Madu, a young African, is captured by the English slave-trader, Sir John Hawkins. Two boys meet on a voyage that transforms their lives. Tim Vicary is an author who very clearly loves history and does his best to present events in an entertaining manner. Nobody’s Slave is a good novel for readers who enjoy historical fiction and it won the Best Kindle Award 2014. In the end, Madu serves as the main character and the plot’s primary driver he is an engaging figure to read about. The conclusion drags and may come across as preachy to a modern audience. Based on what they’ve heard, Madu and his fellow slaves assume certain things about the “red-faces,” which the reader is aware are untrue but nevertheless seem natural to them. Even though we are certain that Madu is not being baked for eating in the ship’s hold, he is unfamiliar with anything there. Nobody’s Slave’s opening chapter is tense and exciting. Perhaps there is a freedom with Madu’s story line that the author didn’t experience when writing Tom as this author does seem to be one that strives for authenticity?

Tom is shown as Drake’s cousin who travels with him on a voyage, most likely in the 1560s. John Hawkins and Francis Drake, real-life historical individuals, complicate Tom’s plot. Tom doesn’t seem to stop even when he has a significant personal loss he just seems to go on to the next thing.

Although he has reservations about the morality of kidnapping slaves, he is readily persuaded that it is necessary to do so. Perhaps it’s because he uses the justifications from then that we are aware of. Perhaps it’s because we are so accustomed to him. The two boys’ only concern at that magical time is winning over their fellow villagers. Everyone uses a goat to capture the leopard, but they all want to keep the goat.

He and his comrade Temba are trying to kill a leopard at the beginning of the book for their warrior training, but they want to go further. Madu goes above and beyond because of this stigma and his desire for his stepfather’s favour. She was pregnant with Madu at the time of their marriage, but nobody knew it. Madu’s mother was a Sumba woman who was taken in conflict and wed to a tribesman warrior. The tone of Madu’s section of the plot is reminiscent of Chinua Achebe, a master of African literature. Will Tom and Madu be able to maintain their friendship when the roles are reversed? Nobody’s Slave is a highly accurate book that is based on actual historical occurrences. When Madu is brought as a prisoner to the slave ship, he is bewildered and terrified. Due to an agreement between the opposing tribe and the English to sell their prisoners as slaves, two tribes are at war. Tom is a young English lad who is travelling on a slave ship looking for their next shipment of human beings. Madu is a budding African warrior who longs for his stepfather’s praise.

Nobody's Slave by Tim Vicary