Tale of Blood and Power: A Review of Alexander Emmanuel’s 'Scarlet' by Bizuum Yadok

Reviewer's rating: 3.5 on a scale of 5
Genre: Speculative Fiction
Award: Winner, Book House Prize 

When a book is described as 'unputdownable', then it has to be something like Alexander Emmanuel's Scarlet. For any lover of fantasy, this is the kind of mythic tale that holds one spellbound. Derived and steeped in Gikuyu mythology of Kenya, this story also enjoys the fusion of Jewish mythology and modern fantastic tales, some of which have been turned into movies. Nonetheless, this conflation of myths seasoned with the writer's creativity weaves an almost new, yet fresh narrative, which stands shoulder to shoulder with classical myths. 

The very beginning of the novel is marked by the rebellion of Gituku against the almighty Ngai, also known as The Source in Kirinyaga (probably a celestial realm), leading to the banishment of Gituku and his cohort from Kirinyaga. Does this ring a bell?

In another realm known as Under The Sky, which is similar to our physical world, Sobi and his friends arrive at the crest of the Forbidden Mountains and see the first sign of the day of Scarlet through Sobi's gift of prescience. The gory vision sends them racing to the witchdoctor. Sobi happens to be a Seku, who falls among those driven from Virgin Land by the tyranny of the Anote of the Otutus. 

Through a lengthy flashback, which could have been replaced by a back story so as to keep readers awake, the origin of the Sekus and the Otutus is told with Denka situated in the middle. Seku and Otutu are half brothers and Seku falls in love with Denka. There comes a time when Seku, Otu, and Denka go in search of diamonds and a white creature with the semblance of a winged horse with twelve legs falls from the sky. Denka goads Seku to challenge the creature. Eventually he gets to hold the reigns of the horse-like creature but fails to control it from riding with him into the heavens. Denka goes ahead to marry Otu who becomes a valiant warrior who deposes the Anote, crowns himself as the Anote of Virgin Land, kills his stepmother and makes love to her dead body in order to invoke the spirit of his dead mother. As Otu becomes more diabolic and bloodthirsty, Seku, who becomes the Lord of chivalries in Kirinyaga, is sent to fetch Otu to be imprisoned in Kirinyaga. Seku easily succeeds in his mission but he badly injures Otu, even stabbing him in the eye, before making love to Denka on the Anote's bed and then riding with the almost lifeless body of Otu to Kirinyaga. But trust me, there is still a lot more to unravel.

At this point, the spontaneous twists and turns of the narrative overwhelm the reader. You can hardly predict events in the plotline. Its suspense is further intensified by the overlapping timelines in the text; from three hundred and fifty years before the first sign of the day of scarlet to a few years before the first sign, the day of scarlet itself, and one hundred years after the day of scarlet. The story is narrated from both first and third person points of view, even though without clear demarcation of voices in rare instances. 

Scarlet is in the speculative fiction genre and has a fair combination of fantasy and horror. The phantasmagoria, black magic, cognitive dissonance, and other factors of spec-fic unarguably validate its space in the genre. Here, Nnedi Okorafor is a household name -- although her work doesn't impress me -- and Tomi Adeyemi levels up in one fell swoop, but Alexander Emmanuel Ochogwu stands to be greater if the trajectory of ‘Scarlet’ is sustained and improved upon. 

The downside of the narrative lies in the forceful gaudiness in portrayal of some events, making it somewhat difficult to glide along. This may be an impediment for an impatient reader.

When adapted into a movie, it would surely wow film aficionados, and it would become a classic if properly directed. I look forward to watching it but, to be honest, I wouldn't want to let my children watch it as children.  You should read to find out why.

Emmanuel is also the author of Omo and The Diary of a Boy Soldier. Scarlet, published in 2019, is his most recent novel.

Scarlet is available for sale at Adams Pages bookstore, Rovingheights, Pagestore Connoseurs, Bookville, Purple Shelves, Book Peddlerng, Terra Kulure, Patabah Books, Book Dealerng, Okadabooks, and Amazon. All these deliver at your doorstep anywhere in Nigeria. Or simply contact the nationwide Sales Rep. Rachael on 08057040209.

                                                 About Reviewer

Yadok is a teacher, writer and poet. His debut novel, ‘King of the Jungle', was published in 2014.