The series African Sorceress is set in the 1600s in what is now Ghana. In volume 1, A Warrior is Forged, the heroine, Kisa, grows up in a village hidden in the forest from the slave traders who were ravaging the countryside for victims. After the slavers find the village for the first time, the old village sorceress, Grandmother, trains Kisa to fight them with the help of magic and sorcery.After … sorcery.After the second raid, when Kisa’s beloved father is taken, Grandmother enlists Kisa with the help of the Black Samurai, who returns from Japan to train Kisa to be a warrior. When the slavers return for the third time, Kisa and the villagers are ready, and the war against the slave masters begins.What if there was a great African sorceress who tried to save her people from the slave traders? How would we know from conventional history, which teaches only a white- and male-centered views of history? Africa does have a history and quite an amazing one. And what if women were not always suppressed? And what if their powers were of the earth, water, wind, and fire and not just witch doctor hokum?This book is historical fiction. The history of the Atlantic slave trade is history. As for the great prophetess who I heard about from one man in Africa, who knows? For me, she has come to life in the person of Kisa. If you like heroic stories set in real historical times, read this book.
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Welcome to Freakish Friday my Fellow Book Dragons! Our Gem this blustery evening is one never seen here before. Let me get it from this palm wood box and I will show you. It is wrapped in this piece of leopard hide. Here we are. Feel it’s smoothness, worn by 400 years of existence, the small chinks here and there from the battles it went through. No, you are correct, this is no ordinary Gem, this is an elephant’s tooth from the necklace of the great Kisa, African Sorceress and Defender and Protector of her people. Her tale was brought out of Africa by Gem Maker M.E. Skeel who recorded it from a man in Africa.
This is the tale of Kisa, who learned the ways of medicine, magic and military defense of her people from the Sorceress of her village and a Japanese Samurai. She was a chosen child, set apart from the others because of a great sense of curiosity, a sensitivity to her environment and the Sorceress could see the gift in her. She takes Kisa under her wing and begins to mold her, teach her, shape her. She helps Kisa to understand her Spirit Animal when she sees it, to learn the magic, to understand her history, to call on the gods and communicate with nature.
Kisa learns her lessons well and it is a good thing because evil is coming to her tribe. Slavers. They capture, they sell. At one point Skeel breaks off to give a lesson in Slavers and the reason for it. It is very well done, but I believe it could have been done a bit better by incorporating it into the story, rather than making it a separate part, as Alex Haley did in “Roots“. It became a bit academic for me. But it is vital information to understand.
Kisa and her people are realistic. The conversation is original and solid. There is no modern lingo and it too, is realistic. Characters like the Black Samurai are very believable and there are no wasted voices here. I can see Africa when I read this book. I can see these people. My imagination suspended reality and I was there.
I loved Kisa. She is strong, she is intelligent, she loves her people. She is all woman and she is all warrior. She is one of the best heroines I have read in the last five years. Bravo, Ms. Skeel, bravo! I am saving this book for my grandchildren. I know they will want to read of her as well.
Until tomorrow, I remain, your humble Book Dragon, Drakon T. Longwitten
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review and then I purchased a copy to keep for my grandchildren.
Kisa, the African Sorceress may be a story passed down through the centuries but it fits well with some of the present-day female movie heroines, such as Moana, Wonder Woman, and the warriors of The Black Panther.
M.E. Skeel has done a masterful job of weaving together a captivating story rich in history, tribal hierarchy, family tightness, adventure, life challenges, love, life passages, injustices, annihilation, passions, training and energy forces.
Skeel keeps the story moving quickly. As a reader, I was drawn into the plight of the native African people. It is so heart-wrenching to think of people being capable of such atrocities. This book reveals the length of time and heart ache that touched village after village throughout Africa. A very interesting read.
I recommend this story for both adolescents and adults. I read it straight through cover-to-cover because I was so captivated and caught up in the legend.
Really great fiction which I usually don’t read much of in recent years!