Lion Mountain: A Perilous Evolution of the Dens Book

In his second book, Karamoh Kabba has accomplished two tasks in a semi-fiction novel: He has written both a historical account in a plot that reads so well, the reader is transported to spheres of geography where hitherto not been, yet occupies the terrain which an omni-competent writer lures the attentive reader that Kabba conjures in fine fictional writing.To read this book, is to stand yonder in Africa of kings, chiefs and men of intrigue. When done reading this book, one is bound to encourage others to share in the intrigue and enjoyment that come from each chapter, teeming with culture of earlier societies. The protagonist Chief Morquee III, is the apotheosis of the tale told by Kabba. In hubris and likeness, he is the embodiment of Okonkwo of Chinua Achebe's classic novel, Things Fall Apart. In Kabba's story, an obdurate and powerful chief, a veteran of tribal wars, throws down the gauntlet to flout the authority of a white Governor who has ordered a new tax, Chief Morquee would not permit his people to pay. A stand off between the Chief and Governor leads to a war of nerves that blossom into a contest of war. In the ensuing drama of war of nerves and contest in arms, there is something for history, social anthropology, political science and literature. Lion Mountain is indeed the novel written from the perspective of an African writer, but its value and contribution to literature are truth that need no compelling argument. Kabba has indeed woven the tradition threads of his heritage into a fine fabric, to behold history and fiction in one place.