Every fantasy reader knows the feeling of finishing a book that completely draws you in, only to wish there was more of that world waiting for you. For almost seven years, South African filmmaker and writer Tapelo Zama has been building one that he is now inviting fantasy readers to enter.
The Outlands is a continent shaped by the rise and fall of kingdoms, political intrigue, forgotten bloodlines and ancient powers beginning to stir once more. Inspired by the histories, civilisations and landscapes of Africa, it is the setting for Blood of Kings, Zama’s debut epic fantasy novel.
Ahead of its official release, Zama is opening applications for free Advance Reader Copies (ARCs), giving fantasy readers the opportunity to experience Blood of Kings before publication and become part of its launch.
“I wanted the ARC campaign itself to feel like an event,” he says. “The practical side is that early reviews help people discover the book. But I also wanted people to feel like they were there at the beginning, discovering this world together.”
That spirit of discovery shaped every part of Blood of Kings. Drawn from almost a decade of research into African history, the novel reimagines epic fantasy through a continent inspired by the breadth of Africa’s civilisations, cultures and landscapes.
“Africa is so vast and so diverse that I felt there were many more worlds waiting to be imagined,” explains Zama. “That’s really where the Outlands began.”
For a time, he considered writing historical fiction instead. “I’ve always loved history, but it gives you very little room to move. Fantasy gave me the freedom to take the stories that fascinated me most and imagine what else they could become.”
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That creative freedom also led him in a different direction from much of contemporary African fantasy.
“When I started reading African fantasy, I noticed that much of it drew from a West African aesthetic. Those are incredible stories, but I wanted to explore another side of the continent. Blood of Kings draws inspiration from North Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa and beyond because I wanted to create a world that reflects just how vast and diverse Africa really is.”
Even the landscapes have their roots in reality. One of the novel’s most memorable settings was inspired by Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression, a place of vast salt plains, bubbling geysers and volcanic terrain that is often described as one of the most extraordinary landscapes on Earth.
Zama elaborates: “As someone who reads a lot of fantasy, I’d never come across anything quite like it. I remember looking at photographs and thinking, ‘How have I never seen this before?’ It didn’t feel real. I knew I had to find a place for it in the Outlands because I wanted readers to experience that same sense of discovery.”
While Blood of Kings marks the beginning of a new fantasy saga, Zama hopes readers take away something that reaches beyond the story itself.
“I want people to finish the book with a greater appreciation for the majesty and nuance of precolonial Africa. If it encourages readers to see the continent through a different lens, then I’ll feel I’ve accomplished something worthwhile.”
