Moses Ose Utomi

One of the best novellas I've read this year (I'd rank it number 5 out of the 17 I've read). This is Moses Ose Utomi's debut novella and the longest adult work from him thus far. I'm very excited for to see his progression in the next two books of this series as well as thereafter. There were some internal consistency issues, but I found the the story engaging and interesting and (importantly for me) the proper length (i.e. didn't overstay it's welcome or understay). Interesting twists, "magic" and characters wrapped in a great story with a meaningful theme as the cherry on top (yea, I mixed my metaphors).… (more)

"Do you know why I will never trust your Truthseekers, young Osi?" he asked. "Because they are powerful. Many people liken power to a spear. Or an oba. But is it neither. Power is like water." He rolled the die. One. "It is not loyal. It is not honest. It has no desire but to grow." He rolled again. One. "Even when defeated, it simply changes shape or place, filling any vacuum it finds, persisting until the day it can resume its growth."

Thank you, NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group, for the chance to read and review this book.

I was a big fan of the first book, The Lies of the Ajungo, and was really excited to read this one! Moses Ose Utomi has a distinctive style of writing that carries through both books. Both books unpack power and what people will do to maintain it. Both leave you feeling unsettled, and this one doesn't have the happiest of endings either. I also really appreciate how this book told the story of another city where Tutu is considered something else entirely.

That being said, the characters of this book, while realistic, fell flat. We don't need to have a clear good or bad thing happening, but some more details could have helped them become more distinctive and allowed some personality to make them more discernible; Hizo is the one who gives us the most in that regard.

"You numb yourself," Hizojie said. He was away from them, sitting with his head leaned back against the lunch table bench, staring at the sky. His voice lacked its usual bite. It was soft and calm, as sincere as Osi had ever heard it. "A Seer does not suffer when he steps on the sand. Because he feels nothing for the sand. That is all people are, Osi. Grains of sand. Burn them, crush them, step on them. You will learn to feel nothing."… (more)