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  • Black Leopard, Red Wolf

  • Dark Star Trilogy, Book 1
  • By: Marlon James
  • Narrated by: Dion Graham
  • Length: 24 hrs and 1 min
  • 3.9 out of 5 stars (224 ratings)
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Black Leopard, Red Wolf cover art

Black Leopard, Red Wolf

By: Marlon James
Narrated by: Dion Graham
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Summary

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James. 

Tracker is known far and wide for his skills as a hunter - and he always works alone. But when he is engaged to find a child who disappeared three years ago, he must break his own rules, joining a group of eight very different mercenaries working together to find the boy.

Following the lost boy's scent from one ancient city to another, into dense forests and across deep rivers, Tracker starts to wonder: who is this boy? Why has he been missing for so long? Why do so many people want to keep Tracker from finding him? And, most important of all, who is telling the truth and who is lying?

Drawing from vivid African history and mythology, Marlon James weaves a saga of breathtaking adventure and powerful intrigue - a mesmerising, unique meditation on the nature of truth and power.

©2019 Marlon James (P)2019 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about Black Leopard, Red Wolf

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An Incredible Afro-Fantastic Odyssey

One of the most addictive books I’ve picked up in a long time, with a plot that seems to thicken and revel it self in equal measure as you go on. Marlon James has created a complexly crafted ancient fantasy world where distinctions between good and bad, hero and anti-hero, right and wrong are blurred indeed, brilliantly critiquing and poking fun at our ‘modern’ day conceptions and ideologies. James has a great ability of telling stories within stories and this fantasy realm seems to have enough myths, tales and intrigue for many more novels to come.

Stuff of champions.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A total headfuck

Took me a while to really work out what was going on and work out the author's style. Glad I stuck with it but I am sure there are bits that went over my head

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • w7
  • 20-02-19

Unable to listen

I find that another reviewer was spot on: the reader's fake Russian accent and overacted sense of drama and foreboding are unbearable. Will get the print version to read.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

In turn both beautiful and disgusting...

Where to begin?

This is dreamlike prose; bloody and gorgeous and obviously offensive to some. (It’s 2020 people. Read some Burroughs for Christ’s sake!!)

This reminds me of the Vorrh, China Mieville, Jeff vandermeer... it’s meandering but punctuated with enough jarring incidents to keep the listener riveted.

I had no issues with the narrator’s accent and genuinely thought it brought authenticity and flesh to the tale. Even the long train-of-thought monologues were gorgeous to listen to, if a bit head ache inducing at times.

The book is an experience, like a play, a journey. So visual.

It’s an adventure, but not in the overdone format of the hero arc; indeed by the end most messages and lessons are well up in the air for debate! It’s certainly unclear if who our “hero” is anyway.

Marlon James weaves African bush fairytales with nightmarish characters and head spinning imagery the whole way through.

Try it, if the audio book doesn’t work then give the novel a go.

Brutal, meandering, stunning.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Hard to Understand the Narrator

I made a mistake buying this one. While static at home, with my earphones in, I could understand the narrator if I concentrated.

If in the car or any other environment where the sound wasn’t very clean, it is VERY hard to understand well enough to stay with the story. I finally gave up.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

mostly just obsessed with genitals

The only redeeming grace is that the raw energy, well suited to the African Savannahs, is a refreshing change to much other fantasy that is all too often patterned on courtly love in medieval European settings.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Cannot understand the reader

I have no idea if it is any good. I can't understand the reader. His accent is so heavy, that despite starting twice, I quit in minutes. I just hope Audible accepts my return.

I should note I am not the only one making this complaint. Accent adds flavor to a reading, but the reader should not be expected to strain and rewind to hear what is being said.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Heavy going

Reads more like a collection of ideas loosely strung together than a coherent story.
The heavy accent and acting of the narrator adds something, but can make an already difficult book very hard to follow at times.
Not like anything I've read before, so interesting in that sense

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

wonderful prose for a confusing/frustrating story

Fanatastic audio perfirmance helped get through this frustrating book. Confusing story pretty hard to get through and difficult to understand. felt almost like torture porn

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing

Overall amazing.

The Narration was amazing. The writing superb.

The characters were beautiful and tragic. An absolutely fresh and exciting listen.

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1 person found this helpful