THE MERCENARY'S WOMEN

Sweeney presents a historical series installment about a man caught up in the 17th-century trans-Atlantic enslavement trade.

As the story opens, a man named Khumbi is leading a raid on a plantation in the Caribbean. He’s originally from Angola, and how he came to be here on the island of Yurumein (later known as St. Vincent) is a complicated story. Back in 1641, Khumbi is a young boy struggling to survive. The effects of drought where he lives, coupled with the death of his mother, make for a difficult life with his father and siblings. Khumbi is taken away by a Swahili trader named Mfanya Biashara. He’s then traded to a local chief “along with some cattle and goods.” Sometime thereafter, when Mfanya returns to the area, Khumbi travels with him again. Later, a vicious group of warriors called the Imbangala attacks them, and he winds up their prisoner. Without any better options, Khumbi goes through grueling training to become a full-fledged Imbangala warrior himself. After taking part in several conflicts against different groups of Europeans, Khumbi is sent to Brazil as a mercenary to help the Portuguese fight the Dutch—and it’s hardly the last step in his adventure. The book paints an intricate image of the protagonist, who plays many disparate roles during his life. He’s an enslaved person and, later, a hunter of enslaved people; at different points, he fights alongside the Dutch and the Portuguese. Cannonballs fly and blood is spilled as he bounces from place to place. The only thing that ever seems certain is that there will be new trouble (and new languages) for Khumbi to contend with. As exciting as many of these changes are, some descriptions feel a bit bland, as in a vaguely sketched trip through “rugged mountains” and “broad savannas” that leaves little impression. Overall, though, readers get a nuanced look at the time period in all its treacherous, violent intensity.

A lively international adventure that’s heavy on action but light on nuanced imagery.