DAZZLING: BY CHIKỌDỊLỊ EMELỤMADỤ

Dazzling is an imaginative dark fantasy/horror novel that dares to be different from what most of us have read, and when the author's narrative voice roars as loud as the spirit leopard, you cannot help but sit up and take notice. ​

Dazzling: The shimmering, spellbinding debut novel by Chikọdịlị Emelụmadụ

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wildfire (16 Feb. 2023)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1472289641

A horror book review by Jim McLeod

As a reviewer, I am constantly faced with the age-old battle of picking which books and authors to review. Do I seek out new authors or stick with authors I know and trust? It's a challenging catch-22 situation, as reviewers should reach out and find new and exciting voices, but at the same time, there is a finite amount of time to read, and the worry that you are wasting your time trying out a new author always preys on my mind. This is why I love the shorter forms of fiction; novellas and anthologies are the keys to discovering new and exciting authors.  


When I read Chịkọdịlị Emelumadu's story in the excellent Isolation anthology edited by Dan Coxon, I was immediately captived by the power of her writing, evocative, intriguing, and filled with a raw sense of power; her story was a highlight of the anthology. So when I heard that Chịkọdịlị Emelumadu had a novel coming out, I jumped at the chance to review it.  


Dazzling is one of those novels that literally knocks you to the floor with its brilliance and shows you that as a reader and a reviewer, you must make an effort to read beyond the confines of the authors you read. It shows that the genre can only be enriched by the inclusion of voices from those who bring a new perspective to worlds of horror and fantasy.  


Told from a dual narrative viewpoint of Ozoemena Neokeke, a relatively well-to-do teenage girl who has moved to Nigeria, struggling with fitting into a new exclusive school, and the mysterious disappearance of her father and Treasure, who, after the death of her father is destitute, struggling to exist on the unforgiving streets of the city, her life couldn't be further away from Ozoemena's if she tried. However, their lives will come crashing together as their lives are intertwined as Ozoemena discovers she is destined to become the avatar of a powerful supernatural leopard spirit in this heady, powerful, and intriguing story.  


Books work best, no matter what their genre is, when they transport you from the boring, mundane world of your day-to-day life to a rich and vibrant world, and, in this respect, Dazzling is a triumphant success, the Nigerian setting explodes off the page, you are entirely immersed in the sights, sounds and smells of the novel's setting. Rarely have I read a book that manages to envelop the reader so completely in this regard; it was a joy to encounter a world that was so different to worlds that I walk in far too often when reading a book.  


Adding to this richness of narrative setting is Emelumadu's incredible use of speech throughout the novel. Her use of local dialect and the rhythm of language was an inspired choice; I'll admit it took me a few chapters to get into the for me entirely, unfamiliar beats of how the two main characters spoke, but such was the power of her writing even during these early stages of the novel the style of writing completely enthralled me, and once I managed to clap along to the cadence properly Dazzling transcended from being a great novel to an exceptional novel that demanded my full attention.  


As for the themes of this novel, Emelumadu doesn't shy away from some heavy themes; it is at times brutal, unrelenting and heartbreaking. However, there is always a sense of beauty in the struggle of two young women struggling to find their way in a society that views them as lesser beings. In a world where justice is rarely just and family and ancestral honour rank so highly, the struggles that both girls face in finding the answers to what happened to their fathers and coming to terms with being the "chosen child." is one of the most compelling long-form narratives I have read in many a year.  


Emelumadu's use of magic throughout Dazzling is refreshing, lending the magic system and its use in the book a strong sense of realism; those looking for the lightweight flights of fancy of a certain spectacled schoolboy won't find that here; what you will find is a use of magic deeply ingrained and realistically portrayed from the Nigerean setting of the novel.  


While there is a profound beauty to Dazzling, there is also a horror element to it, where at times, the horror of the lives of the two girls are almost as horrific as the supernatural elements of the book; there are a few scenes that will have you wincing.  


Dazzling is an imaginative dark fantasy/horror novel that dares to be different from what most of us have read, and when the author's narrative voice roars as loud as the spirit leopard, you cannot help but sit up and take notice. ​

Dazzling: The shimmering, spellbinding debut novel by Chikọdịlị Emelụmadụ

Soon you will become the thing all other beasts fear.

Treasure and her mother lost everything when Treasure's daddy died. Haggling for scraps in the market, Treasure meets a spirit who promises to bring her father back - but she has to do something for him first.

Ozoemena has an itch in the middle of her back that can't be scratched. An itch that speaks to her patrilineal destiny, to defend her people by becoming a leopard. Her father impressed upon her what an honour this was before he vanished, but it's one she couldn't want less.

But as the two girls reckon with their burgeoning wildness and the legacy of their fathers' decisions, Ozoemena's fellow students at her new boarding school start to vanish. Treasure and Ozoemena will face terrible choices as each must ask herself: in a world that always says 'no' to women, what must two young girls sacrifice to get what is theirs?

'Erudite, original and beautifully written' CHRISTIE WATSON

'Unexpected, explosive and deeply satisfying' MELISSA FU

'A masterful storm' DOREEN CUNNINGHAM

'Uncanny and affecting in equal measure' T. L. HUCHU

'One hell of a book' MEG CLOTHIER

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