Queen of Zazzau
In a small Hausaland kingdom in 16th-century West Africa, a bloody prophecy has made the wise queen of Zazzau shield her eldest daughter, Amina, from being raised as a warrior. But headstrong, passionate Amina cannot escape learning the painful lessons of love when she falls for an accomplished war leader, and she is too courageous to cower when bellicose neighbors bring carnage to her door. When a new enemy costs Amina the future she dreamed of, she barters herself to the bloody-eyed and seductive wargod, Dafaru, for the power to protect everything she loves. The consequence is to make her a creature of legend; the price is steeper than she could have dreamed.
Though this is a world bristling with magic, where gods stride across the landscape and the spirit world is near enough to enter, Emuakpor evokes the human world in detail that feels utterly authentic, from food and dress and architecture to cultural beliefs and practices. Amina transforms from a strong-minded, impetuous young woman to an even more strong-minded warrior and queen, ambitious, even ferocious, but capable of compassion, fear, and regret. Emuakpor invents persuasive explanations for the stories surrounding this legendary queen, explaining her youthful beauty, her prowess in battle, the fortifications still known as Amina’s walls, and the rumors of her “temporary husbands.”
Equally compelling is a cast of female characters who are strong, dimensional, and complex; they include Amina’s mother, sister, and her bodyguard, Jaruma, Amina’s lifelong companion, shadow self, and friend who loves as passionately and fights as fiercely as Amina does. Even the bit parts, like Amina’s slave Fatima, are refreshingly free of stereotype and cliché.
Sensual, entrancing, and intense, Emuakpor’s vibrant imagining of this magnificent African queen is a story that deserves to be called epic. A truly riveting read.
