Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Mar 2023
96 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History
Publication Information
Moses Ose Utomi's debut novella, The Lies of the Ajungo, follows one boy's epic quest to bring water back to his city and save his mother's life. Prepare to enter the Forever Desert.
They say there is no water in the City of Lies. They say there are no heroes in the City of Lies. They say there are no friends beyond the City of Lies. But would you believe what they say in the City of Lies?.
In the City of Lies, they cut out your tongue when you turn thirteen, to appease the terrifying Ajungo Empire and make sure it continues sending water. Tutu will be thirteen in three days, but his parched mother won't last that long. So Tutu goes to his oba and makes a deal: she provides water for his mother, and in exchange he will travel out into the desert and bring back water for the city. Thus begins Tutu's quest for the salvation of his mother, his city, and himself.
The Lies of the Ajungo opens the curtains on a tremendous world, and begins the epic fable of the Forever Desert. With every word, Moses Ose Utomi weaves magic.
"Utomi perfectly blends fantasy and fable in his mesmerizing debut novella…[He] draws readers into a harsh and beautiful world where nothing is as it seems. Fantasy fans will want to keep an eye on this up-and-coming author." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"This short but deeply affecting parable will unveil new perspectives to readers long after it's done. Highly recommended." —Library Journal (starred review)
"A deftly written fantasy quest." —BuzzFeed
"A captivating and violent fable, The Lies of the Ajungo plumbs the depths of deception yet bursts with hope. Taut and unexpected. I devoured it." —Fonda Lee, author of the Green Bone Saga
"Utomi is on the brink of something exceptional." —Suyi Davies Okungbowa, author of Son of the Storm
This information about The Lies of the Ajungo was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Moses Ose Utomi is a Nigerian-American fantasy writer and nomad currently based out of Honolulu, Hawaii. He has an MFA in fiction from Sarah Lawrence College and short fiction publications in Fireside Fiction, Fantasy Magazine, and more. He is the author of the novella The Lies of the Ajungo and the YA fantasy novel, Daughters of Oduma. When he's not writing, he's traveling, training martial arts, or doing karaoke―with or without a backing track.
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