The novel is a collection of five short stories ("Turkhana Knives", "The Place of Stones", "Slaves of the Giant-Kings", "Horror in the Black Hills", and "The City of Madness") which were originally published during the 1970s in Dark Fantasy, a fanzine published by Canadian comic book artist Gene Day, as well as the fanzines Night Voyages,Dragonbane, and Phantasy Digest.
Imaro was the first book in a proposed series of novels about the eponymous hero, set in the fantasy world of Nyumbani (a continent based on Africa). However, a lawsuit by the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate over a poorly chosen cover quote (The Epic Novel of a Black Tarzan) caused a one-month delay in shipping as the books had to be reprinted, which led to poor sales.[2]
In 2006, publishers Night Shade Books released an updated edition of Imaro. This new edition excludes "The Slaves of the Giant-Kings", which Saunders felt held too many parallels to the present-day Rwandan genocide.[2] It was replaced by "The Afua", a new story.
Synopsisedit
Growing up among the Ilyassai, a fierce tribe of warrior-herdsmen who despite his origin, a young Imaro struggles for acceptance after the breaking of a taboo forces his mother to leave him behind.
The boy becomes a man unlike any other the Ilyassai has ever seen. His quest for acceptance and identity continues. Yet, Imaro learns he has powerful enemies, both human and inhuman. Prevailing over foes who desire nothing more than to see him dead, Imaro finds that in victory, there can be loss.
Departing from the Ilyassai, Imaro roams afar, wandering across the vast continent of Nyumbani, pitting his prodigious strength or courage against men, beasts, and demons. Hunted by relentless foes, Imaro becomes the hunter. Eventually, he finds friendship and love among people who are like him, exiles or outlaws. Still, forces beyond Imaro's comprehension are aligned against him. As he rises to prominence, events preordained before Imaro's birth begin to unfold. Powers are stirring in Nyumbani, the Africa of a world that is beyond the one we know. Soon, Imaro learns that some of these powers are aligned against him. As he struggles to hold on to his hard won acceptance, this warrior seeks the answer to the question which has haunted him all his life: Who am I?
List of charactersedit
The characters in this section are listed in their order of appearance.
Katisa – Imaro's mother, she asks the Ilyassai to raise him as a warrior
Chitendu – Ilyassai sorcerer and servant of the Mashataan
Imaro – son of Katisa, born without knowing his father
Kanoko – an Ilyassai, the childhood enemy of Imaro
Bomunu – Zanjian member of Imaro's war band turned traitor
Tanisha – a Shikaza (Kahutu in the first edition) woman who becomes Imaro's companion
Pomphis – Bambuti Pygmy scholar and former jester, now friend to Imaro
Footnotesedit
^ abFortier, Ron (12 April 2011). "IMARO - The Naama War". Pulp Fiction Reviews. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
imaro, confused, with, imaro, sword, sorcery, novel, written, charles, saunders, published, books, 1981, have, been, first, forays, into, sword, sorcery, genre, black, author, saunders, wrote, published, more, books, series, quest, cush, 1984, trail, bohu, 198. Not to be confused with IMARO Imaro is a sword and sorcery novel written by Charles R Saunders and published by DAW Books in 1981 It may have been one of the first forays into the sword and sorcery genre by a black author 1 Saunders wrote and had published two more books in the series The Quest for Cush in 1984 and The Trail of Bohu in 1985 2 In 2009 Saunders released The Naama War the fourth and last Imaro novel through Lulu 1 3 ImaroCover of Imaro 1981 Daw Books Cover of Imaro 2006 by Night Shade BooksAuthorCharles R SaundersCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishSeriesImaroGenreFantasy novelPublisherDaw books first edition Night Shade Books second edition Publication date1981 first edition 2006 second edition Media typePrint Paperback Pages224 ppISBN1 59780 036 8 USA paperback second editionPreceded byN A Followed byThe Quest for Cush Contents 1 Background 2 Synopsis 3 List of characters 4 Footnotes 5 External linksBackground editThe novel is a collection of five short stories Turkhana Knives The Place of Stones Slaves of the Giant Kings Horror in the Black Hills and The City of Madness which were originally published during the 1970s in Dark Fantasy a fanzine published by Canadian comic book artist Gene Day as well as the fanzines Night Voyages Dragonbane and Phantasy Digest Imaro was the first book in a proposed series of novels about the eponymous hero set in the fantasy world of Nyumbani a continent based on Africa However a lawsuit by the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate over a poorly chosen cover quote The Epic Novel of a Black Tarzan caused a one month delay in shipping as the books had to be reprinted which led to poor sales 2 In 2006 publishers Night Shade Books released an updated edition of Imaro This new edition excludes The Slaves of the Giant Kings which Saunders felt held too many parallels to the present day Rwandan genocide 2 It was replaced by The Afua a new story Synopsis editGrowing up among the Ilyassai a fierce tribe of warrior herdsmen who despite his origin a young Imaro struggles for acceptance after the breaking of a taboo forces his mother to leave him behind The boy becomes a man unlike any other the Ilyassai has ever seen His quest for acceptance and identity continues Yet Imaro learns he has powerful enemies both human and inhuman Prevailing over foes who desire nothing more than to see him dead Imaro finds that in victory there can be loss Departing from the Ilyassai Imaro roams afar wandering across the vast continent of Nyumbani pitting his prodigious strength or courage against men beasts and demons Hunted by relentless foes Imaro becomes the hunter Eventually he finds friendship and love among people who are like him exiles or outlaws Still forces beyond Imaro s comprehension are aligned against him As he rises to prominence events preordained before Imaro s birth begin to unfold Powers are stirring in Nyumbani the Africa of a world that is beyond the one we know Soon Imaro learns that some of these powers are aligned against him As he struggles to hold on to his hard won acceptance this warrior seeks the answer to the question which has haunted him all his life Who am I List of characters editThe characters in this section are listed in their order of appearance Katisa Imaro s mother she asks the Ilyassai to raise him as a warrior Chitendu Ilyassai sorcerer and servant of the Mashataan Imaro son of Katisa born without knowing his father Kanoko an Ilyassai the childhood enemy of Imaro Bomunu Zanjian member of Imaro s war band turned traitor Tanisha a Shikaza Kahutu in the first edition woman who becomes Imaro s companion Pomphis Bambuti Pygmy scholar and former jester now friend to ImaroFootnotes edit a b Fortier Ron 12 April 2011 IMARO The Naama War Pulp Fiction Reviews Retrieved 24 June 2014 a b c Adding To The Gumbo Mix Charles R Saunders 2005 Interview Archived from the original on 2011 06 07 Imaro The Naama War by Charles SaundersExternal links editAdding To The Gumbo Mix Charles R Saunders 2005 Interview Death in Nyumbani Timeline of Imaro s Life How a Night Shade Book gets a cover Imaro Live Journal article RPGnet review of Imaro June 21 2006 Imaro title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Imaro series listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Imaro amp oldid 1181380987, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
