Dossouye (Dossouye, #1) by Charles R. Saunders

Dossouye (Dossouye, #1) Reviews

• 
  HBalikov

  The fantasy subgenre of Swords & Sorcery has been a part of popular (pulp) literature for around 100 years. Saunders may be late to the party but there are readers clamoring for more and he offers a special focus: Africa, with many elements of an earlier age of empires (well before European colonialism).
  
  The format is a series of six short pieces that take Dossouye to various venues away from her “people.” I find the writing above average and the African elements very interesting. For instance, in “Gimmile’s Songs” Dossouye is on her own when she meets two badass marauders and then, Gimmile.
  
  "(T)his one did not look like a daju. Indeed, never before had Dossouye encountered anyone quite like him. He was a composition in brown: skin the rich hue of tobacco; trousers and open robe a lighter, almost russet shade; eyes the deep color of fresh-turned loam. His hair was plaited into numerous braids of shoulder length, each one sectioned with beads strung in colorful patterns. Beneath the braids, his oval face appeared open, friendly, dominated by warm eyes and a quick, sincere smile. A black mustache grew on his upper lip; wisps of beard clung to his chin and cheeks. His was a young face; he could not have been much older than Dossouye’s twenty rains. He was as lean in build as Dossouye, though not quite as tall."
  
  Gimmile tells her his story…. A story that includes: “As a young bela, new to his craft, Gimmile had come to the court of Konondo, king of Dedougou, a Mossi city-state. On a whim, the king had allowed the youthful bela to perform for him. So great was Gimmile’s talent with voice and kalimba that the envy of Bankassi, regular bela to the court, was aroused. Bankassi whispered poison into the ear of the king, and Konondo read insult and disrespect into the words of Gimmile’s songs, though in fact there was none. When Gimmile asked the king for a kwabo, the small gift customarily presented to belas by monarchs, Konondo roared: “You mock me, then dare to ask for a kwabo? I’ll give you a kwabo! Guards! Take this jackal, give him fifty lashes, and remove him from Dedougou!”
  
  You won't have any difficulty with figuring out what a bela, kalimba, and kwabo are.
  
  Dessouye is mostly a loner in this book, perhaps a “soldier of fortune in a savage land…” Give it a try if you want to explore a different approach to the genre. I am certainly going to read more. 3.5*
  
• 
  Roxane

  You would thing that the fact that Charles R. Saunders is a writer and a damn good one at that would be common knowledge by now. The man has been writing since the seventies and despite the lack of literary acknowledgement he has received from the genre, he has kept to it and his fans are glad he did.
  
  One thing I love about Saunders’ work is that he manages to illustrate just to what extent the English language is rich and diverse (and believe compared to languages like French, it’s not ; not trying to be condescending here, just pointing out that we have more words than you do and that’s a fact). His sentences are always balanced and lovely and he is among the few writer who draw you in, not thanks to plot or characterization, but because you can’t get enough of his wonderful prose.
  
  Saunders does not write long, complicated plots which unwrap in a minimum of a thousand pages. No. With Saunders, you’re back to basics, back to the magic that makes a good book and that, ladies and gents, is good writing.
  
  If you’ve ever read anything by this author, you know that he is a short story writer and you can tell that even his novels are in fact, short stories put together and woven to give the appearance of continuity when in fact, you could read them separately and enjoy them nevertheless.
  
  For all those reasons, Saunders is not good commercial material, because he doesn’t write 2 000 pages trilogies set in Celtic inspired environments, because you occasionally need to open a dictionary, because he’s most brilliant in short form, because of all this, Saunders has to rely on self-publishing to keep his work out there. And that’s a shame.
  
  For those of you not familiar with this author, know that he is most famous for his Imaro series which originally came out in the seventies. After a long interruption, the series was picked up by Nightshade Books about two years ago. They intended to bring this author and his works out of the shadow, but things did not go as planned. Nightshade was only able to publish the first two Imaro books before sales numbers forced them to once again give up on this underrated author.
  
  I was afraid Saunders would give up after that but no, the author bounced back and (self)published a new series, Dossouye.
  
  Now, my only problem with Imaro was that it was a very masculine environment in which women had little or no role to play besides sitting and being pretty. So when I heard that Saunders’ new hero was in fact a heroine, a female warrior the likes of the Amazons, I got very excited and I wasn’t disappointed.
  
