Imaro by Charles R. Saunders

Forsaken, outcast, warrior . . .

Abandoned as a child, Imaro has struggled for acceptance all his life among the warrior-herdsmen tribe, the Ilyassai. Seeking answers and identity, his quest leads him across the vast continent of Nyumbani as he discovers he has powerful enemies, both human and inhuman. Hunted by relentless foes, Imaro becomes the hunter and events preordained before his birth begin to unfold.

Powers are stirring in Nyumbani. As Imaro struggles to hold on to his hard-won acceptance, the warrior in him seeks the answer to the question that has haunted him all his life: Who am I?

Praise for Charles R. Saunders
'A writer of vivid and thoughtful fantasy' - Scott Lynch, bestselling author of The Lies of Locke Lamora

'You can't talk African epic fantasy without mentioning Charles Saunders' - Nnedi Okorafor, multi award-winning author of Binti and The Book of Phoenix

'One of the godfathers of Afrofuturism and black speculative fiction' - Tananarive Due, multi award-winning author of The Reformatory and The Living Blood

'A Literary Lion' - CBC

'A whole new flavour of heroic fantasy' - Analog

'Saunders' words paint his vivid vision of the mythical continent of Nyumbani ineradicably upon his readers' minds' - TorDotCom

'Saunders alone has appreciated the potential of Africa as a backdrop for heroic fantasy' - Publishers Weekly

'Terrific epic fantasy' - Cat Rambo, author of You Sexy Thing

'A literary trailblazer' - New York Times

'The Father of Sword and Soul' - Medium

'One of the titans of '70s-'80s sword-and-sorcery' - DMR Books

'Imaro opened that world up for me, and I will be forever grateful' - BlackGate

'Imaro follows in the footsteps of Conan . . . an epic journey' - Eons

Charles R. Saunders (1946-2020)
Charles R. Saunders was born and grew up in Pennsylvania. He earned a degree in psychology from Lincoln University. Saunders moved to Canada in 1969. After appearing in many small-press magazines, he published three novels based on African myths and legends, featuring the warrior-hero Imaro. Saunders has also written short stories, screenplays, radio plays, opinion columns and non-fiction books. Saunders lived in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, where he worked as an editor for a local daily newspaper. He died in 2020.