"This exhilarating West African-inspired fantasy sequel is a bedazzlement of magic, sisterhood, secrets, and high-stakes battles"
With an opening that couldn’t be more arresting – “Corpses. Each one female and young…They’re mounted on stakes at the mouth of the jungle” – Namina Forna's The Merciless Ones, sequel to her powerful patriarchy-confronting debut, The Gilded Ones, presents a thrilling return to the richly-evoked kingdom of Otera.
Some six months after she freed the Gilded Ones goddesses from imprisonment in the mountains and promised to “fight for all the women of Otera”, Deka is alerted to the rise of a dark power that she and her army must quell, alongside adapting to changes in her own gifts.
Driven by Deka’s fiercely indomitable quest to save the kingdom, gender identity and sexuality are explored alongside themes of feminist empowerment - “Male and female…The mere thought unsettles us. Humans like to sever themselves according to these lines, although they are not so simply sorted…They force them to choose – male, female One or the other."
With a whole lot of snaking twists, betrayals and impossible decisions, this is YA fantasy at its most fire-cracking, and thought-provoking with it.
Discover the gripping sequel to Namina Forna's New York Times bestselling YA fantasy, The Gilded Ones.
Set in an ancient West African-inspired world, this series is perfect for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Black Panther.
It's been six months since Deka freed the goddesses in the ancient kingdom of Otera, and discovered who she really is. But war is waging across the kingdom, and the real battle has only just begun. For there is a dark force growing in Otera - a merciless power that Deka and her army must stop. Yet hidden secrets threaten to destroy everything Deka has known. And with her own gifts changing, Deka must discover if she holds the key to saving Otera or if she might be its greatest threat.
The Merciless Ones features in the following genres: Young Adult Fiction, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Fantasy, Children’s / Teenage general interest: Girls and women, Children’s / Teenage general interest: Supernatural and mythological creatures, Children’s / Teenage social topics: War and conflict issues, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Prejudice and intolerance, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Children’s / Teenage general interest: Places and peoples, Children’s / Teenage: General interest, Children’s / Teenage general interest: Mysteries and the unexplained, Children’s / Teenage: Social issues / topics, Children’s / Teenage: Personal and social topics, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Diversity, equality and inclusion, eBooks of the Month, Recommendations
The Merciless Ones is available in Paperback, Ebook (Epub)
The Merciless Ones was written by Namina Forna and published by Usborne Publishing
£4.99
