Review: Three Black Boys : The Hotep Brother Manuscript Volume 2 by Zangba Thomson

Three Black Boys: The Hotep Brother Manuscript Volume 2 by Zangba Thomson is a wonderful continuation of the Three Black Boys series and I truly hope to see at least one more book in the future. It has elements that reminded me of the movie The Mummy Returns with its reanimated corpses.

Ego is back only this time he is calling himself Egor and has partnered up with Deadra whom he brought back from the dead, and her ‘pet’ Crow. The two of them along with Egor’s mindlessly enslaved Egomaniacs are have murdered the king of Monomotapa and are taking it over. Their goal is to stop the gold shipments to Planet Black, home of Father Time and Mother Nature. These gold shipments provide Planet Black with the necessary materials to protect it from asteroids and other dangers. Sadly a bunch of asteroids are headed straight for the planet and they do not have enough supplies to defend themselves.

With the looming threat of destruction Father Time and Mother Nature call on the Three Black Boys; Barnes, Demus, and Baker for help once again. The three boys are sent down to Monomotapa to discover what Egor and Deadra are up to and to put a stop to it before Planet Black is destroyed.

What I liked best about this book was the ending. This is not because the book was over (I for one wanted more) but because of the feelings, the book left me with. I was both happy and excited for the Three Black Boys as well as filled with hope that they can make better choices this time around. I can not say much else about what I liked without giving away some major spoilers. It was hard to choose something that I did not like about this book. If anything it was Barnes’ ring that felt off to me. The ring was supposed to give Barnes the ability to make any sound he wanted but it also gave him the ability to shoot laser beams out of it, though I am not sure why.

This book is ideal for adults and those mature enough to handle sex as it is not quite as family-friendly as the first volume. It is ideal for those who like dystopian fantasy with a bit of science fiction mixed in. I rate this book 3 out 4, just like volume one. It kept the style of the first book and had a nice flow to it that allowed me to read it in just two days. The symbolic theme of the destructive Ego carried over nicely as well, though I wish I could figure out what (if anything) Deadra symbolized. The idea of redemption and starting over after a troubled time was well depicted also. If it wasn’t for the ring’s unexplained power this book would have gotten a perfect score.

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Review: Three Black Boys: Tomorrow After Supper Volume 1 by Zangba Thomson

Three Black Boys: Tomorrow After Supper Volume 1 by Zangba Thomson is two books in one or it could be considered two parts of one book. This is one book that you do not want to dismiss out of turn because it just may surprise you.

Barnes, Demus, and Baker are three young black boys living in Southside Jamaica Queens, New York. The three boys are close friends and spend a lot of time together. They all have dreams of their own but their living situations make it hard for them to realize their dreams. Barnes spends his time spelling drugs and instruments of death to provide for himself and his sick mother. However, things change when Barnes takes his mother to a doctor and discovers that she has Black Fever Disease and will die in a month or less if she doesn't get a liver transplant that will cost a quarter of a million dollars. Branes, wanting to save his mother’s life, convinces his friends to help him get the money in the only way they know how, robbery.

Tomorrow After Supper is when Barnes, Demus, and Baker have a chance to redeem themselves since their intentions where pure. Ego has stollen the cosmic melatonin tree which provides everyone on Earth with their immune system and released a Death Virus on the planet. It is up to the Three Black Boys to recover the tree before everyone dies and Ego takes over.

This book not only exposes a disease (Black Fever Disease) that few have even heard of but shows how desperate things can get for those living on a low income or in poverty. The second half of the book is just as interesting and entertaining (also reminded me of Dante's Inferno) as the boys get a chance to redeem themselves. Some of the characters I was not able to fully connect into the story. The detectives and Ten-Ten Winz could have used more backstory as to how they are connected to the Three Black Boys and what they were doing. Also, some of the languages was a bit different for me.

Adults and young adults alike will enjoy this book, providing they don’t dismiss it out of turn. It would probably be fine for even middle school-aged children to read. It is very little in the lines of rough language and I believe most who read this will be impressed. I rate it 3 out of 4. Overall it had a great plot to it. Unfortunately, since a few of the characters confused me a bit I can not give it full points. This goes for both the original book and Tomorrow After Supper. I will admit I ended up looking up Black Fever Disease after reading this book.

Edited to add: I have read over some other reviews of this book and noticed that the second section seems to get a negative review in favor of the more realistic and serious first section. I enjoyed both sections equally. I feel like the second relies much heavier on symbolism and can understand how some who only read the section at face value could have found it lacking.

