The Black Game of Thrones – In the Shadow of Ruin, A must read book

Who doesn’t love a good book? To be honest, at this stage of lockdown I’m sure that question receives a resounding yes by everyone 😂 Since we’re on the same page 😉 You can share the excitement I felt when I was gifted a book that was yet to be released and asked to review it 🙌🏾 “An exclusive” I hear you shout? That’s right ✅

In The Shadow of Ruin is a book about ancient Nigeria, written by Tony Debajo. It’s an action packed adventure novel, with a clear historic basis that is filled with lots of Nigerian folklore and superstition.

The book begins with a very handy glossary that provides the reader with a breakdown of all the terms used within the book. This is helpful for anyone that is unfamiliar with the culture and is actually something that all authors should consider doing when writing a book. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve come across a colloquialism in a book and thought “what on the Lords great earth does this even mean?” It’s annoying for a reader to have those thoughts, mainly because if you’re anything like me, you spend the rest of the book convincing yourself you don’t know what’s going on, purely because you didn’t know what a few terms meant 😂 It changes the whole book for perfectionists like me 🙆🏾‍♀️ So, In the Shadow of Ruin scored points with me right from the very first pages 👏🏾

Another point scorer was the character and tribe list that follows the glossary. Don’t get me wrong you aren’t ever going to remember all of the characters, before you actually get stuck into the book. However the inclusion of the list means you can refer back to it whenever you want 👍🏾 But it also shows you the heart of the author, because it’s a considerate inclusion that shows the reader that the author wants to remove any character confusion for them. Basically the author refuses to put the reader in a game of thrones like situation where they are constantly saying aloud “Who is this person again? Where do they belong? Let me rewind so I can figure this out” 😂

Now let’s get into the nitty gritty and talk about what I thought of the book 📖 The moment King Jide was met by a young girl warning him against his decision to seek help from charlatans, I was hooked. There was something about that brief exchange that resonated within me. It might have been the desperation that Jide showed, in his desire to win the upcoming war. Or it could have been the simple yet gripping way, that particular part of the book was written that got me 🤷🏾‍♀️ Either way, I was intrigued and knew I would enjoy the book.

Something that I have to say I loved, is the way the book has been expertly written. I found myself so engrossed in the lives of each character, that I began rooting for one side of the war before I even knew the back-story behind the conflict. Whenever you read a book and start emotionally connecting with characters you know you’ve stumbled onto a true page turner 📖  I felt myself get teary eyed whilst reading some of the moments shared between two of the Princes and it was in that moment that I realised that the author has a unique gift. He was able to produce a book that was full of action, but also captured the emotional ties that are forged by war and draw an eager reader in.