You can win this book

This full-colour graphic novel places Shaka’s rule against the slave trade that was expanding from the East African coast, and the Europeans spreading inland from the south.

It draws on the recent research of Prof.

Dan Wylie and explores the rise to power of a shrewd young prince who had to consolidate a new kingdom through warfare, mediation, and political alliances in order to defend his people against the expanding slave trade.

All the research is expertly repackaged by the young South African graphic novelist Luke Molver and co-author Mason O’Connor.

Molver explained: “I believe that people are inherently the same: we feel the same emotions, burn under the same sun and bleed the same red. Shaka Rising is an epic tale set in a different age, but its characters and themes are as familiar to us as sibling rivalry, the heartache of a lost love, or simply a yearning to belong. It is as much a coming-of-age tale as it is a saga of war and politics.”

Molver lives in Durban.

He says: “I was misled to think I knew the significance of the tale I was taking on.

I was, like most, only familiar with pop-culture’s Shaka Zulu: a warrior prince, violent and terrific.

I knew very little of the nuanced and complex figure whose legacy has shaped South African history.

I was to learn not only the immensity of Shaka’s influence on warfare, but also his ground-breaking innovations in politics and leadership.

“Graphic novels are the ultimate medium of communication, education and entertainment. And, if one considers the ancient cave paintings of San bushmen, sequential art has roots in Africa. So, Shaka Rising is the ultimate portrayal of our history; visceral, visual and informative. I look forward to sharing its significance with the wider world.”

Story Press Africa is a proudly South African imprint.

This book has recently been launched in the USA to much acclaim and LAPA is proud to help present it to South African audiences through our distribution agreement.

This book is up for grabs for one of our WITBANK NEWS readers.

Leave a comment in the comment box and tell us why you would like to read this book.

The competition ends on September 25 at 12:00.