Marlon James – författare

In this stunning follow-up to Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon James draws on a rich tradition of African mythology, fantasy and history to imagine an ancient world, a lost child, an extraordinary hunter, and a mystery with many answers... Marlon James weaves a tapestry of breathtaking adventure through a world at once ancient and startlingly modern. And, against this exhilarating backdrop of magic and violence, he explores the fundamentals of truth, the limits of power, the excesses of ambition, and our need to understand them all.

"Masterfully flips the first installment on its head... James makes the mythic tantalizingly real.'" -Esquire

"Even more brilliant than the first." -Buzzfeed

An Instant New York Times Bestseller and NPR Best Book of 2022 pick

From Marlon James, author of the bestselling National Book Award finalist Black Leopard, Red Wolf, the second book in the Dark Star trilogy.

In Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Sogolon the Moon Witch proved a worthy adversary to Tracker as they clashed across a mythical African landscape in search of a mysterious boy who disappeared. In Moon Witch, Spider King, Sogolon takes center stage and gives her own account of what happened to the boy, and how she plotted and fought, triumphed and failed as she looked for him. It's also the story of a century-long feud-seen through the eyes of a 177-year-old witch-that Sogolon had with the Aesi, chancellor to the king. It is said that Aesi works so closely with the king that together they are like the eight limbs of one spider. Aesi's power is considerable-and deadly. It takes brains and courage to challenge him, which Sogolon does for reasons of her own.

Both a brilliant narrative device-seeing the story told in Black Leopard, Red Wolf from the perspective of an adversary and a woman-as well as a fascinating battle between different versions of empire, Moon Witch, Spider King delves into Sogolon's world as she fights to tell her own story. Part adventure tale, part chronicle of an indomitable woman who bows to no man, it is a fascinating novel that explores power, personality, and the places where they overlap.

December 1976. Våldsamma politiska stridigheter pågår i Jamaica, och det är bara ett par veckor kvar till valet, när sju beväpnade män stormar in i Bob Marleys hem i Kingston. Ingen av männen bakom mordförsöket grips, men ryktet säger att sångaren har blivit en bricka i ett spel med intressen långt utanför landets gränser.

Papa-Lo är don över gettot Copenhagen City och vill få ett slut på striderna med Shotta Sherrif i Eight Lanes, men alla tycker inte att fred är någon bra idé. Weeper kommer ut ur fängelset. På gatan pratas det om att han har blivit en battyboy. Utanför Bob Marleys hus på Hope Road väntar Nina Burgess på att han ska känna igen henne, medan Rolling Stone-journalisten Alex Pierce jagar en story som ingen tycks vilja att han får tag i.

Marlon James tar sin utgångspunkt i verklighetens attentat mot Bob Marley, i en berättelse om mördare, politiker och langare, CIA-agenter, journalister och bedragare. En brutal och intensiv roman om musik, droger, sex och våld, som rör sig från sjuttiotal till nittiotal, från Jamaica till New York via Miami och Kuba. Belönad med Man Booker-priset.