by Anthony Perconti
in Issue 86, March 2019
In 1981, DAW Books published Imaro by Charles Saunders. The contents of this edition, six short stories, originally appeared in the Canadian fanzine run by comic book artist, Gene Day entitled Dark Fantasy. At the time of its publication, Imaro did not break any records in terms of sales. However, as the decades have passed by, it has become evident that the book’s impact upon the fantasy genre has been seismic. It’s not hyperbole to say that the work of Charles Saunders in the field of sword and sorcery fiction has caused a paradigm shift along with kick starting an entirely new subgenre in the process. The reason for this shift is quite simple. Saunders, a man of African American heritage, crafted an entire world (and its various peoples) based upon the cultures, beliefs and myth cycles of Africa. The setting of Nyumbani (the word for ‘home’ in Swahili) is a secondary world version of a pre-colonial African continent, much like Middle Earth is Tolkien’s idealized, pastoral ‘Merrie Olde England’. The protagonist Imaro is a black man, adventuring throughout a world comprised entirely of non Caucasian inhabitants; every single character in this novel is a person of color. In 1981, this was a very big deal and this still holds true today. The creation of the character of Imaro is a direct response to the casual racism that was predominant in the adventure fiction of the Teens, Twenties and Thirties, of the last century. Saunders states; “When I saw how Howard had created his Hyborian Age by juxtaposing and modifying different cultures and historical periods of Europe, the Middle East, etc., I realized that the same thing could be done with the various cultures that have existed in the history of Africa….I always saw Imaro as the guy who could reclaim the Africa-of-the-imagination from Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan and other white jungle lords.” (1) And what a reclamation it is. Saunders’ Nyumbani is a living and vibrant place, full of a variety of people who have their own distinct cultures, across vast landscapes, with flora and fauna as diverse as the African continent itself. The publication of Imaro marks a watershed moment in that an entirely Afro-centric world is the sole focus of a fantasy novel. This shift from traditional Northern European, white fantasy towards an African (or African inspired) setting began with this work. In turn, Saunders singlehandedly invented a new subgenre. This new form derives its name from the term ‘sword and sorcery’ with a single variation; ‘sword and soul’. And at his core, the character of Imaro is a traditional sword and sorcery hero; ever the outsider, looking to make his way in a cruel and antagonistic world.
Imaro is divided into two halves; the first section of the book, which contains the stories “The Ilyassai”, “Turkhana Knives” and “The Place of Stones”, relates the first two decades of the hero’s life among his mothers people, the Kitoko Ilyassi. At the age of five, Imaro begins his grueling training as a warrior. This regimen, the mafundishu-ya-muran, consists of weapons training with spear (arem) and short-sword (simi) all the while tending to the tribal herds of cattle (ngombe). Saunders based his Ilyassai, who live on the vast golden savannah known as the Tamburure, on the real world Masai people. Imaro’s mother, Katisa, is simultaneously a hero and an outcast; she drove from the tribe a malevolent shaman or oibonok for consorting with the Mashataan, the Demon Gods. Her crime is that she had a child with a man from outside of the Ilyassai. During his years of training, Imaro is known to everyone as ‘son of no father’, and is treated as an outcast like his mother. As the years (or as is stated in the book, rains) pass, Imaro outpaces his peers in physical stature and strength. He is also extremely proficient in the martial arts and is highly courageous. I am intentionally being vague on the specifics of the plot. Suffice it to say that by the end of the books first half, Imaro finds a degree of catharsis in his relationship with his mother’s tribe. He also closes a circle, finishing what Katisa started all those years ago, against Chitendu, the oibonok in the service of the Mashataan. This showdown is played out in the ruins of a cursed, abandoned city, with its reanimated denizens. Saunders flavors this portion of the story with a hint of Lovecraftian and body horror elements in describing the existential price to be paid by the human servants of these alien entities.
The books concluding half consists of the stories “The Haramia”, “Horror in the Black Hills” and “Betrayal in the Blood”. Leaving the Ilyassai and the Tamburure region behind, Imaro explores the greater world of Nyumbani, going from savannah to dense river carved forests and eventually to rugged, mountainous terrain. These stories detail Imaro’s rise to power as he joins a group of bandits (haramia), falls in love, eventually becomes the leader of the haramia and welds them into a formidable fighting force against the kingdoms of Zanj and Azania. All the while, in the background, lurks the menace of the Mashataan and their earthly agents. Saunders also peppers in some subtle clues pertaining to the origins of Imaro’s mysterious father. While not spelling it out directly, it is implied in the text that his paternal lineage may not be of the world of humans; which goes a long way in explaining why Imaro can absorb large degrees of physical punishment and conversely when it comes to martial prowess, is a veritable colossus. Regardless of his destination on the continent, Imaro is hounded by the taint of dark sorcery or mchawi, in a variety of forms, ever emanating from that singular source of the Mashataan. The tension ratchets up throughout the novel and eventually the conflict erupts at the books conclusion, leaving off on a tragic, cliffhanger ending.