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Review: The Cerulean Monarch by Prashanti Talluri

The Cerulean Monarch by Prashanti Talluri follows directly in the footsteps of The Core Fulcrum and continues the adventures of Goldie and his friends. Once again the kittens are left to save the world.

The beginning of the second semester at Meow Wow High School promises to be just as interesting as the first semester was. At the high school, there is a secret room in the library that houses special or secret information. During the pre-opening cleaning of the school, the librarian hears strange noises but the source of the sound is not discovered until later.

Goldie and the other members of the “Curiosity Kills the Cat” class are brought in with their professor to solve the mystery of what happened in the secret library. They must be careful because a traitor or spy is suspected. The class is split into two teams to work on this case and once again Goldie finds himself pitted against Hisky and his gang. The only clue they have is petrified remains, ferrofluids, and an image of Ocspires (an extent amphibian in their world). That's not much to go on if they are to save their species once again.

I enjoyed how the professor encouraged the kittens to solve the mystery themselves and encouraged independence. Though with how important solving this was to the cat world I would have thought the professor would have been more involved from the start. Similarly to the first book I did not care for all the cat puns. I understand that this is because of it being a cat world, but I did not find it enjoyable. The strange spellings and combined or made-up words also took away from the book.

Young readers will enjoy this book the most, in part because they tend to be more forgiving of made-up stuff. Also, their imagination probably won’t try to reject the world built up in these books nearly as much. I rate this book 2 out of 4. Yet again there were just too many strange things in this book. At times it was almost like this book was about humans then it shifts gears and the characters are cats (or cat-like) again.

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Review: The Core Fulcrum by Prashanti Talluri

The Core Fulcrum by Prashanti Talluri has multiple details that made me think it was largely inspired by Harry Potter. The school has rooms that move daily which were a big reminder of Harry Potter but there were multiple little things as well.

Snowball and Goldie are two kittens that have just started the fifth grade. Like the school's humans are used to there are classes that everyone has to take an optional class. It is one of these optional classes that Snowball, Goldie, and some of their friends choose that sends them on an amazing and scary adventure. They all choose to take part in the class called “Curiosity Kills the Cat”, but so does their class bully Hisky.

In this class, after passing a test they learn of the Core Fulcrum. They learn that the Core Fulcrum is a powerful artifact that is responsible for all the cat’s extraordinary abilities. The problem is that the Core Fulcrum is missing and that could cause major issues for all cats unless it is found soon. Their solution is to enlist the help of kittens in school to join the dangerous search for this all-important item. Can they find it before it it's too late and the rats figure out how to use it?

I like how it acknowledges how cats essentially got their independence from humans (although I can’t help but wonder what happened to the people). It was also interesting how the casts and rats have created separate kingdoms from each other and even seem to war with each other to some extent. Honestly things like the snakes that bite their tails to function as seat belts just seemed a bit farfetched, along with busses that seem to be living animals at the same time (or maybe just created to mimic animal abilities, I am not sure). Then there was how the cats were in harnesses to practice for their version of the Olympics yet they were going through tunnels without getting tangled and finishing in around fifteen seconds seemed unrealistic even for cats.

This is a children's book all the way. I don’t think may people past middle school would be all that interested in it or find it very enjoyable. It may even be questionable for some middle school readers. It all depends on how well a reader can accept the strangeness of this book. I rate this book 2 out of 4. This is because the base story is good but the details just felt awkward. I just don’t think anyone but younger readers are going to be into it. I could be wrong though.

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Review: The Cockatoo from Timbuktu by William AE Ford

The Cockatoo from Timbuktu is from the same author who wrote Timothy Mean and the Time Machine (a 4/4 book I reviewed about a year ago) by William AE Ford. Just like the first book I reviewed by him, it is an amazingly cute book with fun rhymes.

Kian is a baby Cockatoo that lives at a zoo but wants to go home to Timbuktu and his parents. The little Cockatoo plans his escape and goes on a trip around the world to go home. He visits places like India and China, along with Egypt and Rio. He directly visits eight places during his journey and if readers pay attention he flys over even more amazing places such as the Stonehenge.

I absolutely love the cute little Cockatoo that is the focus of the story. “Cockatoo” and “Timbuktu” are both fun words to say, drawing interest from children. The artwork is also extremely cute as are all the other animals. Other than the few areas where the rhyme falls apart, I could find nothing to complain about. I do understand losing the rhyme at spots for the sake of the story.

This is designed for children. It could easily be read to newborns and older. A great book fro the beginning reader. It may also spark interest in different animals in older children as they track Kian’s path home. I rate this book 4 out of 4. Just like the book before it, this book is wonderful. I love the bright artwork and repetition and rhymes. Everything about this book is great for young children.

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