A really interesting venture into African culture. Vaguely reminiscent of the story of Moses. Worth the read if you enjoy stories about the morals of a community of people and the self righteousness men have.

Brent Ludwig has all the answers. And he is happy to preach them to you in novel form.

The first half of this book is an African version of the Prince and the Pauper. The child of the king and that of a poor family are switched at birth. The poor boy is raised as the crown prince while the genetic descendent of the king grows up on the streets. Then the switch is discovered and the two are forced to trade places.

The second half of the book is how the genetic prince tries to implement policies that everyone agrees will take Wakanda, sorry, Maleziland (but Wakanda is more believable as a fictional country) from being the worst country in the world into the greatest country in Africa. Unfortunately, the Church, the army, and the ousted former prince are all arrayed against him. What will happen? Read it and see.

Or rather, don't. Very early on, the condescension that was dripping through every page was so overbearing a thought occurred to me... this author is white, isn't he? Sure enough. And as this book about midway through began revealing his motivations. Brent Ludwig knows exactly what each of those "poor African nations" need to do to stop being so poverty ridden and corrupt. Now if only the rulers of all these countries would read this book, they would all be able to pull themselves out of poverty. Don't believe me, just read Ludwig's bio: "He has a keen sense of interest in developing nations and trying to help as many people as possible by leveraging his writing and finance talents."

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

I could not put down Those Who Would Be King. This imaginative and compelling tale of two boys, borne of completely different circumstances, and the reversal of fortunes that implodes both of their lives, sets the stage for a deep exploration of family loyalty, nature versus nurture, wealth inequality, power dynamics, and personal destiny. This is a thought-provoking, powerful and beautifully written novel that you will be thinking of long after you’ve closed the cover.

I really felt for the characters in this story, it was so well written and I was hooked from the first page. The characters did everything that I needed them to do. It was a great concept in the historical genre and had some good action elements. Brent J. Ludwig does a great job in writing this book and I look forward to read more from him.

"You lost less than fi fty Red Daggers, my king. Th e cur Kureba’s army is more than ten thousand fewer in size, my king. Some, of course, were Malezis who had crossed the border,” stated Jibwa.Prince Mandebala knew that on a less glorious day, this would have enraged the king."