The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I enjoyed this book and would recommend for people that like an up-market, even literary, take on their science fiction/fantasy. Specimen Days comes to mind as a comparable in that regard, although that is quite an old title. A few, essentially structural, issues made it a less engaging reading experience than it could have been for me.
This novella is a close third-person account of a trade caravan’s journey through an Africa-like fantasy world. Our POV character is Demane, an outsider, who is the group’s healer. He’s no slouch as a fighter and is even a diplomat at times, despite not speaking the native language of the region.
On the surface, this story is about the journey, particularly the miles that traverse the Wildeeps, a mysterious, magical (and not in a good way) jungle. The caravan hears rumors early on about a dangerous beast roaming the Wildeeps to attack caravans.
The language is amazing, the setting is wonderful, and the characterizations quite real. Interest in Demane’s voice and personal story keeps the reader on board through quite a lot of exposition. Of note, there are many named minor characters with lines. The book does a good job of differentiation by giving them unique voices.
My way into this story, however, was to recognize it is actually a romance. Demane loves the group’s captain. The novella unfolds his feelings and the two men’s relationship gradually and skillfully. (Not a spoiler: the “beloved” relationship is in the book description.)
This romance prism was necessary for me because otherwise the tale makes no structural sense. The inciting incident of the story is a target practice drill scene between Demane and Captain. We go another 100 plus pages observing Demane’s reactions to the Captain’s various actions and decisions. In this period, we also learn something of Demane’s backstory, a bit of Captain’s background, and hear rumors about the creature of the Wildeeps. I appreciated the slow reveal and congratulated myself on figuring stuff out about Demane and this world. And then, a huge info dump occurs mid-book. Cool, unique world building, but still . . .
The structural problem I had with the first part of the story: There isn’t an actual antagonist blocking the protagonist’s early plans and actions, neither looking at it as a romance nor as an adventure story. It’s the daily life of a caravan’s guard troop, basically. Demane gets mad at Captain at one point, briefly. They easily hug it out.
The last quarter or so of the book deals with the “adventure” and is structured more traditionally (Demane and Captain: “We’ll save the caravan.” Monster: “I’ll eat that caravan, thank you very much.”) and is totally engrossing. It ties together all the apparently random threads of the first part—Demane and Captain’s relationship, their backgrounds, and the menace of the monster in Wildeeps.



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