"Set in an imagined world of brutal invasions, displaced peoples, and dark powers, this visionary fable speaks to our troubled times through dreamlike prose that delivers lucid truths."
At once fable-like, futuristic and of the moment, Ben Okri’s Waking the Warriors weaves a resonantly timely tale that feels conjured from age-old myths.
As an army surrounds the country of Nevereach, a “gigantic wall rose like an apparition around the city of Mindoom”, patrolled by “the guardians of the realm, the soldiers of the dark powers that now ruled the land”. Then follows burnings and beatings, explosions and desperate attempts to flee, with Rosa among those who leave, “with no idea where she was going”.
During her uncertain flight, Rosa meets Mel and Apibus, and together they travel to find the witch of the North, who they believe can wake the warriors who can save their world.
Collectively, their names evoke the alchemical motto “Dat Rosa Mel Apibus”. Translating to “the rose gives honey to the bees”, the motto relates to the fact that thorny pilgrimage paths can lead to sweet destinations. Through the trio’s own pilgrimage, and through the people they encounter, Okri threads potently pertinent themes.
First there’s the bartender who remarks that this was “once the greatest land in the world” until “people chose bad leaders” and the “climate failed”. Then there’s the megalomaniacal leader who declares, “I hear there are people calling for me to step down.
Who are these people? They’re traitors to our country, the greatest country on earth”.
Later comes the revelation of a myth-steeped underground world, and serpent-like underground dwellers who “make powerful magic” from the skins they slough every seven years. People for whom hell was above, and heaven was below.
Exploring the abuse of power (the paranoia it engenders, and the way tyrannical leaders feed on fear), and the power of myth, Waking the Warriors comes recommended who readers who relish poetic prose that packs elemental punch, and boundary-breaking literary fiction that defies comparison to deliver allegorical truths.
When the world ends, only the underground mysteries will save us…
| Primary Genre | Literary Fiction |
| Other Genres: |
When the world ends, only the underground mysteries will save us…A great wall is rising on the horizon and a foreign army is massing on the borders of the small country of Nevereach. As invaders prepare to smash the last of the resistance, three unlikely heroes emerge from the exhausted populace.Mel, Rosa and Apibus, driven by the loss of loved ones, inspired by old stories and guided by a mysterious star, set out to save their world by rousing the sleeping warriors.
Waking the Warriors features in the following genres: Dystopian and utopian fiction, General Fiction, Literary Fiction, Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Esoteric thriller, Myths and Legends / Mythic fiction, Narrative theme: Politics, Fiction, Esoteric thriller, Fiction: Traditional stories, myths and fairy tales, Myths and Legends / Mythic fiction, Fiction: narrative themes, Narrative theme: Politics
Paperback, Hardback. £17.09, down from the £18.99 cover price. In Stock.
Waking the Warriors was written by Ben Okri and published by Apollo an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing (UK)
Waking the Warriors has 266 pages
£17.09, reduced from £18.99. In Stock.
