The Emperor's Son
The Emperor’s Son by acclaimed Liberian author Vamba Sherif is a sweeping historical epic set in 19th-century West Africa. It follows Zaiwulo, a gifted youth raised and mentored by the wise sage Talata of the revered Haidarah family in the ancient city of Musadu. As Zaiwulo comes of age, he is drawn into the shadowy court of Emperor Samori Touré—the legendary military leader known as the “Black Napoleon.” Caught between loyalty to his mentor, the complexities of imperial politics, and a burning desire to uncover his true origins, Zaiwulo transforms from scholar to soldier in a world brimming with secrets and shifting powers. His journey takes him across empires, through battles, and into the heart of leadership, identity, and self-discovery. Blending adventure, war, mysticism, and political drama, The Emperor’s Son is both a coming-of-age tale and a bold reimagining of African history. With richly drawn characters and cinematic storytelling, Sherif delivers a novel that will resonate with fans of historical African fiction, epic sagas, and literary tales of resistance and transformation.
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Bestselling author of mystery novels, weaving suspense and intrigue. Captivating readers with every page turn.
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Vamba Sherif’s, The Emperor’s Son is a captivating narrative about tumultuous wars and doomed alliances that is as rich in fervor as it is imaginative in reconstructing the adventurous life and times of the fabled Mande emperor, Samori Touré. In this beautifully wrought book, Sherif creates characters—imbued with the full range of human strengths and failings—who inhabit and take us along on heart-stopping journeys of life and death
The Emperor's Son is lush, immediate and brilliantly conceived. Vamba's prose challenges both writers and readers of world literature to be more thoughtful, more generous, more true to themselves
The Emperor’s Son is a bold, richly imagined and ambitious piece of historical fiction, drawing on a number of fascinating factual events to produce an evocative portrayal of a vibrant, prosperous West African empire in the nineteenth century at the cusp of the French and English colonial invasions. The region’s cultures, traditions and their economic and political civilizations are powerfully rendered through clear themes of war, love, loss, family, identity, abandonment and sacrifice, while the life and exploits of your protagonist provide a compelling central focus for your plot. The women, particularly Ma-Sona, Massah, Sarankenyi and Naminata were a strong force and they, along with Demba and Talata were memorable characters amongst a diverse and colourful cast