Awards

• Short-listed for Children's Africana Book Awards Honor Book for Older Readers. 2019 (United States)
• Short-listed for Nommo Awards for African Speculative Fiction-Graphic Novel 2019
• Winner of Children's Africana Book Awards Honor Book for Older Readers. 2019 (United States)
• Winner of Children’s Africana Book Awards Honor Book for Older Readers. 2019 (United States)

Overview

A time of bloody conflict and great turmoil. The slave trade expands from the east African coast. Europeans spread inland from the south. And one young boy is destined to change the future of southern Africa. This retelling of the Shaka legend explores the rise to power of a shrewd young prince who must consolidate a new kingdom through warfare, mediation, and political alliances to defend his people against the expanding slave trade. ""A worthy introduction that offers a young Anglophone audience entry into a legend of Africa without the annoyance of overtranslation and with refreshingly three-dimensional characters."" --Kirkus ""Deftly written and superbly illustrated by Luke Molver, ""Shaka Rising: A Legend of the Warrior Prince"" is a truly extraordinary and entertaining graphic novel that will decidedly prove to be an enduringly popular addition to community library graphic novel collections for readers ages 16 to 86."" Midwest Book Review Luke Molver is a graphic novelist whose world is fueled by the art of storytelling. He lives in Cape Town, where reality continues to interfere with his daily life.

Full Product Details

9781946498984

Table of Contents

Reviews

The men and women in this story are shown with admirable nuance, as the principal actors in their own lives and era rather than as moving parts in a modern-day morality play. A sequel is planned for this first installment of Shaka's story, which itself marks the launch of a welcome historical graphic-novel series set in Africa. Meghan Cox Gurdon, Wall Street Journal--Meghan Cox Gurdon Wall Street Journal Shaka Rising is a groundbreaking graphic novel. It belongs on school and home shelves. And the hope is that the series to follow will be equally professional, educational, and entertaining. New York Journal of Books Shaka Zulu rises to power amid great regional turmoil to defend his people against the tide of the expanding European-backed slave trade. Gogo, an elder, opens by announcing that the story of Shaka is the story that is part of all of our stories...it is in the clay of our homes...in our blood and our bones. In this series opener, Shaka, the son of Zulu chief Senzanghakona, struggles with his brother Sigujana over the succession and is eventually forced into exile. Shaka recovers under the leadership of northern neighbor King Dingiswayo, and his skills in battle earn him the reputation of a wise and accomplished warrior. Yet as tribes vie to control new territories and imprison soldiers for eventual European trade, he recognizes that he must return home and assume his responsibility to lead the Zulu. This graphic novel admirably allows its hero to retain flaws and scars that keep him squarely in the realm of the human. Molver's clean panels also emphasize this, advancing the story in well-paced sequences that balance action with calm. In an era when the stories of colonial exploitation and European enslavement overdetermine how global audiences encounter African stories, Molver and O'Connor forthrightly center this tale on the struggles among the indigenous tribes and nations as they seek to maintain their lands and lifeways while still acknowledging that they, too, have a confluence with the dark days. Several pages of backmatter offer historical and cultural context, a glossary, discussion questions, and a pronunciation guide. A worthy introduction that offers a young Anglophone audience entry into a legend of Africa without the annoyance of overtranslation and with refreshingly three-dimensional characters. --Kirkus .

Shaka Zulu rises to power amid great regional turmoil to defend his people against the tide of the expanding European-backed slave trade. Gogo, an elder, opens by announcing that the story of Shaka is the story that is part of all of our stories...it is in the clay of our homes...in our blood and our bones. In this series opener, Shaka, the son of Zulu chief Senzanghakona, struggles with his brother Sigujana over the succession and is eventually forced into exile. Shaka recovers under the leadership of northern neighbor King Dingiswayo, and his skills in battle earn him the reputation of a wise and accomplished warrior. Yet as tribes vie to control new territories and imprison soldiers for eventual European trade, he recognizes that he must return home and assume his responsibility to lead the Zulu. This graphic novel admirably allows its hero to retain flaws and scars that keep him squarely in the realm of the human. Molver's clean panels also emphasize this, advancing the story in well-paced sequences that balance action with calm. In an era when the stories of colonial exploitation and European enslavement overdetermine how global audiences encounter African stories, Molver and O'Connor forthrightly center this tale on the struggles among the indigenous tribes and nations as they seek to maintain their lands and lifeways while still acknowledging that they, too, have a confluence with the dark days. Several pages of backmatter offer historical and cultural context, a glossary, discussion questions, and a pronunciation guide. A worthy introduction that offers a young Anglophone audience entry into a legend of Africa without the annoyance of overtranslation and with refreshingly three-dimensional characters. --Kirkus.

