The Last of Imaro

[bibliogramma]

The Trail of Bohu, Charles R. Saunders

This was the last published volume in the magnificent fantasy series about the hero Imaro and his quest to rid the land of Nyumbani of the evil Mashataan, demons who seek to destroy him and to rule all of Nyumbani. Saunders had several more volumes planned, but the apparent lack of interest in a black fantasy hero whose quest is set in a world based on the land and cultures of Africa has now twice cut short the telling of the tale.

The Trail of Bohu is long out of print, and used copies can be pricey, but for those who did buy and enjoy Night Shade Press' recent re-release of a revised version of Imaro and The Quest for Kush, the story doesn't end in Kush, and this was the book that showed us where Imaro would have to go to complete his quest - and that told us just who Imaro was, and why this quest was his to shoulder.

Yes, I'm bitter. Just the idea of Imaro, a black hero, travelling through an African fantasy world, was exciting when Saunders' first stories were published. In the 30-odd years since, a reader still has to hunt for fantasy that's not set in a white universe. But at least I have all the Imaro that there was.

Comments

Imaro

[(Anonymous)]

Hi. I'm Charles R. Saunders, author of the Imaro novels. I'm writing to thank you for the kind words you have said about my books, in both their original and more recent incarnations. I also want to let you know that Imaro's day is not yet done, despite being dropped by DAW and Night Shade.

The next three Imaro novels will be published by a new outfit called Sword & Soul Media. Also planned is a sixth book, which will consist of Imaro short stories that were not absorbed into the novels, plus two brand-new stories and a novella.

The difference is that these books will be published as print-on-demand volumes, via www.lulu.com. I hope to have Imaro III, IV and V available before the end of this year.

Meanwhile, Sword & Soul has just published another book of mine about Dossouye, my Black Amazon warrior, who appeared in stories that were included in various anthologies. The book, titled Dossouye, is now available at lulu.

I decided that print-on-demand is the best alternative for my purpose, which is to make all my work available to however many or few people want to read it.

Again, I thank you for your support. Readers like you are the reason I keep writing despite the setbacks. An incurable stubborn streak has something to do with it as well.

Imaro III

[(Anonymous)]

Hello ... I just wanted to let you know that a new version of Imaro III is now available from www.lulu.com, under the title Imaro: The Trail of Bohu. The text is updated to reflect changes I made in the Night Shade editions of the first two books. The cover is by Mshindo Kuumba, the artist who did the cover for Dossouye. Coming next is the fourth book in the series: Imaro: The War Against Naama. Thanks again for all your support.

Charles R. Saunders

Re: Imaro III

[bibliogramma.livejournal.com]

Dear Mr. Saunders: If you should happen to read this - Thank you so much for letting me know about the new volumes that are coming out.

I read and enjoyed the Dossouye volume very much - and Mshindo Kuumba's cover is magnificent.

I'm looking forward to reading the revised version of Imaro: The Trail of Bohu and the new fourth volume.

I am so very glad that you have found a way to continue making your work available to your readers - and I hope that the growing awareness (slowly growing, perhaps, but still growing) among science fiction and fantasy fans that there has not been enough attention paid to visions that are not Eurocentric and white will bring more people to explore your work and that of other writers of colour.

Thank you for all the hours of entertainment your work has given me over the years.