The Dark Lady

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Love the references to Shakespeare. The use of Tudor street speak is a great way of gently exposing YAs to the language of the period in an accessible way. Brilliantly atmospheric debut YA novel...The Dark Lady is a compelling rollercoaster of a journey. It's incredibly atmospheric, you feel transported to the sights, sounds and smells of Shakespearean London, all thanks to the incredibly engaging storytelling of Akala. It's full of guilt, revenge and a little bit of magic, the perfect combination for this sophisticated YA historical novel. You simply won't be able to put this one down. Cue the sequel!' - ReadingZone I expected a full fantasy going on here but instead found a magical historical tale that was realistic and other-worldy at the same time. The book is, I am sorry to say, incredibly poorly written. Occasionally, Akala has some truly beautiful descriptive passages (these seem to be his forte), but apart from these limited paragraphs, the writing is awkward, repetitive, and contrived.

Living in a quasi-elizabethan London, Henry lives with his cousins Mary and Matthew in the slums after being abandoned by his Mother who could be anywhere. Haunted by the dreams of a mysterious dark lady, Henry has to navigate his newfound gifts, his power over words and language while still trying to navigate the racial and societal prejudices threatening to erase him. Pledger, Paul. "UK grime rapper Akala announces an XXL live tour for November 2010 and new album". Allgigs . Retrieved 17 April 2020. Fifteen-year-old Henry lives in poverty in the care of a pair of apothecary sisters. A skilled thief and writer of sonnets, he has an additional extraordinary gift — he “can close his eyes and read languages”. Letters become “colours, shapes, sounds and musical notes. Always a different pattern emerged and it was endlessly beautiful”. And, with brown skin inherited from his absent Beninese mother, Henry is subject to racism, with England’s insularity and prejudice pertinently portrayed — the rhetoric of foreigners “stealing jobs” is all too familiar.A brutally slow, meandering tale with little discernible plot, awkward prose, and thoroughly unlikable characters, "The Dark Lady" was an absolute chore to read. When morning came Henry waited and waited for Lucia to come but she didn’t, so Henry now had to save up more money so he didn’t the only thing he knew he stole, but people weren’t on guard when he was wearing the cast off’s from the duke they treated him with respect. Daley appeared for a live session on BBC Radio 1Xtra where he was challenged to come up with a rap containing as many Shakespeare play titles as he could manage, he wrote and performed a minute-long rap containing 27 different Shakespeare play titles in under half an hour and later recorded these lyrics in the studio and turned it into the single "Comedy Tragedy History". [22] Mary invites Henry to see a horse being killed by dogs and she invites mathew without telling him. mathew and Henry are friends again and when mathew tells him there’s a house to steal from, a wealthy house Henry is up for it, mathew comes with him but then mary turns up to help. Akala". Brighton.ac.uk . Retrieved 21 May 2020. He told graduates: "I can't lie, I often envy those of you who do get to go, people like you … who are about to remake the world, or at least this country. That's how serious these four years are. What will you do with the time you spent here and the education you have been privileged to be loaned by the rest of society?

It's real magic, which is at complete odds with the rest of the setting. No one seems to be too alarmed by Henry's ability, and he isn't particularly shy about hiding it either - Joan and Agnes' abilities are also treated as witchcraft, yes, but...standard witchcraft. It's not because the story itself took a different turn that I wasn't expecting - though that's definitely one of the reasons why. It's because even though I was very excited to dive into this book, I was only three chapters in when I was already considering DNFing it. It was slow-moving almost instantly, and I just found that I was not connecting with this story whatsoever, and I could just feel it putting me into a reading slump already; I just knew that this book was not for me. Pistols, Dub. "Award winning hip hop artist Akala joins Dub Pistols in the studio". Dub Pistols . Retrieved 17 April 2020.If you're looking to read a story that isn't necessarily a life changing one to read, but is an impactful one nevertheless - one about growth, mistakes, race and poverty, and finding power in words - then you should definitely give The Dark Lady a go. It has its flaws (as I've mentioned in this review), but overall, it is an amazing story to read, and I'm now so excited to see what it is Akala delivers next when it comes to Henry's journey. Henry faces challenges and learns a lot about himself and those around him. I confess the melodramatic climax put me off somewhat, especially Henry’s sudden onset of naivety. However, considering the target age group, I’m probably overthinking it. The ending is either a new beginning or a cliffhanger for a sequel, I’m not sure which.

