Synopsis

A sixty-year-old Spanish captain arrives off the west coast of Africa in the mid-1600s, hoping to capitalize on the recent upswing in the African slave trade. While he is not very enthusiastic about becoming part of the slave trade, he surmises that this is the best way to seek his fortune. He and his crew scout around the area looking for human cargo to take with them to shores of America.

About 100 miles inland lay the seat of the vast kingdom of Wagadu, a village called Tangor, which is teeming with a vibrant culture that has seen its fair share of skirmishes with neighboring tribes and traders from the east. The king of Wagadu, Kumba Kundul Bafour, has had a relatively peaceful six-year reign. His father, the former king, had abdicated the throne at Tangor and ceded all of Wagadu's lands to his son. He retired to the western coast. Kumba's wife had died shortly after Kumba assumed his kingship. Kundul Bafour, at sixteen, in Kumba’s son and heir to the throne.

As Kundul prepares for the journey to visit his grandfather, he receives an urgent message from the town griot. The griot explains that he had a vision involving the young prince. He foretells a time when the sixteen-year-old will be in a prime position to save the kingdom. Kundul then learns of a collection of green precious stones that lay hidden in sacred caves to the north. Kundul’s journey to manhood is about to begin, and he learns of the awesome power that the stones possess. The encroachment of slave traders into the kingdom is beginning to create some confusion, but the villagers of Tangor are unaware of what is about to happen. Kundul uses the power of the stones to restore order to the kingdom after going through many trials himself that involve deception and intrigue.

Kundul proves himself worthy of the power he now has and saves his village from the invaders. A joyous celebration erupts among the villagers of Tangor. Kundul is named the new king of Wagadu by his father, who now sees that his son has proven his worth to his people. After that moment, he is known throughout Wagadu as Kundul the Younger.

Sales arguments

• Thomas Hill is a career publishing services professional with extensive experience in composing, developing, and publishing titles in varying genres
• Combined social media following among co-authors is 5,000, over 10,000 email contacts
• Mamour Dieng (co-author) is a Senegalese national with strong ties to the government and media
• Face of the publishing industry is expanding to include voices of color and stories by authors of color
• The #BlackLivesMatter movement has cast a spotlight on black authorship and writing about black voices

Similar titles

• Ken Follett, Place Called Freedom (New York: Random House, 2010): Ken Follett takes readers on a journey through history through the eyes of a 21-year-old Scottish prisoner who ends up in slavery-era America
• Daniel Black, The Coming (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2015): Black's book deals specifically with the slave trade and highlights the experiences of Africans prior to their journey across the Atlantic Ocean.
• Wilber A. Smith, River God (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994): Smith tells the story of a clever eunuch trying to survive in an ancient Egyptian society that affords him neither rights nor status.

Audience

Young adult fiction readers, historical fiction readers, magical realism readers