Book Summary and Reviews of Chronicles of Ori by Harmonia Rosales

Chronicles of Ori by Harmonia Rosales

Chronicles of Ori

An African Epic

by Harmonia Rosales

  • Critics' Consensus (3):
  • Published:
  • Oct 2025, 304 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

From the acclaimed fine artist Harmonia Rosales, a sweeping retelling of African myth illustrated throughout with Rosales's spectacular paintings.

In Chronicles of Ori, her debut book, Harmonia Rosales retells the African myths she has long treasured, crafting an enthralling epic that spans the birth of the universe to the modern world of colonialism and resistance. She writes of the powerful, temperamental deities called the Orishas; of the founding of Yorubaland by the shrewd leader Oduduwa; of the young heroine Eve, born in a time of violence and despair, who would help her people regain their past splendor; and of shimmering serpents and monstrous shadows who stalk the lands of mortals. At the center of these linked tales is the bond, sometimes fraying, between the Orishas and the humans who worship them. It was the Orishas who made humans, and who gave them their most precious resource: their Oris, or destinies. Vividly brought to life by Rosales's artwork, Chronicles of Ori will enlighten and delight readers for years to come.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"[R]ichly evocative…a brilliant and beautiful volume." ―Booklist (starred review)

"A lavish, eye-catching rethinking of ages-old stories." ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

This information about Chronicles of Ori 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.

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Author Information

Harmonia Rosales

Harmonia Rosales is an American artist from Chicago whose work depicts and honors African myths and the diaspora. She lives in Los Angeles, California.

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