“I learn to live through it. First rip the day in half, time to sleep, time to walk. Then tear it down more, then more, and more after that. Tear a day into pieces you can swallow and soon the whole thing will pass.”

Beginning over 100 years before the key events in Black Leopard Red Wolf and telling the story of Sogolon, Moon Witch Spider King is doused in the same immersive world-building and complex characters as it’s predecessor. As we trade narrators we get to see this world in a whole new way and gain greater insight into the events of BLRW, while adding new layers of complexity.

I found I could enjoy this book more than BLRW because I could understand more about how and why the events were unfolding. I felt the narrative structure was more accessible and flowed a lot better than with Tracker’s story.

I enjoyed reading from Sogolon’s perspective and I was engrossed in her journey— one filled with misery and vengeance. Another heartbreaking and epic tale set in a vivid and well crafted world.

*Thank you to Penguin UK and Netgalley for the eARC.

About the book:
Sogolon, the Moon Witch, tells the story of what happened to the boy (from Black Leopard, Red Wolf), and everything she had to endure in her search for him. There's also a century-long feud between Sogolon and Aesi, the king's chancellor. Aesi's power is immense—and lethal. It takes intelligence and gumption to challenge him. Sogolon uses her abilities and goes to any length to seek retribution. She's unwilling to bow down to anyone in this misogynistic world, even if it kills her.

My thoughts:
I'll start by saying that I appreciate that this book is told from a female perspective. There's so much to unpack here and because it doesn't follow a conventional trilogy format (it's neither a standalone nor a companion book), I'll just share my thoughts about the story on it's own.

Sogolon's journey to become the moon witch is haunting, and the abuse, as well as her grief and sorrow, capture the grim realities of today. James's writing is both enthralling and eloquent. He beautifully captures all of the drama, politics, corruption, and nuances of relationships. This is a completely riveting read, with masterful storytelling and fantastic dialogue.

I have not read the first in Marlon James's Dark Star fantasy trilogy and the search of the lost missing boy thought to be crucial to the survival of the kingdom, but it did not stop me becoming totally immersed in this ambitious and epic follow up, his world building is rich and vibrant, steeped in ancient African legends, folklore, mythology and history. It is a haunting, blood soaked, and heartbreaking read, focusing on Sogolon, an orphan, and her traumatic rage inducing personal experiences, her grief and sorrow, abused, living on a termite hill, brutalised, and her transformation into the moon witch. We learn of the long history, the constant state of turbulence, the powerful King's chancellor, the powerful, deadly and murderous Aesi, his ability to wipe memories and Sogolon's battles with him. Where women and girls are oppressed, Sogolon is the ultimate female survivor, with her own powers, willing to do whatever it takes, she will fight to right wrongs, seek retribution, bowing to n0-one, uncaring if she lives or dies in this misogynistic world.

James's writing is wonderfully captivating and expressive in this gut wrenching, unflinching, harrowing novel of political intrigue and machinations, corruption, relationships, magic, memories and truth. Yet despite the bleakness and grim realities, it manages to be an enthralling and totally gripping read, with brilliant characters and terrific dialogue. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

I hadn't read the first book when I got accepted to read this book, but I was pleasantly suprised. I was able to read this reasonably well with only a light bit of confusion at the beginning. It was well written with a good narrative that was intriguing and engaging, a great storyline, well developed characters and good worldbuilding. I really enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down, I will definitely be looking for more from this author.

The genre of fantasy fiction is not one I'd normally read but I did enjoy this nonetheless. I had to seek out the first in the series before I read this so I cold follow the story in the way the author meant for it to be followed. It's a mythical, poetic and fantastical story with an African foundation.
Lots of characters, very intertwined stories. If you love Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, then I believe you will love this.

First, I should say, I'm not a massive fan of 'fantasy' genre novels, so this one had some work to do for me. I'd read the first novel, Black Leopard, Red Wolf, and wondered how this might proceed. This second novel answers some questions left by the first: Sogolon and the issue of nature/nurture, for instance, as in the first book, her actions and thoughts were left to the reader, but in this novel, we learn how they were, in fact, prompted by her abusive background as well as a set of other circumstances. James is the master of creating atmosphere, and there really is a sense of travelling shoulder to shoulder with Sologon, which makes, perhaps, the reading of the first novel an imperative to understand what's what here. I pin great praise to the quality of the writing here though, as it's possible to read this novel as a stand-alone.

As the genre demands, there's a shed-load of mythical, magical themes, but the necessary gore is something that doesn't feel gratuitous, and is handled well. It does feel as if there is a bit of an overwriting of the 'women are oppressed, but they're strong' and I think there's room for some debate about the way that's portrayed, but clearly, there's more to come here, and I'm quite looking forward to that.

