Nyumbani Tales by Charles R. Saunders

Nyumbani Tales Reviews

• 
  Fletcher Vredenburgh

  This belated collection of stories set in Nyumbani, the fantasy version of Africa and home of Charles Saunders' might hero, Imaro, is one of the best works of swords & sorcery to appear in some time. Saunders writes with clarity, avoiding the worst faux-archaicisms that drown lesser S&S authors’ work. He can be wonderfully poetic at times, especially in his descriptions of the land, but it’s never cloying. At the same time, he tells stories set not in our present, but in a past with different customs and beliefs. Characters act and react in ways that feel alien and yet perfectly natural in the context of the story. Saunders achieves that markedly rare effective synthesis of the mythic with the believable. It’s a trait he shares with other great S&S writers.
  
  This books contains 13 stories and they are excellent. For me, the standouts include the dark "Death-Cattle of Djenne," "Amma," and the downright brutal "The Silent Ghosts." For fans of the Imaro books (and what S&S reader is not?), you will be happy to encounter several of those books' character in their own tales.
  
  I consider Charles Saunders one of the absolute best swords & sorcery writers; someone who stands alongside Howard, Leiber, and Wagner. Of the 70s and 80s golden age of the genre, he’s one of the few talents still writing, and writing at the level he did forty years ago. You can check out his most recent previous work, Abengoni: First Calling to see that. (Side rant: I found only two significant reviews of this book; mine here at Black Gate and one over at Castalia House. If that’s not criminal neglect, I don’t know what is).
  
  In a better world, where an author could find the audience he is worthy of, this book would have been put together decades ago and would still be discussed with fervor. DAW, and later Night Shade, wouldn’t have dropped Saunders, leaving Imaro in limbo for years at a time. Instead, it’s taken 35 years since the last of the stories included in Nyumbani Tales was published, and the dedication of Milton Davis to help make this collection happen.
• 
  Richard

  This title I purchased on Amazon after I had read the conclusion of the Imaro saga. I was hungry for more.
  
  If you have read and enjoyed Mr. Saunders work, then by all means seek this title out.
  
  Essentially it is Sword and Sorcery set in a fictional Africa. Many of these tales are retellings of African folklore and legend.
  
  Normally with an anthology my attention wanders and I have a hard time finishing it. Not so with Nyumbani Tales. Although I would have a hard time picking a favorite.
  
  Recommended!
• 
  Andrew

  The Imaro series introduced readers to the continent of Nyumbani, an alternative Africa, and this book includes stories which focus on the people and communities that inhabit that continent.
  
  Two of my favorites in this collection include "The Blacksmith and the Bambuti" and "Pomphis and the Poor Man", set at the time when Imaro's companion was still a servant in the court of the Sha’a of Azania. The "Death-Cattle of Djenne" is another in which an evil sorcerer traps the essence of a god in the body of a bull causing misery to the inhabitants of a village. And the "Two Rogues" had me laughing.
  
  These are some great stories and If you have read any of the Imaro tales or are a follower of Sword and Soul, then this is a book for you.
  
• 
  Sam

  This was the easiest 5/5 stars I've ever given an anthology.
  
  Saunders continues to be one of the single greatest unsung heroes of sword & sorcery fiction, as well as one of the most underrated authors alive, period.
  
  This collection serves to flesh out Saunders' Secondary World version of Africa, Nyumbani, and is made all the better by only peripherally touching on his most well-known hero, Imaro, less than a handful of times, and never once featuring him in a story.
  
  Instead, Saunders makes the smart move of fleshing out the setting as a whole, and demonstrates with a clear, authoritative voice that the subgenre of sword & sorcery is always elevated when one gets creative not only with the content of the stories themselves, but also with the source one uses as inspiration.
  
  I hope Saunders starts to get his due at long last with this release, showing that the seeds he sowed all those decades ago are nowhere near exhausted in the delightful bounty of stories he presents here.
  
  This is something I'd recommend to anyone craving fresh, highly entertaining material to enjoy.
• 
  Ezekiel

  Excellent collection!!!
  
  This collection of Afro-fantasy inspired by African folklore is a pure joy to discover. Saunders weaves compelling tales that elicit fear, delight, anticipation, and melancholy; sometimes all in the same story! Some of the stories evoke the comeuppance of a Grimm fairytale, while others you can imagine watching on the big screen as either a horror film or an action flick. I couldn’t put down the final story in this collection. Someone make it a movie! Once you read it you’ll see why. Some of the stories follow the old-school moral technique while others turn that technique on its head with unforeseen twists. Definitely check this out!
• 
  Gregory Mele

  An uneven collection, from the father of Sword & Soul, with few on par with those in the original Imaro collection. Fortunately, even Saunders' worst tales are worth reading, and four of these tales, especially the final two, are sure gold. Nyumbani is a world you enjoy adventuring in time and ti e again
• 
  KinkyCurlyNerdy

  My god if I could give this book more than 5 stars I would! Charles Saunders is hands-down one of the best writers that I have encountered. For awhile I believed it to be Marlon James. However, Marlon James's god-tier writing is seemingly threatened by the powers of Saunders, everyday. If only I could meet this man in person and tell him how much his writing has impacted my life! Completely devoured this book. Each story got better and better and opened my mind to the world of African folk tales and depictions of Black women that are rarely seen, today. Please I am begging you to spread the word of Saunders great story-telling, because he is most definitely an unsung figure in the world of literature.
• 
  Derek

  Saunders takes Nyumbani beyond the Imaro and Dossouye stories, which are always painted by the sword-and-sorcery brush. These are structured more according to legend and folk stories and therefore follow a different pattern.
  
  It would take some doing to see where the African story basis ends and Saunders's fantasy takes over, but the common tropes are apparent. There's only so many ways you can dress up "magic creature dispenses wishes to indolent captor; things do not go as the wisher would like".
  
  While Saunders reaches for the twist ending occasionally, the usual outcome expresses either tragedy or victory at terrible cost.
• 
  Colin

  Having finally read "Imaro" and "Imaro 2: The Quest For Cush," I was sad to find that it is really difficult to find copies of Imaro 3 & 4 (although I recently found I may be able to get them from Lulu). Anyway, I wanted more of Charles R. Saunder's African-inspired fantasy set in Nyumbani, and I was happy to discover this collection of short stories from that setting - and it did not disappoint! These are Saunders' own sword-and-soul stories, some inspired by African folktales and myths. It's great stuff!
• 
  Christopher

  ***1/2: solid collection of short stories from the late, great Saunders. Many of these belatedly seeing print due to the racist neglect this author suffered. It was satisfying to finally read these, though only a handful of the tales were truly excellent, particularly the tale of Katissa, which serves as a prologue to the Imaro cycle of novels. Even the lesser stories are still enjoyable. Sad that it took the author’s passing for me to even discover this collection.
• 
  Jefferson

  A terrific collection of fantasy stories. It's criminal that Saunders wasn't more well known in his lifetime.