Well, 2022 is done! What a year it has been!
On a personal level, yeah, this year will forever be remembered as the year I began a lifelong journey of oneness with the most amazing woman in the world. As well as seeing my sister also get married to her longtime boyfriend. It’s certainly been a glorious year for my family, you can tell.
It was also a good year because, after months of neglect, the State finally returned!! Yeah, life as a lawyer and a husband with responsibilities doesn’t make it easy, but storytelling will always be dear to me. So it’s definitely worth celebrating. We came back somewhere in September, and five stories were dropped!
So this is a review of the class of 2022. The stories in question: You’re Gonna Regret This, Power Couple, Green Wounds, Operation Milk Joe, In The Car.
No need to waste time. Let’s get into it!
NUMBER FIVE: IN THE CAR
This story stays true to the title, doesn’t it? Every time we see the protagonist Abrefa, he’s in the car. Anyways, this tale takes us through his encounters with love. And until the end, it’s not pretty for your man.
From the gentle bouncing he collects from Adobea to the clash with Joelah, Abrefa’s love story is shown in bits, but it’s pretty clear to see that it’s full of disappointments and heartbreaks, and you just wonder if he’s been destined to be the unluckiest guy on earth.
Well, as the end of the story shows, he’s not.
All those disappointments seem like a forgotten dream by the end of the story. Nothing more than phases on his journey to meet the woman who would love him and spend her life with him. And you gotta feel some level of relief and delight for him because he really goes through it. Ultimately, he gets the happiness he sought. A lovely end to the story.
NUMBER FOUR: OPERATION MILK JOE
This story deals with a crazy stigma that is prevalent on the continent of Africa: a stigma towards people living with albinism. The beliefs that their body parts can be used for sacrifices puts them in unnecessary danger, and the outright disregard for their lives.
Doctor Kiros embodies that belief system with the trade he runs, and it’s pretty clear he has zero regrets. RIP to all the poor albinos who fell victim to him. His main men, Moyo and Keti, may have quite the goofiness about them, especially when they’re arguing with each other, but make no mistake about it, they’re just as callous towards albinos. Their reaction to Joe shows it all.
But thank goodness for Agent Nathan Dixon! It really looked like he was just another customer of Doctor Kiros. He might not have known anything about the other captive (whose demise was pretty horrific), but at least he saved Joe and many others from a needless death.
NUMBER THREE: GREEN WOUNDS
Oh, the tragic tale of Barry Evan! Such a tragic tale it is. You can’t entirely blame him for the route he took, can you? Sadly, though, it didn’t work out very well for him.
This story provided us with a few memorable characters, didn’t it? The protagonist Barry, is a man with a lovely family, an unhealed wound, and an insatiable thirst for revenge. A thirst that would, unfortunately, become his undoing.
There’s nothing likable about Gilbert Addison. He makes it pretty evident throughout the story that he has no scruples about him. As long as it results in him getting rich, he’s good. His actions are despicable, to say the least, and even though Barry let his desire for vengeance push him too much, not many readers would shed a tear for Gilbert. Maybe for Elisabeth, since she had no idea about his past. But definitely not Gilbert. The greedy bastard!
Then Romeo… sigh, poor Romeo. His life was a miserable one. From childhood to his final days, it’s like he was just set up to lose. The fact that the cold Rex actually gave him so many chances and he flopped at all of them kinda proves that, doesn’t it? His end was one of the sad points of the story. You’d have thought he’d just find himself back on the streets, but… failing Rex had deadly consequences, and he had to pay the price.
Speaking of which, I don’t think there would be any disagreement with the fact that Rex Bruschi is one of Dabar’s scariest characters. I mean, Rex is not the type of person you’d want to encounter in real life; your life is potentially in danger if you find yourself around him. He just doesn’t tolerate nonsense, does he? Barry really signed his own death warrant by choosing to lambast him, you gotta be honest. He shouldn’t have gotten tough with a man he’s supposed to be scared of. But well…
So this was a great story. Tragedies all around, and a reminder that deals with the devil don’t always work out the way they should.
Maybe Barry should’ve just listened to Barbara and left it up to God…
NUMBER TWO: YOU’RE GONNA REGRET THIS
The gripping story of the Slash Kings is definitely one of the highlights of 2022. from beginning to end, this thriller was something else!
Not everybody is to be messed with, and these three young men found out the hard way, albeit in different ways.
