Review: African Magic Rituals... and Love
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 1, 2014
3.5 stars. There are many things to like about this debut work by a promising new author. There are interesting characters, lots of tension and suspense, a magickal element, and a happily ever after.I received a free e-copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.I did have some problems with the book. Firstly, I didn't know when/where I was. I got from the subtitle "An African Adventure" that it was set in Africa, but Africa's a big place. Time: from the beginning, when rain is drumming on the zinc rooftop (which sounds like something manufactured, in one piece), I thought it was post-colonial, along with the description of the people growing, among other things, maize, and in other places, references to ears of corn, which I believe (though I could be mistaken) was introduced to Africa in the 16th century by the Portuguese. However, the rest of the story and the active involvement of the gods in religious rituals suggests a pre-colonial time frame. It would be helpful for the reader if the author started the first chapter with some kind of place & time-clue, as I've seen other authors do: "Nigeria, Pre-Colonial Era." (And why are African people wearing a tattoo of a boa constrictor, a snake native to Central and South America?)It was difficult to tell who/what the story was supposed to be primarily about: sisters Mamuke and Sisim? a romance between Mamuke and Uwami? Wizardly/spiritual struggle between "native doctors" Zakuna and Agogo? (And why are they called "native doctors" here - is there another kind?) It felt like the story began as one thing and morphed into another and morphed into another and another, which might be perfect for some readers, more like an oral storytelling, but may be difficult for other readers to follow. It also seemed like one ritual was piled on top of another ritual, which made it hard to follow which one(s) were important.Cliches... ugh! Too many, and they gave a jarring modern interruption to the reading experience. Rather than Sinoufu "knowing the forest like the back of her hand," this is where a more experienced author might substitute something like: "knew the forest like the [insert native critter] knew how to find [insert food source].Still, I overall enjoyed the story, liked the characters (except the bad guys, boo-hiss!), and appreciated the glossary of terms included, the consistency with the spelling of names, spacing, punctuation, etc. which is often lacking even with novels from a "big" publisher. I hope this author continues writing and I look forward to more of her work.