“For since death came through the first woman, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a woman.”
Eldá Nani Kama
From the cover, we can assume that women will play a major role on this, be it good or bad, but from that intro, we find out that it’s pretty much the bad side, which may be kind of good depending on the events of the story, but the intro does push us forwards to reading the book. Nice touch Nzondi.
The Author doesn’t waste time in putting the reader on the tip of toes as the story starts off running with a:
“I think she just broke my back. I tried to move but couldn’t. Breathing slow and labored, I stared into the undead woman’s eyes that dripped an ominous glare down onto my helpless body.
Maybe if I hadn’t gotten dreamy eyes for this really cute guy (I mean jerk), the weight of the human race wouldn’t be sitting on my shoulders. I would’ve easily given my life so my best friend, Jess, wouldn’t die.
Too late.”
And by the end of the chapter one, I can tell you that THAT is one of the coolest intro’s of a book. There are so many things to answer that you want to know right there and then. THAT’S how you do it! Oh yes, this book is going to be good, and we know it because the descriptive ability of Nzondi, the author, is as solid as rock, and possesses the ability to create questions on us readers that linger in our minds without needing to tell much. Impressive.
On Chapter 2 we meet, probably our main character and we like her in less than 5 sentences. She does her thing, that’s raising the dead, you know, nothing unusual there, and has a badass attitude. PLUS, the main character is a BLACK WOMAN! And black women ARE fierce as hell. Ohhhhh yeah! It was about time!
Let me tell you something, you can feel all the BLACKNESS and all the attitude on the main character! Like, FOR REAL! Ok. You might not be understanding why I’m so hyped about this aspect, but let me ask you this: “How many Black characters you’ve read felt… Black?” THAT’S WHY I’M HYPED. YOU FEEL IT, it’s THERE! The attitude, the sarcasm, the questioning, the defying manner of a Black women that is natural and just flows yet makes you feel threatened because if you don’t behave yourself you are going to end up with a fist on your mouth. THAT! OH GOD YES! YES!
Like, I’m HONESTLY tired of “whitened” Black characters, or even when they are there, there are TOO MANY stereotypes constructing the character and putting it on the “white version spectrum” of how a Black character should be like. It gets sick really. It does. Ok, once again, I’m not dissing White, Hispanic or Asian writers for their attempts on writing Black characters. NO, and I thank them for helping in bringing down the barriers of racism on literature, writing about the injustices and oppression of Black people in the White societies and even Asian societies as well, by giving them many times a lead role on their novels. Thanks a lot. I am, however, PRAISING Nzondi for the BALLS he had to actually make a Black character BLACK! LIKE THANK YOU!!!!!! WE NEED THIS!!! Oh MY GOD!!!! Coz Coleman is PERFECT, like, she EVEN HAS A BLACK NAME! OMG! In a matter of fact, there are BLACK NAMES ALL OVER!!!! OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!
Do you know how annoying it is to read a Black female character named “Jessie” or even worse, “Bethany”. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with the names themselves, no, but they just aren’t African. It’s like having a character born in Guang Zu, of a Chinese lineage and be called “Pablo Hernanez”, it just doesn’t fit. Stereotypes or not, names ARE a big part of our identities and tell a LOT about who we are, and that applies to characters as well, so THANK YOU Nzondi.
OK! THIS BOOK IS CREEPY. Like… Zombie style creepy. OMG, WHY ISN’T it Halloween already?! This book is perfect for Halloween! LOL!
The descriptions that Nzondi makes, and how he takes his time to build the tension without taking a lot of time to describe what’s happening and how… is impressive and just adds to the whole atmosphere of the book. You will want to read this in a dark room to increase the spookiness.
Nzondi leaves a few details here and there before he gets to the scene of terror, just to warm you up, or may I say… chill you down, leaving him plenty of room of manoeuvre , but that’s the thing! He doesn’t use those gaps! He doesn’t take his time! Nzondi pulls out VERY tight corners, FAST, as the narrative is speedy and relentless, putting your heart racing as your eyes dash through her words! OH MY GOD! I’m not a horror aficionado, at all, but DAMN! Nznodi is good, like REAL GOOD, and I ask myself WHY isn’t he a bigger name in the INDUSTRY?! I mean, this is CLEARLY best-selling material. WHAT THE HELL?! WHY ISN’T THIS A BEST-SELLER?! I can’t believe it. This is the best horror book I’ve read this year! OMG!
The way Nzondi kept pushing on and off the details that he wants us as the readers to remember, and then forget, as he prepares the big scenes, giving us time to conjure all the horrific possibilities in our curious minds, makes the teasing creep right up necks and raise hairs, even before he actually starts busting through macabre scenes! It’s amazing! Nzondi also takes time to detail the rituals performed which is quite awesome to read.