It feels like you're missing something, and it makes it very hard to judge the stakes. No one seems to be either horrified or too impressed, and the world's axis doesn't seem to be tilting (as it would if these magical abilities were discovered even now, never mind in a time where people didn't know what a germ was). Should I be alarmed when Henry tells someone about his power? Apparently not. And if everyone else is acting so blase, should I be impressed either? Also, apparently not. Daley got his stage name from Acala, a Buddhist term for "immovable", [17] and started releasing music in 2003 from his own independent music label, Illa State Records. He released his first mixtape, The War Mixtape, in 2004. [18] The Nottinghill Carnival takes central stage in this story about families, memories and the power of dance and festivals. Author Yaba Badoe tells... I think there is definitely people out there who will absolutely love this book, I am just sad that I am not one of them Akala: 'As I grew up, I became embarrassed by my mother's whiteness' ". The Guardian. 26 May 2018 . Retrieved 12 October 2021.

Brian Rose, "Fight the Power — Akala and the Power of the Word", London Real Academy, 20 October 2015. My only disappointment was the realisation this book was not a standalone but had a sequel, meaning it would leave loose ends or a cliffhanger However, the disappointment turns to excitement when you realise the sequel will be just as fascinating. In November 2019, along with 34 other musicians, Daley signed a letter endorsing Corbyn in the 2019 UK general election with a call to end austerity. [50] [51] Lectures, speeches and interviews [ edit ] Lectures [ edit ] Yet despite all my praise, it definitely had its flaws that were unignorable - flaws outside of the constant slow-pacing that made getting into this story very difficult.

To me, I felt that the storyline itself wasn't greatly developed in the long run, and that there was no real motive to this plot whatsoever. The side characters had no real purpose to this story as a whole, and despite the fact that this is a fantasy, it's clear early on that the magic of this world - but more so, of Henry and his foster aunts, Agnes and Joan - are not a main focus nor a top priority for this story at all. Community organising is core to Daley’s Akala characters identity and his attention is turned to raising a new generation of free-thinkers, activists and creatives. He has a children's book out, that introduces school kids to hip-hop, titled Hip and Hop: You Can Do Anything. Akala: Doublethink Interview (video)". The Orwell Foundation. 20 October 2010 . Retrieved 17 April 2020. So there’s a lot of potential here, but it didn’t quite work for me. More work needed to go into building up the secondary characters and the magic system so that they didn’t feel like incidental add-ins. More importantly though, there needs to be a main narrative hook and I suspect that won’t materialise until the sequel, as this is certainly not a stand alone. It’s almost like it’s a prequel to the action really starting rather than a full novel in and of its own right.News, Janice aka Miss Mad (31 May 2010). "UK Music News: Ty and Akala Official Support Acts for Nas and Damien Marley 'distant Relatives' UK Tour". MAD NEWS UK . Retrieved 17 April 2020. {{ cite web}}: |last1= has generic name ( help) The duke realised that Henry has a gift. So now Henry is a prisoner with extraordinary gifts. He’s been tested on how his gift works, then he is brought to a room with men and they get him to show everyone his gift, Henry’s gift is that he can write out any book that is handed to him. Bringing hip hop to the lecture theatre". Manchester Metropolitan University. 26 November 2012 . Retrieved 13 July 2016. While a challenge to create, the new novel isn’t entirely new territory for Akala. The Dark Lady is a combination of everything we’ve come to celebrate the writer for: an almost encyclopaedic grasp of history, his profound storytelling ability, and, with The Hip-Hop Shakespeare Company, setting the Bard’s works to a modern beat. “I just think that he’s [Shakespeare] written some of the best characters ever made,” Akala tells me. Henry also has a secret gift, known only to his stepmother and friends. He can read any language - all he has to do is close his eyes and the translation comes to him in a blaze of golden lettering. This isn't, as you can imagine, a common skill in a street urchin and, when a failed robbery brings Henry to the notice of a nobleman and his friend, Doctor John Dee, there's another impossible choice to make. To take the wealth, comfort and riches a rich patron can bestow, or to betray a best friend?