African Sorceress: War on the Sahel, is one woman's fight against the evil Atlantic slave trade. It is based on an oral tradition story the author heard in Africa. It takes place in the 1600s in what is now Ghana. The heroine is Kisa, who we first meet in African Sorceress: A Warrior is Forged. Her village is raided by slave traders who sell their captives to the Dutch slave masters in the infamous Elmina slave castle. Kisa trains to be a sorceress and a warrior and lead her people to victory against the slavers.
In War on the Sahel, Kisa and her lover Kojo take the war beyond their village. They infiltrate the slave castle, lead a mutiny on a slave ship, take a Portuguese trading fort and build an army to fight the African slave traders who are supplying the Europeans. The action is fast-paced, the story is credible, exciting and imaginative and it's a great way to learn a largely untold history.
The story is heroic fantasy but wrapped within the fantasy are the facts of 17th century Africa and the damage the slave trade caused to the proud independent peoples represented in Kisa's Army. We meet the tribes that make up her army of freed captives, representing many distinct cultures, languages, customs and spiritual traditions. These oral traditions were just as deep, rich and complex as those of cultures with written languages.
What reviewers said about African Sorceress: A Warrior is Forged
- "Skeel has done a fantastic job taking on such a huge and largely hidden topic."
- "A really original story, unlike anything I've read before. A lot of research must have gone into this book to weave so many threads of history, anthropology, and geography into the tale. Read it for fun or read it to learn about a part of history most of us have never heard of -- either way you'll enjoy it."
- "Skeel immerses you into the world of the Atlantic slave trade from a perspective that is rarely--if ever--told. Skeel masterfully balances being as informative as any historian while being as entertaining as the best storytellers"