When Imaro was republished in 2006 by Night Shade Books, Saunders excised and revised a story that originally appeared in the 1981 edition. The change from the DAW edition occurred with the story “Slaves of the Giant Kings” and was replaced by ‘The Afua’ (included as part of “The Haramia” section in the Night Shade and later, Kindle editions). This was due to the fact that the events depicted in “Slaves of the Giant Kings” paralleled the real life 1994 Rwandan genocide of the Tutsi by Hutu extremists. Given the horrific statistics the United Nations has compiled and released since those events, it’s an absolutely warranted change in my view. Night Shade only reprinted the first two novels in this series, claiming that the sales numbers did not justify a continuation of the sequence. The Night Shade edition of Imaro is readily available on Amazon ( and other used book sellers) at a reasonable price, along with its later Kindle counterpart at $5.38, but at the time of this writing, book two, The Quest For Cush is going for $98.70, used and $408.90, new! Needless to say, the price of these editions will be cost prohibitive to many potential readers (including myself). The good news, however is that books three (The Trail of Bohu) and four (The Naama War) are both available through Lulu for $20.00 apiece in paperback format.
It is my belief that the character of Imaro is the most important figure to come about in the genre since C.L. Moore’s Jirel of Joiry. Like Moore, Charles Saunders created a protagonist (and an entire world) for people that were at best unrepresented in heroic fantasy and at worst portrayed as racist caricatures. It would be wonderful to see this series get the premier, Del Rey treatment that the works of Robert E. Howard received about a decade or so ago. By constructing a book that contains an expanded introduction, an author forward, copious annotations, story notes and fragments, perhaps a scholarly essay or two and top it off with a strong artist (like say, superstar Mshindo Kuumba who has already drawn the character) providing a cover painting and multiple black and white interior illustrations, the work becomes elevated, crossing over from its pulp roots and gains a modicum of academic, mainstream respectability. In the case of Howard’s work, it is my understanding that those Del Rey’s are considered the definitive editions, the gold standard. Editions that will be read and referenced for decades to come. Another factor to consider in creating premier editions of the Imaro series is that the potential audience expands as well; instead of just appealing to fantasy fans, you can also tap into the book collectors market as well. The Howard Del Rey editions are sturdily built, have heft and are printed on quality paper (as far as paperbacks go), and they are appealing to the eye. The production quality is top notch at an affordable price point; for example, Kull, Exile of Atlantis was priced at $15.99 at its release back in 2006. Del Rey, being part of Penguin Random House, has long established in-roads at distribution to the major (and independent) book-sellers on a national level, so access to exposure on ever decreasing shelf space would certainly be less of an issue. This would naturally go hand in hand with these hypothetical editions being available simultaneously in e-book format as well. I believe this approach would go a long way in exposing a new generation of readers to the fantastic world of Nyumbani.
The works of Charles Saunders carry a lot of weight with individuals in the know within the fantasy community. He is often associated with that impressive second wave of sword and sorcery writers that came after the original pulpsters, whose primary medium shifted from pulp magazines to the paperbacks. From the late 1960’s all the way through to the 1980’s, spinner racks and book store shelves were stocked with original works from such writers as Moorcock, Vance, Davidson, Leiber, Lee, de Camp, Norton, Farmer and de Lint. Like the majority of these aforementioned writers, Saunders made his own important contribution to a pre existing form; by making the genre a more representative and inclusive place, along with being the original purveyor of sword and soul fiction. And as such, in my view, is deserving of the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement. In a time in which N.K. Jemisin’s Fifth Season trilogy sweeps the Hugo for Best Novel, three years in a row, or when Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone ascends to first place and practically takes up permanent residence on the New York Times YA Best Seller List or Nnedi Okorafor’s Akata series, steeped in Nigerian mythology and folklore, racks up multiple publishing industry awards, it’s only fitting that the man who has been in the game for decades achieve some of that mainstream success as well. And by mainstream success, let’s translate that to exponential growth in revenue from book sales. I would encourage readers once they are finished with this article to purchase a copy of Imaro immediately. The next thing they should do is go read Melissa Burlock’s “Why Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone Is A New ‘Sword and Soul’ Tale-Orisha By Way of Nyumbani.” This extraordinary essay encapsulates the history of sword and soul while simultaneously making the case for its bright and vibrant future by featuring some of the post-Saunders wave of authors and creators working in genre.
NOTES:
Essay Link:
“Why Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone Is A New ‘Sword and Soul’ Tale-Orisha By Way of Nyumbani.” by Melissa Burlock
http://blacknerdproblems.com/why-tomi-adeyemis-children-of-blood-and-bone-is-a-new-sword-and-soul-tale/
©March 2019, Anthony Perconti
Anthony Perconti lives and works in the hinterlands of New Jersey with his wife and kids. He enjoys good stories across many different genres and mediums.