My thanks to Netgalley for the pre-read.

I am…just bereft. Marlon James has done it again.

Black Leopard Red Wolf is my favourite book of all time, so I was both desperate for and hesitant about this sequel. I knew it would re-tell the story from Sogolon’s point of view and I didn’t know whether I really wanted that, I was happy with the story as it was, right?

Wrong.

Moon Witch Spider King is more than just a re-telling. It’s a contextualisation, a deepening of the world and an expansion of the mythology, as well as an origin story to a character who dominates all the pages she’s on.

Sogolon is a character who’s tough to love but impossible not to root for as you follow her through misery and suffering and love onto ultimately a path of vengeance. The world James has created is deeply misogynistic, and to see it through the eyes of a woman who wields as much violence as is wielded against her made for fantastic reading.

This book is more interested in the politics of it all than Black Leopard was. While Sogolon herself doesn’t care for royal intrigue and power plays, she’s sucked into the world and gives us an expansive insight into the politics of the kingdom.

While the backstory elements are gripping and make for an interesting read, for me Moon Witch really comes alive in its back half. I’m not going to spoil anything, but it takes the story from a simple retelling to a larger statement on truth and memory. It takes the phrase ‘unreliable narrator’ and runs with it to the hills, making you question everything you thought you knew from the previous book.

I have so many thoughts and even more questions, and will remain on edge until the final book comes out. Until then I might have to go and re-read Black Leopard Red Wolf….

I loved black leopard red wolf, by Marlon James, and was excited to read this instalment. It did not disappoint!! I loved it so much. It was so we'll written, and I was hooked from the start

Much easier to read than the first instalment. The writer took us on a magnificent journey in to a magnificent mind. A true fantastical read.

Thanks for giving me the chance to read in advance. I wanted to enjoy it but think because I hadn’t read the first I couldn’t get into it. I’m sure it’s great but I couldn’t finish it unfortunately

A compelling tale of secrets, savagery and power.

"Moon Witch, Spider King" is the second book in Marlon James's Dark Star trilogy, described as where myth, fantasy, and history come together. In the first book, "Black Leopard, Red Wolf" , we met Sogolon the Moon Witch and also Tracker, when he is sent in search of a Boy who has disappeared. Much of the narrative was centred on Tracker. In "Moon Witch, Spider King", the narrative is mainly seen through Sogolon's eyes and offers her account of what happened to the Boy.

The events of the previous book are cleverly woven into this one and fans will love comparing the two viewpoints. It's wonderful to learn how the events were viewed by both protaganists. We also learn more about Aesi and the gods working behind the scenes. Aesi’s power is considerable and to challenge him, Sogolon needs to match that power and strength. Sogolon definitely comes into her own in this book

The world-building of this mythical African world is well done and both it and its inhabitants are well fleshed out. The imagery is bright and bold. I found the prose in the first book, "Black Leopard, Red Wolf" rather dense and hard to digest in places - not so in this sequel. The tone is much lighter when compared to the harsh voice of Tracker. The story flows nicely and the reader is drawn slowly but surely back into the tale. It's graphic in places and explicit - not always necessarily, in my opinion, but it's never dull.

That said, the book will appeal mainly to fans - I'd not recommend jumping in without having read the first book. I was pleased to receive a Netgalley ARC, and will likely re-read book one before book tow is published in March . Definitely recommended!

I dont know where to start, but I will say that this book could be quite triggering on certain subjects.

Now I have said that, I will add that this book simply must be read. There is no excuse not to, it is simply a must read!

Though I will point out that I do feel so very sorry for the main character, as I have never seen someone lose so many things in a course of a story and still continue on. It took me a while to get used to the style, though that is neither here nor there, but once I had the amazing world that was laid out before me opened up. I dont feel like I can go into any more details as I want this to be spoiler free.

Just trust me, read it!

I really wanted to enjoy this book, which is the second book of Marlon James' trilogy, but I unfortunately couldn't get into it.

I found it difficult to read, and hard to finish. Part of the difficulty is probably due to the fact that I couldn't connect to the story or the characters. There's a lot of heavy information, and I didn't enjoy how some parts were written.

Despite this, I can appreciate the world building and the descriptive language. It's evident that Marlon James is inspired by African history and fantasy, and that is seen throughout the book. The idea of the book is an interesting one, no doubt!

I imagine that the readers who thoroughly enjoyed the first book, will enjoy this one, due to the change in perspective (as Sogolon narrates), and the book has vivid descriptions and goes into great detail. Unfortunately this book just isn't the one for me! :)

Moon Witch, Spider King has all of the bloodthirsty excitement and magical realism of Black Leopard, Red Wolf, but with Sogolon as our new narrator we're able to see things with a lot more clarity. The language structure and timeline are far more cohesive and Sogolon's narrative is a breath of fresh air after Tracker's sexism and brutality (but don't be fooled – she's also dealing with brutality and sexism, just from the other side). Fans of the first book won't be disappointed.

