Originally published in 2018 as part of a Kickstarter campaign and forthcoming to a more global audience this August from Catalyst Press, Kariba is an adventurous fantasy middle grades graphic novel. As the South African-based creators note in an afterword, Kariba “draws heavily upon historical fact,” taking its name from the real life Kariba Dam located on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, along the Zambezi River. Built in the 1950s, the history of the dam— from its construction to its present day failings— has been fraught, to say the least. Competing colonial and corporate interests, ecological degradation, and the displacement of established communities along the Zambezi River all form part of the real-life background against which Kariba is set.

The mythological background of Kariba is that of the Zambezi River itself. According to the Tonga people, Nyami Nyami (or Nyamnyami, as used in the text) is a river god in the form of a water serpent. The construction of the Kariba Dam greatly angered him, and he expressed his displeasure by causing accident after accident during its construction.

It is in the confluence between the historical and mythological that we meet Siku, our protagonist. She is eleven years old, and lives with her Baba and an older woman who is perhaps her grandmother (it is not clear from the text) on the banks of the Zambezi River. Siku has a powerful ability to control water, which her father bids her to keep a secret. Her father is keeping his own secrets, however, and they hold the key to Siku’s power.

I will not risk spoiling all the action, but suffice it to say there will be river pirates, ancient sages, a multinational cast of characters, and a final showdown between powerful beings. Kariba’s panels are full of action and shimmering, bold colors. Libraries interested in increasing their selection of African stories would do well to consider adding this book to their collections. Furthermore, young fans of historical fiction, fantasy, or graphic novels may all find something of appeal in this coming-of-age story set in a changing world.

I must point out, however, that the creators of Kariba are all white South African men (one is of “Scottish-South African and Chinese-Australian” descent). It begs the question: who gets to benefit, whether financially or professionally, from telling stories steeped in Black African traditions? I am in no way disparaging the achievement of creators Daniel Clarke, James Clarke, and Daniel Snaddon. But one must be attuned to how power affects how stories are told and how they are published. Power permeates everything in a settler colonialist society such as the United States or South Africa. Colonialism is not past; it is present.

The story of Kariba Dam is a story of colonialism. But Kariba is in no way a white savior narrative. Siku is her own agent, and forges her own way. Like other great works of fantasy, Kariba asks more questions than it answers.

Title:  Kariba

Written by Daniel Clarke

Illustrated by James Clarke

Story by Daniel Clarke, James Clarke, and Daniel Snaddon 

Catalyst Press, 2023 (release date: August 1, 2023)

ISBN: 9781946395825

You can purchase this book here.*

Find this book at a library. (2018 edition published by Blue Forest Collective)

Reviews: Kirkus, Booklist

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Klem-Marí Cajigas has been with Nashville Public Library since 2012, after more than a decade of academic training in Religious Studies and Ministry. As the Family Literacy Coordinator for Bringing Books to Life!, Nashville Public Library’s award-winning early literacy outreach program, she delivers family literacy workshops to a diverse range of local communities. In recognition of her work, she was named a 2021 Library Journal “Mover and Shaker.” Born in Puerto Rico, Klem-Marí is bilingual, bicultural, and proudly Boricua.