Shaka II

A novella. Cover art by Steve Leary.

Some empires never die, but are reborn eternally...

In the early nineteenth century, the famous and infamous Shaka carved a mighty Zulu kingdom out of the patchwork of tribes in Southern Africa. Before his death, he organised vast armies of warriors whose assegais brought terror to an entire subcontinent, and expanded his patrimony from a tiny principality to a broad and fertile domain. Then he was cut down, and his empire, under inferior leadership, eventually fell to the Boers and the British. But for how long?

A few hundred years from now, the Zulus of South Africa are quiescent, but parents gaze at each newborn son wondering: will this be the One to revive our fortunes? Then, fulfilling the implicit prophecy, Robert ole Buthelezi appears from nowhere, and in a bewilderingly short time restores Shaka’s name and dominion. He rises from obscurity to President, then warlord, and finally emperor: Shaka, or Tchaka, the Second. His weapons are not his predecessor’s spears and shields, however; he has at his disposal first assassins with guns, then biological warfare agents, and finally a great fleet of spaceships. Defying the rest of humankind, he goes empire-building among the stars; and as Earth looks elsewhere, battling ferocious alien foes, who can stand in the way of this new Genghis Khan?

In this powerful novella, the multiple Hugo- and Nebula-winning SF master Mike Resnick paints an unforgettable portrait of grand ambition and chilling tyranny, suggesting just how absolute the grip of the legendary past can be.