The spectrum of modem African literary writing has attained an enviable height and a wider dimension in terms of thematic coverage. It is not a part of African life that is said to be just developing, dwindling or falling.

In fact, its pedigrees and diverseness are acclaimed internationally and to a large extent celebrated in the world of literature. This catapults the concept of literature in Africa far beyond a ten letter word. Literature in spite of being simply an abstraction of reality, a recollection of the artist's imagination and fantasies, still serves as a vehicle of aesthetic and didactic values of any given society within the context of specific and shared experiences as well as a mirror of the society and what this society represents.

A Mystical Ring is a novel written by Idris Mohammed, a budding and fascinating Nigerian writer who is making conscientious efforts in his writing to address an African ill that is universal. Glaringly, the society most of the time provides the raw material that the field of literature feeds on, but it is another ball game entirely for the writer to creatively harness such to make for a good reading, emotional tantalization and to provide embedded moral lessons that are aesthetically packaged in an attractive and acceptable literary format in terms of conventional global standards.

The novel is a timely creative piece deeply rooted in Africa, a continent bedeviled with the issues of bad governance and battles for succession with a number of selfish and self centered leaders. It must be noted that the artistic organization of the order of events in the novel like the missing ring, the swallowing of the ring, the catching of the fish that swallows the ring, the fight and the subsequent marriage of Nabil and Afra is for special effects to create and intensify suspense and maximize the reader's enjoyment of the text.

Mohammed's use of language in A Mystical Ring is quite scintillating and highly clinical. His choice of words is appropriate for every context in the novel. Mohammed further employed the use of code switching and code mixing; a very creative form of language use especially in an informal context. "Her voice came drifting out in soft cadence as she greeted the hopping bird 'masoyi ka tashi lafiya?' pausing a bit to hug the big bird...." In another instance, he used ". . .took an additional gulp from the bowl of kunun zaki which his mother had prepared for him...."

With a commendable sense of description through language, Mohammed manifests his prolific knowledge of English language in his work. The appropriateness of his choice of diction improves the aesthetic quality of his literary work. His language use remains intelligible to users of

English all over the world and simple enough to carry across the message. This simplicity is further enhanced by his employment of short chapters which develop each idea or movement in his narrative within a chapter.

It is important to observe that the language of A Mystical Ring is highly reportage; though this gives the work an easy flow of a newspaper report. Also, the sight of the events as they unfold does not lose originality and life associated with literature. This is as a result of combined effort of narrative voice and the creative cum imaginative flair of the artist. Other instances of colourful use of language include expressions like; ". . . you refused to let me in on it", ". . .is it naivety or was he being deliberately evasive", "my imagination remained silhouetted."

The strength, beauty and uniqueness of Mohammed's A Mystical Ring are hinged on his effective use of suspense. From the point when the fish swallows the mystical ring to the scout and fight for the ring is packed full of suspense. Mohammed is further able to heighten and sustain this suspense till the end of the novel when Nabil marries Afra, presents the ring and is made the king. This gives the novel a happy ending that is interesting and captivating full of resolutions.

In addition, the overt simplicity of the novel lies in the straight forwardness of its narration and orderly arranged plot. But underlying this is the fact that certain prose works are designed with plots and narrative techniques that make their appreciation tedious, clumsy and very confusing. This is not so with A Mystical Ring. It is straight forward and the plot is unambiguous. This indeed makes it intellectually stimulating, culturally entertaining and interesting with easy flow of thought and idea. Reprise, A Mystical Ring is good writing and good literature.