• 
  Timothy Mayer

  
  Dossouye is the latest book from Black writer Charles Saunders. Not exactly a novel, it's a collection of short stories and novellas, some of which have been published before. Saunders is best known for his books and tales about Imaro, the African hero who wonders across the mythical land of Cush. Most of his stories are based on actual ancient civilizations, much as were Robert E. Howard's. Of course there is a difference: magic and sorcery work.
  The stories are about Dossuye, a woman warrior in The Abomey Leopard King's army. Since all the women in this branch of the military are concubines of the king, they are full-time soldiers. No man may touch one of his ahosi, or female soldiers. The steed of the ahosi is a water Buffalo which has been specially bred for this role. Most of Dossoyue's adventures are in the company of Gbo, her war bull.
  In the first story, "Agbewe's Sword", Abomey is attacked by the kingdom of Abanti, who defeat the army using lighting called down from the sky by a sorcerer. It's up to Dossouye to locate the legendary sword of the spider goddess Agbewe and send the invaders back. Dossouye eventually prevails, but the cost of her victory is exile from her homeland.
  The remainder of the stories involve a cursed musician, demons who inflict horrid demands from villagers, and a journey into the forest of death. Dossouye triumphs every time, but not by herself. The image of the lone Amazon, wondering the earth on the back of her war bull, is powerful, but not invincible. She may travel armed only with a sword and leather loin protector, but Dossouye always finds people to help her.
  This is an excellent book of short stories. Any one would fit well in Weird Tales
• 
  S.E. Lindberg

  
  Dossouye, a female version of Imaro in many ways; just as entertaining. A solid entry in the Sword & Soul subgenre by the man who started it,
  Charles R. Saunders. Highly recommended for fantasy fiction readers.
  
  Sword & Soul & Availability:
  Charles R. Saunders led the creation of the Sword & Soul sub-genre (under Fantasy).
  My previous review of Saunder’s more famous, male character Imaro details more about his writing history. In short, he was compelled to create myths stemming from Africa rather than the typical European-centric standard. He spins a good tale, and his perspective does feel fresh. Like Imaro, Dossouye is a essentially a lone warrior (she does have a trusty mount called Gbo, a war buffalo!). Do not expect elves or party/fellowships. Expect to experience strong mix of sorcery/magic, creatures (supernatural and wild), and lots of fighting. Some of his books are difficult to track down, but they are worth it...and... he has been writing many short stories (so if you can't find the books, look into the anthologies he contributed for....list below).
  
  Dossouye Source Material:
  This novel combines six tales originally published (in different form) are combined into chapters:
  Original Publications
  
  Amazons! 1979 (
  Jessica Amanda Salmonson)
  
  Sword and Sorceress, 1984 (
  Marion Zimmer Bradley)
  
  Sword and Sorceress II, 1985 (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
  
  Sword and Sorceress III, 1986 (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
  Dark Matter, 2000 (
  Sheree Renée Thomas)
  Dark Matter II: Reading the Bones 2004 (Sheree Renee Thomas)
  
  Chapter List and some notes (not spoilers)
  1 – “Agbewe’s Sword”: Two cultures, the Abanti and Abomea, battle with sorcery and buffalo mounts. Dossouye is introduced, chosen via a bokono dream, and eventually exiled in a unique way.
  2 – “Gimmile’s Songs”: A chance encounter with cursed magician/musician and thieves that follow him.
  3— “Shiminege’s Mask”: (draws short straw to be sacrificed to a sichi (akin to a immortal vampire?)..who were destroyed mostly by Dossouye’s ancestors and war bulls
  4— “Yahimba’s Choice”: Tarusi (realized forms of mens’ fear of girls not getting circumcised) take center stage. Best story in the set. With Saunders already infusing black history into dark fantasy, with this collection he strived to go further by taking on a woman’s character. From the outset, I had in mind doing some type of
  Bechdel-Test (one measure of how well women are portrayed in movie scripts in relation to male dominance). For this, I mentally noted how much Dossouye was just a “chick-in-chainmail”; ie how often did her gender really play a role in the story and not just be easily replaced/switched for a male stand-in. Although female issues are mentioned throughout, it wasn’t until this chapter did Saunder’s hit his stride across the board: African culture & myths, Dossouye’s gender, and classic Sword & Sorcery (battles with supernatural) all synchronize.
  5 – “Marwe’s Forest:” A shapechanger confronts/seduces Dossouye
  6 – “Obenga’s Drum:” Embiti (pygmy/dwarves) are saved by Dossouye, but then she is injured and traverses another bokono dream
  
  The short stories flow as connected chapters, but the publication/creation history still affect the read. Saunders has a narrative voice that leans toward “telling” rather than “showing” but the plots are full of twists and milieu so unique that they read fast. Dossouye’s main motivation/choices stems from a culture around associating one’s three souls with feti trees. Without the trees living, one may turn into a zhumbi (a soulless Abomean). To achieve a 5-star, this critical relationship needed to be fleshed out earlier (or “shown” more). That said there is a sequel, and Dossouye evolved into a more realistic character with each story. The next one should be a great read too.
  
