Minorities in Comics and Other Media, etc

[Agent Z]

A Young Swordsman Faces an Uncertain Future in African-Inspired Fantasy Epic The Rage of Dragons

According to author Evan Winter’s official bio, the British-born son of South African parents was inspired to start writing when his own son was born, and “he realized that there weren’t many epic fantasy novels featuring characters who looked like him.” His African-inspired debut The Rage of Dragons helps fill that void, and io9 is thrilled to share an excerpt from the epic tale.

First, here’s a brief summary of Winter’s novel:

The Omehi people have been fighting an unwinnable fight for almost two hundred years. Their society has been built around war and only war. The lucky ones are born gifted. One in every two thousand women has the power to call down dragons. One in every hundred men is able to magically transform himself into a bigger, stronger, faster killing machine.

Everyone else is fodder, destined to fight and die in the endless war.

Young, gift-less Tau knows all this, but he has a plan of escape. He’s going to get himself injured, get out early, and settle down to marriage, children, and land. Only, he doesn’t get the chance.

Those closest to him are brutally murdered, and his grief swiftly turns to anger. Fixated on revenge, Tau dedicates himself to an unthinkable path. He’ll become the greatest swordsman to ever live, a man willing to die a hundred thousand times for the chance to kill the three who betrayed him.

https://io9.gizmodo.com/a-young-swor...can-1834613144

Yes, you read that right. His name is Evan Winter and his novel has women who control dragons.