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Book Review
Sep. 8th, 2023 09:09 pmMaster of Poisons
by Andrea Hairston
This work of fantasy and afrofuturism had a lot of potential that it didn't quite realize. It is set in an African-inspired empire and weaves two stories together. The first is that of Djola, minister and friend to the emperor who ends up exiled when he does not tell the emperor and his council what they want to hear regarding a solution to the encroachment of poison desert. The second is that of Awa, sold to the nomadic, nature-attuned Green Elders as a young girl, who becomes someone of great spiritual power. The two storylines eventually converge as Awa and Djola work to find a solution for the looming environmental crisis.
Master of Poisons had a lot of good aspects. The world-building was very interesting. I especially liked the Smokelands, which were a fascinating take on the spirit realm. The Empire was interesting, too, both incorporating and running roughshod over different cultural groups, and doing both good and bad things for its land and people. I do wish there had been more information about the magic in this world and how it worked. Also, the narrative occasionally skipped over large intervals of time without sufficient information. I found many of the characters interesting, but the writing did leave me feeling a bit detached from them. There was a lot of great stuff, but it needed some filling in. The story is very much a fable and allegory about the situation in 2020, with climate change front and center. It's pretty effective in that aspect.
by Andrea Hairston
This work of fantasy and afrofuturism had a lot of potential that it didn't quite realize. It is set in an African-inspired empire and weaves two stories together. The first is that of Djola, minister and friend to the emperor who ends up exiled when he does not tell the emperor and his council what they want to hear regarding a solution to the encroachment of poison desert. The second is that of Awa, sold to the nomadic, nature-attuned Green Elders as a young girl, who becomes someone of great spiritual power. The two storylines eventually converge as Awa and Djola work to find a solution for the looming environmental crisis.
Master of Poisons had a lot of good aspects. The world-building was very interesting. I especially liked the Smokelands, which were a fascinating take on the spirit realm. The Empire was interesting, too, both incorporating and running roughshod over different cultural groups, and doing both good and bad things for its land and people. I do wish there had been more information about the magic in this world and how it worked. Also, the narrative occasionally skipped over large intervals of time without sufficient information. I found many of the characters interesting, but the writing did leave me feeling a bit detached from them. There was a lot of great stuff, but it needed some filling in. The story is very much a fable and allegory about the situation in 2020, with climate change front and center. It's pretty effective in that aspect.