  Finding Books
  There is at least one eBook version of Imaro available via Lulu...and ~$20USD version of most of his library; there are two pages.
  1)
  The spotlight page for Charles R Saunders has most (link)
  2) The page for Charles Saunders (no "R") has
  Dossouye available (link)
  
  Short stories: From his website Saunder’s author page we can get a list of
  Charles R. Saunders's short stories and the collection they appeared in.
  
  2017 and beyond This April, Sword and Soul guru Milton J. Davis revealed that “A few years ago Charles Saunders shared with me an excellent story he wrote set in the world of Imaro titled 'The Return of Sundiata. Just recently he revealed to me that he has written a collection of such stories, tentatively titled 'Nyumbani Tales.' It is my honor and privilege to announce that I will be publishing this historic collection this year! Stay tuned for more details. Sword and Soul forever!"
  Saunder's Sword & Soul portfolio
  
  Imaro
  
  The Quest for Cush
  
  The Trail of Bohu
  
  The Naama War
  
  
  Dossouye
  
  Dossouye: the Dancers of Mulukau
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  Andrew

  Dossouye is a soldier in the women's army of the nation of Abomey. Just at the point at which she saves her nation from disaster, she goes into exile.
  This book is a collection of stories, set in an alternative Africa, following the adventures of Dossouye. Another great sword and soul title from Charles Saunders and recommended reading.
• 
  Richard

  I ended up here because I had finished the Imaro series and still hungered for more. This particular book and it's sequel are only available through Lulu.com. Lulu makes a quality paperback, but I only wish that they would package them better when shipping them. My copy has some minor damage on the spine from those gentle hands at the USPS.
  
  The stories within this book were published elsewhere in various anthologies. I know they have been revised, but I wondered if the overall story arc was present in the originals; or did Saunders add that in his revisions for this printing.
  
  Agbewe's Sword was the first tale and it begins Dossouye's trials and tribulations. An unstoppable enemy from far away is on the cusp of victory, until a young girl takes up a fabled blade to save her home. Magic, betrayal, and strong bonds round out this tale. Reminded me of
  Robin Wayne Bailey's
  Night's Angel. 3/5
  
  Gimmile's Songs comes next. Dossouye is just starting out her self-imposed exile when she is accosted by two men. After her fight with the men she encounters a mysterious stranger who is not quite what he seems. I've read this tale somewhere before, but cannot remember where. 5/5
  
  Shiminege's Mask is third. Dossouye encounters a people plagued by a monster that demands a new bride as appeasement every so often. The bride is chosen at random, until the arrival of Dossouye. 4/5
  
  Yahimba's Choice is fourth. Dossouye encounters a people who mutilate their young women at their first blood to appease the strange otherworldly Tarusi. 4/5
  
  Marwe's Forest is fifth. Dossouye wanders into a strange forest and finds a sort of peace. All good things come to an end though. 3/5
  
  Obenga's Drum is the final story. Dossouye encounters the fabled Embiti, a diminutive tribe of people, attacking a mokele-mbembe. Things go awry and Dossouye's soul is thrown into limbo where she encounters the Tarusi again. The interesting thing about this story to me was the similarity of it to a certain Frank Frazetta painting. I broached this subject on FB with the pulp sword and sorcery group there and learned that the mokele-mbembe is a fabled monster of Africa and that in the '80's it seemed to gain attention. Dubbed the Lock Ness of the Congo. 4/5
  
  Recommended!
• 
  KinkyCurlyNerdy

  3.5 for this book. I was a little disappointed being that Charles Saunders is one of my favorite authors and that fact that we would get a female lead had me throwing my money at this book. However, the stories didn't really stick with me like those from Nyumbani Tales and Imaro. I also which we had more character development with Dossouye. She didn't really talk a lot like Imaro, but with Imaro we were able to get insights on his mental barriers and emotional conflicts. I did not feel that connected with Dossouye. However, I will be reading the next installment.
• 
  Paul McNamee

  I might like this over Imaro. Though both are excellent and should be considered classics in the sword-&sorcery realm.
• 
  Jasmine

  read: gimmile's songs
  TBR: Agbewe's Sword", "Shiminege’s Mask", "Marwe’s Forest", and "Obenga’s Drum"
• 
  Jordan

  Dossouye is a quick, vibrant read. To merely say it’s sword and sorcery set in Africa would be a disservice. The language is concise yet vivid. And elevating the stories is an underlying existential bleakness.