Skip to main content

The First Halfbreed by VN Keeng: book review




The First Halfbreed (2016) is a young adult magic and fantasy novel, by a Kenyan author, set in the fictional country of Kari. In Kari there are four conflicting tribes who do not intermarry: the Dekechi (short, forest people with cat-like eyes who live in trees), the Nemas (strong, tall people who live in homes), the Liinos (a male tribe), and the Bredars (amphibious people with tails, fins, webbed appendages, and lime green skin – and with skills in medicine).

The novel begins with a 200-year-old legend about a witch, Lasedi, with a powerful magic staff. When Lasedi dies, the staff can select a new witch to be the most powerful in the land. But it does not find a suitable candidate and lies dormant for 200 years.

The novel introduces Rana, a 20-year-old man, leader of Nemaland, who meets Doli, a Dekechi. They have a baby girl, and under tragic circumstances, she is left with a woman, Tale, a Bredar. But Tale abandons her. She is found, and adopted by Dani and his wife Teres, who have a five-year-old son, Shem. The family are Dekechi and live on Bukasi Island. The baby girl is the first halfbreed on the island, and looks very different from everyone else. She is called Moselle.

Halfway into the novel, Moselle is 17 years old and lonely. She meets a Liino boy, Kelan. But Dekechi children start disappearing – some are found dead. When Moselle’s family disappears, she seeks to find them. Her search takes her to Nemaland, where she begins to learn about her past, and her real identity.

This novel is a blend of ‘Harry Potter’ meets ‘Avatar’ in the  land of ‘The Lion King.’ The novel focuses on Moselle and readers begin to understand her character well, and although some themes are threaded throughout the novel, others are difficult to follow. The style is weakly constructed in a ‘this-happened-then-that-happened-and-one-day-then-the-next-day’ chain of grammatically poor sentences, with disjointed dialogue, which makes it a disappointing read. If readers – particularly lovers of fantasy novels – can overcome the flaws, there is a magical story buried beneath.



Note: I received a free copy of the author’s debut novel to review.


Find out more about V.N. Keeng and her work on her official website, http://www.vnkeeng.com/ and on Facebook, https://web.facebook.com/vinkeeng
https://www.amazon.com/First-Halfbreed-VN-Keeng- ebook/dp/B01FG1W76W/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1462986803&sr=1- 1&keywords=first+halfbreed


MARTINA NICOLLS is the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2016 update on Rike Park, Tbilisi: from construction to busy park

From a flat patch of uninteresting dirt, Rike Park in Tbilisi, Georgia, has transformed in four years (from 2014-2016) into a busy park full of trees, flower beds, sculptures, fountains, and events. Rike (Rikhe) Park is on the left bank of the Mt’k’vari River (the Kura River) near the Old City of Tbilisi. The Peace Bridge links the right bank to Rike Park. Rike Park is below the hillside Presidential Palace and, via cable car, it is the starting point for the ride to Sololaki Ridge (with the Narikala Fortress and the Mother of Georgia statue). The glass box-shaped cable car terminus was opened on 23 June 2012, and since then the park has continually developed into a ‘people’s park’ where people can walk around, eat at the nearby restaurants, sit next to the statue of American president Ronald Reagan, climb the steps to Avlabari district, and access the sights of Meidan Square, the Peace Bridge, the Metekhi Church, the Old City, the waterfall, the sulphur baths, and t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh  (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...
1 comment
Read more

Hop on hop off bus tourism comes to Tbilisi, Georgia

City Sightseeing buses have arrived in Tbilisi. The iconic red double-decker buses, a feature of many cities around the world since the company was established in Seville, Spain in 1999, is now in six continents and almost 100 cities. The company established its Tbilisi business in November 2013, with its operations commencing in February 2014. The 90-minute tour stops at 11 major locations in Tbilisi (with 2 to 5 minute waiting times at each location): the Old City (where it commences), Freedom Square, Rose Revolution Square, Marjanishvili Square, the Dry Bridge, Konka, Avlabari, Metekhi, Akhundov Museum, the Sulfur Baths, and European Square. Passengers can hop off at any stop and see the sights, hopping back onto the next bus at any time. Alternatively, passengers can remain on the bus for the whole tour and take photographs when the bus stops at each location. There are one day (24-hour) passes (for 35 lari – about $20) and 48-hour passes for 55 lari, with family d...
2 comments
Read more