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Calista had only wanted to impress her father, the King of the First Dynasty of Genapa on Acirfa (specifically Allburn); and was beyond excited and emboldened to receive her first solo mission to discover the truth about the mysterious Sixth Kingdom – Kimarr (which was assumed to have been destroyed). Things take on a disastrous, and somewhat surreal, turn when she’s captured by a pale man and held as a prisoner.
Dakarai and Khari have been sent on an undercover mission to earth – to seek out potential threats to Acirfa and Genapa that may come from the earthlings. They take on assumed identities and have jobs – Khari as a bartender in a trendy club in Canary Wharf, Dakarai – a detective. Use their advanced Genapain technology to keep each other informed of any developments, Khari asks Dakarai to meet him in the club; he’s been ‘made’ by a strange woman who has left a strange code on a napkin. The woman is soon murdered in front of them, only sharpening their unease and making their entire mission even more dangerous.
Although written in a slightly jarring style, which makes you go back to ensure you’ve not missed anything of import, you shouldn’t let that put you off what is an exceptional book with a rich, colourful word built into its pages. Yes, at times, it’s slightly surreal, but surely that’s what Nicely wants to achieve, especially when Calista is almost certainly hallucinating. In no small way, Genapa’s technology reminded me of that of Wakanda’s – as well as the veil protecting Acirfa from earth.
What I think I especially loved about The Masterpiece is that it made me search for all of the myths and legends which surround African heritage – aside from Egyptology. It led to an eye opening experience, and vastly improved my education.
S. A
First published on Reedsy Discovery as part of their ARC program. You can read the original review here.
You can purchase The Masterpiece by clicking on it’s name from Amazon.