Obviously, the luckiest among them was Ambradu. The leader who went from enjoying picking on young kids to setting up an anti-bullying foundation. His regrets got him out of further trouble, didn’t it? Those scary encounters with the Kingsley kid may have left scars, but he lived to turn from his foolish ways, which is pretty much worth it.
His comrades, however? Not so lucky.
Jake’s end was sad, wasn’t it? He shouldn’t have had to lose his life the way he did. Shot right in front of his family. Unfortunately, though, he chose the wrong path. And for a child of a very spiritual couple, you’d kinda expect that he’d know better. But nope, young Mr. Yorke preferred to do the wrong thing and convinced himself that his parents’ prayers would always cover him.
A cautionary tale of sorts, I believe. Don’t engage in foolishness and think intercessory prayers for you is all you need.
As for Faisal… hehehe, Mr. Faisal Kadiri.
Let’s be honest, he’s definitely finding himself on future lists of the State’s most hated characters. I mean, the boy was so horrible, it was ridiculous. He just wanted to be horrible for the sake of it. And his lack of filter? Good Lord. The boy loved to insult on a whim.
It didn’t get any worse than when he got a well-deserved beating from Ambradu. His filthy talk about Stephanie was just nauseating. He might not have died like Jake, but that state we found him in at the end of the story? He definitely received the worst punishment.
By the way, can we all agree that this story contains one of the craziest episodes on the State? Two teenagers ready to fornicate, only to be interrupted by a cockroach invasion. That episode was an unexpected bowl of madness!!
NUMBER ONE: POWER COUPLE
Kay Parker hit us with an unbelievable story!
And the best part of it is that there’s still more to come.
The tale of Caris and Carol Benton is one of the best bits of 2022, to be honest. Every bit of this story is memorable. From the absolute rawness and the unbelievable debauchery to the nail-biting suspense, Kay created something crazy. The balance of the present and what happened a decade earlier is well structured, so you’re never confused about what’s going on. The suspense never wears off; you’re constantly wondering just how the two are gonna handle the fact that Glazer’s body has been found, especially with Inspector Kpodo on the job.
And the characters… oh, the characters! The world of Power Couple provides us with quite some unforgettable characters.
The main couple definitely ought to be mentioned. Caris and Carol Benton are one perverted duo, for real. The beginning of the story comes to mind, with that ‘threesome’ with Karla Beest (they had no idea how much trouble that would fetch them). And of course, their little tryst under the cross. I still dunno how Kay thought of that. Of all the places to fornicate?! A church altar?! Man!
I do like the fact that after ten years of marriage, they’re still as crazy about each other as ever. I’d put them high on my list of favourite SoD couples, but that church session…
Another character of note: the dangerous Stella. I dunno about you, but that woman strikes me as the kind of woman a man knows is dangerous, but is so enchanted by that mountain of beauty he’ll empty his bank account just to have one night of passion with her.
A classic femme fatale, if you ask me.
Well, we discover quickly that she’s more than the secretary to Kane Glazer who gives him sweet appointments. She’s pretty much a major player in the whole saga. And it’s all for love.
Yeah, I was pretty stunned by that. Stella and Karla Beest were lovers, and it was down to that crazy session in the beginning that she had the Bentons captured.
By the way, about Kane Glazer. Number one, is he a sleazeball, or is he one helluva sleazeball? He clearly loves to use people, and throw them under the bus where necessary. Dunno about you, but the fact that he set Tembo up just so he could have the benefits of the agency to himself was utterly despicable. Framing him up to be a paedophile? Smh.
Number two, is he dead or alive? And if he’s alive, what’s gonna happen when he shows up? Because there’s no denying a lot of people are in the deepest of trouble if that happens. The Bentons, Stella and Karla… it’s not gonna be pretty at all.
And yes, how can we forget the lascivious insanity of the ninth episode? The strategy Carol used to get info out of Stella! Bruh, you will not get through that episode with your innocence unscarred.
Everyone in Power Couple got a lewd side to them, that’s for sure. Well, except Inspector Kpodo. And the Archbishop, of course. It was sad to know he had passed within the decade, by the way…
So, there it is!! The class of 2022! It’s been great getting back to my passion. There’s so much more the State of Dabar has in store for y’all. My prayer is that God gives me grace to provide you with all of it.
Happy New Year!!