There is lots of dark humour in here, and sarcasm is sent off like the author and the main character were breathing it. Many times the sarcasm of the main character is directly towards herself, and you can note a light, yet always present self-loathing attitude, as if the main character blamed herself for something, which makes her human and relatable.
There is a clear tug-of-war inside the main character between love, hate, dealing with the sense of abandonment, and being able to move on that really defines her character and her sometimes careless decisions, which brings depth to her and to the book.
As a necromancer, Cozimel knows she has quite of power, but she takes it with a “meh, right, ok” attitude and doesn’t actually brag about it, which makes her very cool, but maybe, just maybe, it’s because she is missing someone dear to her that died, and the fact that she is a necromancer, pulling him back to see him, talk to him would be, as she put it herself: “unprofessional”.
The African references and the African culture that the writer embedded in the book are refreshing. There is the mention of gods, entities, vivid descriptions that make the images easy to picture and remember for later reference and fact-check, and yes, authors, readers fact-check, so be aware of that, and thank you Nzondi, for inviting readers in a journey of discovery of their African roots and feeding the love for the African culture, history and above all, spirituality. THANK YOU!
Aside from the fast-paced and thrilling narrative, when things aren’t getting spooky and chilling, there’s a conversational style to the narrative of the main character, the slang and loose terms that makes you feel like you were talking to someone live, is something really cool and enjoyable. Like I said before: Nzondi doesn’t beat around the bush. He actually tells it how it is, tells what needs to be told and moves on with telling the story. That’s VERY nice.
Contrasts. The author CAN put contrasts of several daily, yet ignored, or “put a blind eye” upon the situations involving Black people, in the most various contexts. It’s subtle yet noticeable. It isn’t like he is complaining or whining or even actively calling to the attention of the reader as if he was saying: “hey, you, look at this, this is wrong”. No. He just lightly puts it and lets it go, moving on with the story. VERY professional.
TRANSGENDERS !!! THIS BOOK HAS TRANSGENDERS!!! OMG!!! YEAH!!!! Like, we here do love diversity and inclusion all the way, and this is the first book that has transgenders on it! This is super cool! Love it.
Talking about contrasts, do expect hyperboles here when it comes to describing traits of people or situations, you will laugh at them like a maniac.
One thing that makes this book REALLY special is the fact that Nzondi took a whole new approach when it comes to the undead, how they behave, their traits and even parts of their physicality in every aspect, something very original and totally unexpected that makes this book stand on its own on a crowd of mainstream tales of horror. The necromancy aspects of Lipstick Asylum are also original and bent on the writer’s pleasure and whims in order to fit his story and give an entertaining story that the reader will totally appreciate.
Nzondi not only put an original and unseen twist on the story, but he actually put something that many other horror writers tend to avoid by mixing fantasy on their books: Logic. Zombies are approached in a way that makes total sense, although one would think that this would be a no-brainer.
When the action starts, you BET you’ll find gore and filth, your heart will pound, but above all, the author will create scenes and put characters into circumstances that will make you say: “Ahhhhhh, crap, this ain’t happening” but our main character is a total badass, so expect throat punches!
This book is something special, complex, thrilling and VERY VERY much needed to be read by all of us, because of the example it sets, the questions it makes us ask ourselves, the realities that it shows towards trauma, mental illness, and above all, for the sheer action, terror, horror, and humour it carries and that plot twist in the end, that is hard to accept at first, but the writer does make it up to us, as the book gives a 180 degrees spin, and then another one, making the book come to its twisting finale….. that promises continuation. What a read, indeed. Pretty cool from an author that we all should look out for, Nzondi.
Pros:
- EXCELLENT character construction, each was full of colour and life, each with its role on the plot and moments of relevance
- EXCELLENT narrative ability and pace
- EXCELLENT descriptive abilities and VERY well put details
- EXCELLENT plot
- EXCELLENT thriller sequences and details
- EXCELLENT message about the book, the representation of African culture and spirituality, vampirism, necromancers, zombies, the undead
- EXCELLENT action scenes, just breath-taking
- BADASS CHARACTERS! BADASS female character
- Great take on mental health. GREAT indeed
- Loved the inclusion of the LGBTQ community in the book overall
- Nice emotional build-up both in the action, thriller and romantic scenes, it was VERY good to read them
- Loved most characters of relevance where black. LOVED IT!
- GREAT ending, we want a sequel for yesterday!
Cons:
- Nzondi, the author, sometimes bit his tongue when using certain expressions, although profanity was already there
- The massive plot twist literally spun the book over, which can upset some readers, but Nzondi did recover the book over
Scribble's Worth 