Initially I was concerned about The Dark Star series being three tales of the same story, but James has managed to avoid repetition by having Sogolon's story start many years before Tracker's. (For context: it is roughly 640 pages and we only join the search for The Boy around the 500 pages mark.)

It was interesting to be introduced to the backstory of the royalty, and we got a lot more detail about the Aesi and the gods working in the shadows. Even once the search for The Boy had begun, because the group often split up, there were a lot of unique perspectives and nothing felt too repetitive. The scenes that had to be included in both renditions were also fairly brief and thus managed to feel more nostalgic than annoying.

The final section worked to pull the threads of the stories together – and it was interesting to hear Sogolon's take on Tracker's story, calling him out where he'd been lying and confirming him as the unreliable narrator we all knew he was.

James has created exactly what he set out to do – an epic fantasy on the scale of LOTR, with a truly unique voice that refreshes the genre. I'm already keeping an eye out for the third instalment, and wondering whose side of the story we'll hear next.

I wanted so badly to enjoy this series more than I have! I think that is most probably due to it not being for me. I love how epic, poetic, and expansive it is, but I just couldn't get hooked in the way I wanted to.

... I couldn't finish this book. I wanted *so* badly to like James' writing, but I felt the lyrical prose required more work to get through and understand than the story was worth. Also quite sexually explicit without adding to the story imo. Absolutely gutting as the premise was fascinating. I'd like to give James' writing another go in the future for sure.

This is an epic undertaking to read. The second book in the Dark Star trilogy which has been described as an African, 'Game of Thrones'. I have no idea if this comparison is fair, never having read Game of Thrones, but it is a huge, fantasy saga that spans tribes, countries and peoples all at war with each other and forever splitting into armies and factions. I hadn't read the first book before reading this one. Black Leopard, Red Wolf is the first book and concerns a character called Tracker, who recounts his life story to one of his captives.

Tracker appears in this book, which features another of the characters of the first book, the Moon witch, Sogolon, who is also telling her life story. I don't think you have to read them in order for them to make sense as the narrative is not always linear and the timelines of both books are roughly the same, although Sogolon's story seems to move the plot on somewhat.

I will be honest and say that I found this really hard going. You have to concentrate and figure things out for yourself and I found myself having to go back and re-read certain sections to see if I had fully understood them. I'm still not sure that I have.

Having enjoyed Black Leopard, Red Wolf, I was interested to see where Moon Witch, Spider King would take us. It was certainly fun to experience Sogolon's backstory and see her perspective of her encounters with Tracker, which we saw from his POV in book one. It was also great to get a female perspective after the masculine world of Black Leopard, Red Wolf. Initially, this volume had a clearer narrative arc than book one; however, as the stories merged towards the end, things became a little less distinct, so you had to pay careful attention as you read. I continue to be intrigued by the world building and myth of this series, and I am keen to see what will happen in the concluding volume.

(This review will go live on my blog and Goodreads (links below) and be shared across social media on 28 Feb 2022.)

I found MWSK far more accessible than book 1, because it has a (mostly) straightforward narrative structure without compromising on its distinctive style. I also found a female perspective to be refreshing in what is a hypermasculine and quite unpleasant world - Sogolon is suitably complicated and has a satisfying (if horrifying) arc. However, the latter phases, where it interweaves with the series' plot as a whole, get far messier: the structure becomes less clear, there are so many things to remember, and it just feels like Sogolon witnessing someone else's story. This made the final run of chapters quite slow and a little unrewarding. But overall this has convinced me on the importance of this series, making me eager for the final instalment, but also just excited to revisit Black Leopard, Red Wolf. This will always be a challenging read, but deservedly so.

Moon Witch, Spider King is the second part of a trilogy. I love the narrative voice of Sogolon the Moon Witch as she navigates her way through the mythical African landscape; she's such a bolshy, intriguing, no-nonsense character (which makes sense for someone who is 177 years old..). I thought it was really clever how this second book is the story of the boy's disappearance from her perspective. Having not read the first book (Black Leopard, Red Wolf), it took me a chapter or two to understand the world setting and plot but by the end of the book, I felt like I had a full grasp of the world and cannot wait for the third in the series!! The world building is exceptionally well done and feels authentic and consistent throughout. I really enjoyed the relationship between the Moon Witch and the Tracker as they battle personalities. I wonder if we might see it from Aesi's perspective next?! Either way, I will be reading the first book now and recommending the second on publication day!