First, the author and stuff…
Gurl, I found the author using Google. *shrugs* I can’t lie, won’t lie about something this serious. I dig Urban Fantasy. I get it if YOU don’t get it. Urban Fantasy is when you take current events and mix in swords, magic, demons, angels, religion affects the physical level, that kind of stuff. Of all the novels I have read, Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files is my favorite. When I ran out, I Google’d ‘Urban Fantasy + Black authors’ and took off from there. Knights of Breton Court was among those on the list and the preview blew me away. King Arthur remixed with the birth of Indianapolis street gangs? SHIT Dawg, I signed up. Where? When? Let me in. It took a long time to get my hands on it because I don’t read as much as I would like and I couldn’t find it on ebook. I finally bought it, paperback, full set, and got ready to dive in. *sigh* Wait. First, the author isn’t JUST Black. The King was born of Jamaican descent, in London, England, but raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. *mind blown* I’m Black too, born and raised in the South SOUTH of the United States; I appreciate the perspective of other Blacks, Browns, Natives, and all other minorities. This? Maaaaan, you can ask my Queen, I was so ready.
I don’t wanna spoil nothing buuuuuut…
I’m at a loss for words. I don’t even know where to start. It took me forever and a day to finish the first book of the series. I won’t go back for more. Nope, not another word. Well, maaaaybe just a little try, like a chapter or two. I left book one confused because there were so many characters to track throughout the story. The beginning of the book gives you a heads up on the characters, major players, prime settings, all that and all it did was scare me. I went in thinking, “Damn homie. This is a lot of stuff to be watching for.” After that, the plot took a long time to set up things. Yup, it was interesting, stuff was happening, action was going, folks dying, dope dealt, wow… I was STILL like, ‘Ok, where is the connection? I see the drug and gang part, the hood life but how is the King Arthur story going to come in? When it did, I didn’t like it. I’m cool with his writing, choice of words, selection of focus, attention to detail, that is cool beans. I was explaining to my Queen that when he describes a woman, I KNOW she is Black by how he draws the image, paints her picture, dimensions, even the passersby are thinking what my Tribe would think. Characters float in and out of the neighborhood gang culture, poverty, the awful cycles of negligence, all of that is conveyed. There are stories that had me stop reading to go research and find out if it was fact or fantasy. I like stuff like that. I just don’t vibe with how he ties it all together. I WANT TO. I REALLY DO *deep breath* but I ain’t no snitch.
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