions of 'civilization' the hard way and he's not entirely impressed by them. He's also a man with the blood of powerful entities in his veins. These entities are referred to as gods by the characters in the story, but Mr. Wilson has Demane using scientific terms to describe and explain his powers. Trained by a very long-lived ancestor he knew as Auntie in how to use his abilities, she gave him an education allowing him to place those powers in a proper context (I can imagine him rolling his eyes as he’s treated as a demigod and he knows he’s just a GMO…{GMO?}Genetically Modified Organism {Ohhhhh!}). Demane may be a backcountry demi-god but he's also the most educated and thoughtful man in the story. He's also the most compassionate operating as a medic for a company of mercenaries guarding a caravan about to walk through a stretch of hell. Demane joined the mercenaries for one reason, he fell in love with the Captain of the unit and the Captain, also a demigod although not as physically powerful as Demane, fell in love right back (Awwww. I bet the “meet cute” moment was adorable.). Both of them must keep their love a secret however as the society they're operating in doesn't seem to approve of men being intimate with one another (Then the queers will just have to rise up Stonewall style…) and it would be damaging to the operations of the mercenary company. I do have to note that such a relationship, whether it was same-sex or not would get you thrown right out of most modern professional militaries and with good reason (Yes, but these are mercenaries.). But rather than beat a dead horse let's talk more about that society they're in instead.
The story is set in a sort of fantasy African continent influenced by African American experiences and beliefs, much like how a lot of White American fantasy takes place in a fantasy Europe with heavy shadings of White American experiences and beliefs. For example, the mercenaries who refer to themselves as The Brothers, use the kind of slang and language we would associate with black men in the modern inner city (That’s neat! Has that slang been modified to fit the world-building? {Not really no, but I’ve seen stories where they use language lifted from westerns and it works. This also works pretty well}). Most fighting is done with spears, and while swords exist they seem to be regarded as foreign and exotic weapons. The caravan itself mirrors the trade that linked Sub-Saharan Africa with the Maghreb region of North Africa, including using salt as currency in some of its stops (Well at least we know these mercenaries are… worth their salt. Ha Ha Ha. I slay me.). In fact, at the beginning of the book, the caravan is stopping at the last settlement on the southern edge of the desert and the Brothers are all paid in salt before being turned loose on the fortress town (And we all know what mercenaries - and proper soldiers - do on libbo. That’s the reason [Naval/Marine Base Redacted] is my Zika Virus Nightmare. Marines and sailors with a mosquito-transmitted STI on shore leave...). Beyond that town, called the Mother of Waters lies the Wildeeps, a green verdant hell full of sorcerous creatures and brutal dangers into which entire armies disappear without a trace. There is, however, a way through for trade between the north and the mighty kingdom of Olorum. A single road cuts through the Wildeeps, bound and protected by magic you are safe from the native dangers of the Wildeeps as long as you stay on the road. Set one foot off the road however and you are fair game for whatever finds you or wherever you find yourself because the Wildeeps aren’t always in the same place and if you are in it, you go wherever it takes you. As part of this instability, the road itself shifts and moves (Huh. Now that’s a neat trick…) and caravan masters must be careful while traveling lest they end up being left behind by the road (Is it even possible to be careful though? Is there like, a timetable for the changes or do they just stop for the night and pray? {Demane can see the road, experienced caravan masters develop a sort of sense for it}). Despite all these dangers though, the wealth of Olorum is a powerful draw and caravans keep moving through and have learned to deal with the native dangers of the Wildeeps. It's the dangers that aren't native to the place that they have no defense against. Except maybe Demane if he's willing to pay the price to get the Brothers and their charges through to safety.
Despite the shortness of the story Mr. Wilson does an amazing job of world-building, crafting a very unique and unforgettable world. He also does a great job with characterization. For example, while we only see the world through Demane's viewpoint, we come to understand The Captain very clearly. He is a man who is hiding his full power and identity, angry at himself for past mistakes, and no longer really caring about his own welfare. He is however devoted to doing his job and doing it well, which causes Demane some pain and suffering as that means playing a role that keeps Demane at an arm's length for much of their time together. The Brothers all manage to have fairly distinct personalities from Messed Up's sullen rage to Cumalo's easy-going acceptance of Demane's abilities. He also does a good job with the relationships in the story as you can easily follow the interpersonal dynamics of the Brothers and Demane's place in them. The abilities that Demane displays are intriguing and the language that Demane uses to describe them raises a lot of questions. Like who were these gods who left, what were these towers that fell? Were they Posthumans? Aliens? Actual Supernatural beings? Things like this leave you wanting to know more about the world the story is set in and Mr. Wilson does a good job of leaving enough information in the story that everything has context without bogging things down trying to explain everything. The biggest weaknesses in the story I would say are the pacing and plotting of the story.
We don't actually get into the Wildeeps until over 130 pages into the story, leaving only about 75 pages or so for the story to deal with the actual main events and the physical conflict in the story: that of Demane and the Captain against the dangers they find in the Wildeeps. While much of the book is devoted to the emotional conflict that Demane experiences and the conflicts that arise from him and the Captain having to keep their relationship a secret by each being two different people there's no climax or real resolution to that conflict. Now that's honestly fairly realistic but it is kinda frustrating to read. I was also frustrated with how little time we actually got to explore the Wildeeps considering it's even in the title of the book and everything. What we do see is fantastic in every sense of the word and I really wish more time could have been spent exploring that environment. I honestly feel that Mr. Wilson either needed to bring some sort of climax and/or resolution to the emotional conflict going on or give more space to the physical conflict, I would have been good with either one. That said the physical conflict is handled very well but suffers for a lack of space which detracts from the weight of it in the story. Now, I'll be honest and say my solution would be to add more pages but given the circumstances the book was written in, I understand why that wasn't an option. Mr. Wilson also doesn't write the book in a linear manner, there are flashbacks to events before the start of the story and there are sequences that could be best described as visions. While I kind of enjoyed it as it helped me get into Demane's headspace as someone sees the world in a very different way then a baseline human being would, I can see how it would be off-putting to a casual reader or someone who wasn't paying close attention. Because none of these flashbacks are marked, so you have to figure out where in the timeline of the story you are through context and detail. Either pay attention when you read this book or you're gonna get lost at points. I honestly think this wouldn't work if the book was another 100 pages or so in length because there would just be too much material to work through in a non-linear manner but for the length, we're looking at, it's fairly workable.
I regard The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps as a breath of fresh air in a way. It's written from a different viewpoint than most fantasy stories and frankly, that's a good thing. The expansion of viewpoints within the authors of the genre helps keep science fiction and fantasy from becoming stale and turgid. On top of that having good stories told about a wider array of characters only increases the appeal to a wider audience and I am going to say this is a good story and told fairly well. Because I enjoyed reading it and was instantly interested in more works in the setting. Like I noted though it's not perfect and it's not something I would hand to an inexperienced reader. To be blunt, I think this is a book for people who are used to reading novels and have been exposed to books written in non-standard ways. However, it is a rewarding read and Mr. Wilson makes it clear that he is willing to put some faith in his reader's abilities by writing this way. So I'm giving Sorcerer of the Wildeeps a B+ and my hope that Mr. Wilson keeps writing in the setting.
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Red text is your editor Dr. Ben Allen
Red text is your editor Dr. Ben Allen
Black text is your reviewer Garvin Anders
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