It may sound strange, but from Africa, land of mysticism and sorcerers, not many authentic fantasy stories come. Sure, there are many retellings of ancient legends, or novels with magical elements, but TA LĘ is authentically fantasy in its construction and characters, while being deeply rooted in its origin and ethnic peculiarities. Once you get past some initial reading difficulties and enter the setting, the reading runs very quickly through the endless twists and turns that make up the narrative. Knowledge is the first volume of a trilogy, so that once you have turned the last page, you know you will be able to plunge back into the same world.

yep - fast paced, aweseom in depth well thought out world building.
Compelling characters and concepts that make sense

A wonderfully immersive book that holds you captivated through out! Loved the way the ancient people was perceived; I completely fell into this story and loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for this ARC!

I enjoyed this book about African sorcery. It was an interesting read and well worth the time to read. I look forward to the next in the series.

This was a very interesting book. It drew on a massive reservoir of African mythology, which was rich and nuanced and so new (to a western reader) that it was a veritable feast. The story itself was fast-paced, and poor Kobenan, an analytics expert employed at the President's domicile, is thrown in at the deep end of sorcerers and djinn, and the possible end of the world; so, too, is Joel, a young secondary-school student, whose family is targeted by aforementioned djinn. Their stories only intersect at the very end of the novel, after much adventure and grievous bodily harm endured along the way, and it is obvious that another installment is on the way.

I must admit, while the elements of the story were fascinating and exotic, the writing was rather stilted, and this made it difficult to read. It was very formal - in some cases this was quite charming, and added to the world-building - but in the action sequences it impeded the flow and led to my skipping over some passages. The final 50 pages or so, in particular, felt rushed and lacking in explanation.

My thanks, nevertheless, to Netgalley for the ARC.

This book was amazing. The world is so gripping and you are immediately thrown into this world of African Sorcery and Mysticism, I had to google a lot of the creatures that come up but it is so interesting to read a fantasy that shows creatures and concepts from African mythology. The action sequences are well written and full of suspense, although the progress of events can get a bit confusing occasionally as we experience events from the 2 different points of view and who is on what side and working with who requires a lot of attention.

However, what does stop this book getting the full 5 stars are 2 problems. Firstly the writing can sometimes be too flowery, the use of the word perceive for example and some of the dialogue is a bit stilted. My other issue with this book is the complete lack of female characters other than an abstract concept to be rescued, this is frustrating but as this is the first book in the series and was mostly about Kobenan and Joel being thrown into this world I am hopeful that this will change in future books.

I look forward to the next book and hope that there will be more female characters.

This book may be great but I ended up not finishing it. I had a hard time getting into the story. I think this may have been a good book at the wrong time for me.

*3.5 stars

The blurb here on Goodreads doesn't fully picture the massiveness and extent of this book's plot and world. Although Kobenan is most definitely a central character – especially in the first third of the novel, where he is given plenty of screen time and focus as a person, not as an element of the story – his plotline eventually dissolves as Joel, a character not even mentioned in the blurb, takes the spotlight. What I'm trying to highlight here is the fact that this is a very vast novel, with an endless amount of content and characters to engage any reader.

While this may be a good thing, it also did, at times, cause confusion: on occasion I'd find myself lost as to the sheer amount of information I was constantly being provided with, new facts and details that until then had not even been mentioned in the story. This caused me to sometimes be overwhelmed, unable to properly follow the plot and the characters as I might have liked.

Then again, each character and species getting their fair share of culture, history and backstory, meticulously arranged and presented in a descriptive yet straightforward writing style, does give a reader plenty of food for thought. The story was wrapped up well, too: one important thread from the plot was tied neatly and another left hanging, waiting for a sequel to follow it to its rightful end.

What I would personally like to see from such a sequel is more focus on female characters. This novel was inherently male-dominated, with female characters either mostly staying off-page or only appearing for one chapter as important and then disappearing again.

(I would also like to see more of Kobenan. I'm a little biased towards him that way.)

[Review will be posted to blog shortly.]

Action Packed, Mysterious and Magical.....................................
Tale Series, Book1: Knowledge by Yessoh G.D. is a book full of African sorcery, magic and adventure. Although, the book needs a sequel but the still the story takes you on an bewildering ride of magic. This is my first time reading a book set in Africa, but it was an amazing experience to learn about African magic and sorcery. The cover of the book truly represents the title of the book.

I would like to give 5 stars to the book. A must read if you want to read something different and extraordinary.

A mystery that keeps you guessing. Filled with magic and evil mystical things, this book is a great ride. The African sorcery element hooked me in and I can say I was not disappointed. This is an excellent read for people who like dark thrilling books with lots of twists and turns. It keeps you guessing!

The mythological premise and the world building were incredibly unique and fascinating to me. I love all things mythological, and I'm always looking for new series to recommend to my high schoolers. Unfortunately, this reads very slow and the dialogue was not quite right. There was just something artificial about how it read. I felt myself losing attention many times while waiting for more interesting points in the plot. I would recommend this to a reader who can savor a slow build and appreciate the nuances, but for more casual readers, it might prove to be too slow.

I was intrigued by the blurb and the cover of this book, so I thought I’d give it a try. At first, I admit I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. There was a lot of description which painted a very vivid picture in my mind, but sometimes I felt that was to the detriment of the rest of the characters and dialogue. However, after a while, that changed, or I became used to it, and I was enthralled. I loved learning new things about Africa, even if it at times threw me out of the story wondering about them. This is an interesting, well-written, unique book sure to satisfy urban fantasy fans. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

This book was a surprise win for me! The author's writing style really captivates the reader and draws them in. I do feel that in some places it got a bit wordy, but I absolutely loved the plot and the magical creatures/characters! I would definitely recommend this author and this book. I look forward to what he does next!

Reading Yessoh G.D.’s novel was a delightful surprise. His writing style is enjoyable, and his African heritage played a dazzling role when developing this novel. The development of events follows the logic of a rollercoaster where the author slowly builds expectancy on what is next to then drop the reader into a pit full of monsters, sorcerers, myths, and djinns.

The author crafted this novel with the intent to push you forward into reading more and more without stopping. Sometimes, the story slowed down almost to a halt as the author develops a different storyline into the novel. Knowledge is highly engaging, cultural, sharp, and enjoyable. The characters are well created and have depth. There was not one character that did not add value to the story and the development of the plot.

Smartly done, Yessoh ends the first novel with a satisfying cliffhanger while promising more adventures and cinematic fighting scenes worth being adapted to the big screen.

3 1/2 - Stars - The world-building and story are fascinating and unlike anything that I've read in a while. The dialogue needs a little work, as it comes across as stilted. The book starts out quite slow, but quickly picks up and keeps your interest. I'll be interested to see where this series leads.