Customer Reviews

Imaro

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Imaro by Charles Saunders fills a big hole in the world of Fantasy.

In Imaro Saunders brings to life a true, archetypal African hero. This could quite possibly be the first of its kind in western literature and it is long overdue. Imaro is an outcast, born to a mother cut loose from her tribe. She returns her young son to his tribe for warrior training. Though the boy is mistreated he grows to be the greatest warrior in a tribe filled with great warriors. He is treachorously cast out again from his people and Imaro faces lions, crocodiles, magic and madness in his wandering quest.

The novel is basically a series of short stories (put together in true Bob Howard fashion), but Saunders does a splendid job of weaving the stories seamlessly together. Though violent, this is an important book. Modern fantasy is seriously void of archetypal black characters that are strong, moral and have real love interests. Imaro is the inner warrior that has been written about by countless authors: Tarzan, Doc Savage, Conan, etc. However, this character is African. A man that young black males can see looks like them.

Averall Imaro is an entertaining read and must for anyone interested in larger-than-life fantasy.

I read it about ten years ago , so i'm a little fuzzy on the plot , I do remeber it being a great rite of passage story as the young Imaro progressed into manhood battling dark and evil magics, and a race of African Giants. At one point he is enslaved by the giants. The best stuff to compare the Imaro books to is Robert E. Howard's Conan series. Imaro is unabashedly a Black Conan with a flavor and vitality all his own in a richly described setting. It's too bad that the books were never reprinted because they are extremely good and deserve to be available to a wider audience.

I have been fascinated by Africa since a child. I watched every movie and documentary I could and read what few fictional books there were as well as the non-fiction. For the longest time I never really minded that there were no black heroes in these as I was transposing myself there anyway. However as I grew older I felt that lack finally. I had a good appreciation at this point for African culture and wanted to be inside looking out in my stories.

Then Imaro appeared.

Now I had my African hero to follow, and best of all it was in my favorite fictional genre! Also Mr. Saunders was will to show Africa in all her glory: with the proud Ilyassi, heroic warriors and grand landscapes. And with all her warts as well: tribal warfare, genocide, slavery. All that went on in Africa in her past and sadly going on today but it never detracts from that glory and richness. Imaro himself is a hero that can be both noble and cruel (as need calls), much like his home continent, and just as indomitable. In Imaro Saunders has also a "living" symbol of his ancestoral homeland that is also above so much that makes it a land of todays suffering: A man with no tribe, thus all of Nyumbani is home. If only...

I don't know if Saunders meant such to happen. He says he simply wanted a fantasy placed in a fiction representative of his ancestoral homeland, with a uniquely African hero, but it's how its turned out for me.

Beside being a great sword and sorcery tale, "Imaro" is a window into what could be if only more tried their hand at other such non-Western heroes. Franky I'd like some decent versions of such these days!

This is a good one! So far, Saunders has written three Imaro books. Each is better than the last. He's also written short stories of a Dahomean Amazon warrior for the series "Sword & Sorceress", edited by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Saunders is one of the four real writers of African descent in the S/F-Fantasy realm; I wanna see more!

The original novel published in 1984 has been updated with two new chapters, and tons more characterization and content.

The novel is set in a fantasy version of Africa called Nyumbani, and our hero the warrior Imaro struggles to come of age despite the all-seeing dark powers arrayed against him.

This is one of not many fantasy novels with a world based on pre-colonial Africa instead of medieval Europe or Asia. That alone made it very interesting for me to read. Saunders shows off a rich knowledge of African culture, particularly that of the Masai (on whom Imaro's home culture is based). It's also fun reading in the way Robert E. Howard's Conan stories were. Finally, I loved how Tanisha, Imaro's love interest, was very dark-skinned, which goes against the tradition of making the attractive black female lead lighter-skinned.

I look forward to reading the next installment in the series.

Imaro's mother surrendered her five year old son so that he could become a great warrior of the Ilyassai tribe. His mother's people treated him with disdain and ridicule. Through it all, Imaro grew to be the biggest and strongest of the Ilyassai children. When he reached manhood and the time had come for him to truly become an Ilyassai warrior and be accepted by his mother's people, an evil magician strip him of that reward, spiraling Imaro's life into a world of slavery, murderous thieves, and black magic.

Charles R. Saunders takes the reader through an Africa untainted by Europeans influences, whose history is quite different than the one we have always known. Imaro is to become a great warrior in a world he doesn't feel he is a part of. Through his adventures, Imaro becomes a threat to enemies who work within the shadows and manipulates the weak willed and innocent to do their bidding. Imaro soon realizes if he is to survive, he must take the battle directly to the evil that plagues him.

Imaro is a must read novel and is the first book in a series. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the sequels and continuing with the further adventures of Imaro.

The Friday House

Xiii

Lost Hours

Nice to see this back in print... but also revised with a promise of the series being completed.

Others are commenting on the stories themselves, I thought I would add some additional information on this particular edition of them.

Night Shade Books has done their usual excellent job in putting this together. The cover art is exceptional, especially in comparison to that of most fantasy novels, being both appropriate to the subject matter, and a truly nice piece of work (Amazon provides an enlarged image for a better look). The cover's design is equally attractive and only compliments the artwork. The pages themselves are of good stock (Hardcover/TPB quality paper, not Mass Market Paperback) and the print/font is well chosen and consistently clear.

As stated on the copyright page, this new version has been significantly altered by the author. These alterations arent simple revisions but a greater development of the original tales, resulting in characters and stories being rewritten, along with whole new sections added (as Saunders explains in his introduction, he felt one major change was necessary at the beginning and this initial alteration caused a ripple effect which will impact the entire series). Much effort was put into this by the author and the result makes better that which was already good.

Besides the Introduction by Charles De Lint and Afterword by Benjamin Szumskyj, there is also an 8 page essay entitled "Revisiting Imaro" by Saunders, where he talks of how this new edition came about and the revisions he made (and why he made them, which include very valid social concerns), while also commenting on how "Imaro" got started in the first place.

A very handsome edition... worth it to both those new to the series and to those who already own the original.

I'll keeopit short. the book is a GREAT start to this series. To think it was almost never revived is a shame. Charles saunders is masterful in creating this charcter. Imaro was once tabbed as the black conan or tarzan or watever. But Imaro is so much more developed than either.

Pick the book up and get engrossed in Imaro and Nyumbani... I bought this and quest for cush...

Its a shame that the 3rd book is only available through an outside seller on amazon and 4th book Naama war is not available through amazon at all. And none of the foure are available on kindle

Come on Saunders get on it

Premise

Imaro is a bastard child, his mother leaves him with her tribe , and fights to gain acceptance. He leaves eventually, to find his place among different people. But supernatural forces will interfere.

Review

Tired of European style heroic fantasy? Look no further than Imaro by Charles Saunders. Instead of a European style setting, it takes place in an African style setting. Exciting right? Saunders was inspired by Africa, and the many African myths, and has used them to make an entirely new and exotic locale for his tales. It'll change your mind about the Sword & Sorcery genre forever.

Imaro is not just a barbarian: he is a human, not another invincible Achilles we see so much of in fantasy nowadays.

Like all S&S stories, you won't be surprised by blood , swordplay, and power mad sorcerers. And don't forget femme fatales.

There are no lulls in the plot, it'll keep you interested until the end. Recommended for fans of Robert E. Howard, Michael Moorcock, Homer, and Fritz Lieber.

I give Imaro 4 out of 5 stars...