BOOK REVIEW: Last Gate of the Emperor by Kwame Mbalia and Prince Joel Makonnen | Middle Grade Scifi For All Ages!
Hello, reading buddies! In today's post, I'm very excited to share with you my thoughts on Last Gate of the Emperor by Kwame Mbalia and Prince Joel Makonnen. But first all, I would like to thank Terminal Tours for organizing this blog tour and for having me in it! If you would like to know more about this book and my thoughts on it, then just keep on reading--
Title: Last Gate of the Emperor
Author: Kwame Mbalia and Prince Joel Makonnen
Publication Date: May 4, 2021
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Genre: Middle Grade, Scifi
Page Count: 304 pages
Synopsis:
An Afrofuturist adventure about a mythical Ethiopian empire. Sci-fi and fantasy combine in this journey to the stars.
Yared Heywat lives an isolated life in Addis Prime -- a hardscrabble city with rundown tech, lots of rules, and not much to do. His worrywart Uncle Moti and bionic lioness Besa are his only family... and his only friends.
Often in trouble for his thrill-seeking antics and smart mouth, those same qualities make Yared a star player of the underground augmented reality game, The Hunt for Kaleb's Obelisk. But when a change in the game rules prompts Yared to log in with his real name, it triggers an attack that rocks the city. In the chaos, Uncle Moti disappears.
Suddenly, all the stories Yared's uncle told him as a young boy are coming to life, of kingdoms in the sky and city-razing monsters. And somehow Yared is at the center of them.
Together with Besa and the Ibis -- a game rival turned reluctant ally -- Yared must search for his uncle... and answers to his place in a forgotten, galaxy-spanning war.
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When I started reading Last Gate of the Emperor, I thought it was gonna be just a middle-grade science fiction with bits of adventures here and there. Oh, boy was I wrong.
Yared is a smart kid who can be viewed as a "problem student" in school. But as I read through his story, I realized that he's just another kid longing for a real family, craving for a mother's touch, because, since the beginning, it has always been just him and his Uncle Moti. Following his adventure is truly engaging. I love how it was written in the first-person point of view because we really got to see Yared's adventure through his eyes. I'd like to say that this book is character-driven and I actually really liked that. Since the target audience of this book are those aged 8-12, the authors did a great job ensuring that these kids would really enjoy following through Yared's adventure by making this book read like a "friend's diary".
Last Gate of the Emperor started off action-packed and it continued to drop all the action all throughout the story.
I love how this book is one hell of a rollercoaster ride! For a middle-grade, it sure has a lot of action to keep the readers engaged with it. I can't think of another middle-grade novel that is as action-packed as this book is. I think it's really a good choice to include so much action in this book to inspire the readers' creativity and imagination. Even as an adult, this book got me thinking and imagining what each technology in here looks like and how it could "probably" work. Having said this, I think it's obvious that the writing style of the authors is so vivid and that they really took time to describe everything and everyone very clearly.
It started off with ACTION, ACTION, ACTION, and ended up with FEELS, FEELS, FEELS.
The thing with Last Gate of the Emperor is it is not only action-packed but it is also filled with plot twists. I literally did not know what to believe anymore when I got halfway through it. I think that Yared is also really confused with what the truth and what isn't anymore. Imagine discovering that everything you thought, or everything that was said to you since you were a kid, to be just "stories" or "tales" are actually real. But then something happens and then you become confused again and think, "What?! Is this REALLY real or NOT REAL??" Truth be told, the build-up to the final revelation was done good and that's when emotions started to just flow endlessly! Nevertheless, this book is full of twists and turns that you would just want to keep reading to discover what the truth is.
Overall, Last Gate of the Emperor is a great middle-grade science fiction book. It is perfect for all ages, from middle grade to young adults to adults because it has an amazing character arc, lovely found family trope, and the plot is full of twists and turns!
🌟🌟🌟🌟
KWAME MBALIA is a husband, father, writer, a New York Times
bestselling author, and a former pharmaceutical metrologist in that
order. He is the author of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, a
Coretta Scott King Honor book. He lives with his family in North Carolina.
Visit him online at kwamembalia.com.
PRINCE JOEL MAKONNEN is the great-grandson of His Imperial Majesty
Emperor Haile Selassie I, the last emperor of Ethiopia. He is an attorney
and the co-founder of Old World/New World, a media and entertainment company focused on
telling powerful African stories that inspire global audiences through film, TV and books. He lives
with his wife, Ariana, in Los Angeles.
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TIME FOR CHIT-CHAT, BUTTERFLIES!
What are some middle-grade sci-fi novels that you really loved? What are some on your TBR?
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