Why Marlon James calls his epic fantasy an African response to Tolkien
In short: Marlon James designed his Dark Star trilogy to create a sprawling landscape of African myth and history for others to explore, much like J.R.R. Tolkien did for Britain. By rejecting the idea of a single authentic version of events, James challenges the conventions of traditional Western epic fantasy.
Published in 2019, Black Leopard, Red Wolf is the opening installment of the Dark Star Trilogy. The narrative follows a tracker with a supernatural ability to follow any scent as he navigates a world inspired by the geography and political tensions of pre-colonial African empires, including Mali, Songhai, and Ghana. The story is told through non-chronological flashbacks, with the protagonist recounting his journey to interrogators in the South Kingdom.
James structured the trilogy to mirror the fluid, unreliable nature of African oral storytelling, where multiple, conflicting accounts of the same history are given equal weight. Inspired by the television series The Affair, James intends for each book in the trilogy to present the same events through the eyes of different characters. The second volume, Moon Witch, Spider King, released in 2022, provides the perspective of the sorceress Sogolon, while the third is tentatively titled White Wing, Dark Star.
The novel is noted for its frank exploration of queerness and its refusal to offer the reader a comfortable, unified meaning. Critics have described the work as a difficult, linguistically daring text that rejects the escapism typical of secondary-world fantasy. James argues that the pervasive queerness in his world is an accurate reflection of African societies prior to the influence of evangelical Christianity. His writing process, which began in 2015, involved two years of research into pre-Christian and pre-Islamic religious traditions.
While early marketing dubbed the series an African Game of Thrones, reviewers have suggested the comparison is inaccurate. Instead, some critics liken the experience to a fusion of Toni Morrison and Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The novel’s uncompromising depiction of violence and its nihilistic philosophy have sparked significant discussion, with James maintaining that the suffering depicted in his work is an essential, if difficult, component of the story.
Opens the Intellect+ feed with this card first. Swipe up for the next one.
Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Black Leopard, Red Wolf
To cite this card, link to https://intellectplus.co.uk/app/culture-black-leopard-red-wolf.
How we source, check and correct cards: Editorial standards.
General information, not professional advice. Spotted an error? Flag the card or see corrections and complaints.
Intellect Plus is a visual educational discovery platform for exploring fascinating facts and ideas. Brain Food, Not Brain Rot. What is Intellect Plus?
Related
More in Languages · More in Cultures · Latest · A–Z · All topics