Shaka Zulu rises to power amid great regional turmoil to defend his people against the tide of the expanding European-backed slave trade. Gogo, an elder, opens by announcing that the story of Shaka is the story that is part of all of our stories...it is in the clay of our homes...in our blood and our bones. In this series opener, Shaka, the son of Zulu chief Senzanghakona, struggles with his brother Sigujana over the succession and is eventually forced into exile. Shaka recovers under the leadership of northern neighbor King Dingiswayo, and his skills in battle earn him the reputation of a wise and accomplished warrior. Yet as tribes vie to control new territories and imprison soldiers for eventual European trade, he recognizes that he must return home and assume his responsibility to lead the Zulu. This graphic novel admirably allows its hero to retain flaws and scars that keep him squarely in the realm of the human. Molver's clean panels also emphasize this, advancing the story in well-paced sequences that balance action with calm. In an era when the stories of colonial exploitation and European enslavement overdetermine how global audiences encounter African stories, Molver and O'Connor forthrightly center this tale on the struggles among the indigenous tribes and nations as they seek to maintain their lands and lifeways while still acknowledging that they, too, have a confluence with the dark days. Several pages of backmatter offer historical and cultural context, a glossary, discussion questions, and a pronunciation guide. A worthy introduction that offers a young Anglophone audience entry into a legend of Africa without the annoyance of overtranslation and with refreshingly three-dimensional characters.

The men and women in this story are shown with admirable nuance, as the principal actors in their own lives and era rather than as moving parts in a modern-day morality play. A sequel is planned for this first installment of Shaka's story, which itself marks the launch of a welcome historical graphic-novel series set in Africa. Meghan Cox Gurdon, Wall Street Journal--Meghan Cox Gurdon Wall Street Journal The art by Molver is simply breathtaking. Altogether, this book elevates the narrative surrounding this legend, as we not only get to see a boy become a man but one who draws power from his people. [T]he intrigue of the story and the intensity of the character are well fleshed-out. This is a tale comics has heretofore not done justice to, and it's handsomely presented here. --Booklist The story moves briskly, and the language is vivid and dramatic. [...] [Shaka Rising] is worth adding to collections -- School Library Journal Shaka Rising is a groundbreaking graphic novel. It belongs on school and home shelves. And the hope is that the series to follow will be equally professional, educational, and entertaining. New York Journal of Books Shaka Zulu rises to power amid great regional turmoil to defend his people against the tide of the expanding European-backed slave trade. Gogo, an elder, opens by announcing that the story of Shaka is the story that is part of all of our stories...it is in the clay of our homes...in our blood and our bones. In this series opener, Shaka, the son of Zulu chief Senzanghakona, struggles with his brother Sigujana over the succession and is eventually forced into exile. Shaka recovers under the leadership of northern neighbor King Dingiswayo, and his skills in battle earn him the reputation of a wise and accomplished warrior. Yet as tribes vie to control new territories and imprison soldiers for eventual European trade, he recognizes that he must return home and assume his responsibility to lead the Zulu. This graphic novel admirably allows its hero to retain flaws and scars that keep him squarely in the realm of the human. Molver's clean panels also emphasize this, advancing the story in well-paced sequences that balance action with calm. In an era when the stories of colonial exploitation and European enslavement overdetermine how global audiences encounter African stories, Molver and O'Connor forthrightly center this tale on the struggles among the indigenous tribes and nations as they seek to maintain their lands and lifeways while still acknowledging that they, too, have a confluence with the dark days. Several pages of backmatter offer historical and cultural context, a glossary, discussion questions, and a pronunciation guide. A worthy introduction that offers a young Anglophone audience entry into a legend of Africa without the annoyance of overtranslation and with refreshingly three-dimensional characters. --Kirkus .

Author Information

Luke W. Molver, co-author and illustrator: Luke W. Molver has always known that his life would be fuelled by storytelling. He studied Fine Art and Graphic Design at the Durban University of Technology and works as a freelance illustrator and comic book creator in Cape Town, South Africa. He has produced a number of comic books and his work has been published in a variety of graphic anthologies including the Laugh It Off annual, Velocity, Mamba Comix and GrafLit: Graveyard Literature. Mason O'Connor, co-author: Mason O'Connor was born in Stutterheim in the Eastern Cape and has spent the majority of his life living in the small town of Hilton outside the capital of KwaZulu-Natal. He is currently studying mathematics at Stellenbosch University. Other works of Mason's include Late One Night, a short story published in The Natal Witness, and Guardian Angel, a short story published in Top Class English Grade 9 Reader.

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