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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 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.

Publisher: Tordotcom (05/03/2024) Length: 112 pages Formats: ebook, paperback

Truth is a cruel teacher. It does not appease.It does not reconsider. Its lessons vary in delivery - sometimes tickling in over decades, sometimes crashing down all at once - but consistently disregard the desires of the student.

The Truth of the Aleke is an excellent sequel to The Lies of the Ayungo. It's self-contained and technically works as a standalone, but I highly encourage you to read the series in the publication order. It'll make the impact of the ending much stronger.

Five hundred years have passed since the events of The Lies of The Ajungo, and history has replaced truth. The City of Truth and its leaders have been at war with the Cult of Tutu and its cruel leader, Aleke, for three centuries. Both sides of the conflict have different versions of history, with neither fully interested in the truth.

Young Osi believes his city stands as the final bastion in the fight against the ruthless hordes of Aleke, who bring nothing but suffering and destruction. Aleke's actions seem to confirm his belief: their attacks leave the city wrecked and its citizens massacred. Osi survives (not gonna tell you how) and embarks on a quest to defeat Aleke and retrieve the ancient magical artifacts stolen from the City during the bloodbath.

His journey into the desert reveals the depth of the lies. And Osi's fate is brutal and gut-wrenching. Osi is a flawed and naive hero, desperate for truth, and easily manipulated by others. His desire for glory blinds him and results in rather poor choices. The clash of his youthful idealism with the harsh realities of the world and political cunning is painful to watch.

I loved how Utomi approached themes of truth, power, and history, showing their ambiguity and complexity. The way he packed excellent world-building in just 112 pages impressed me, too. And I can't forget about awesome action sequences and awesome magical powers that enhance the readability of the story.

The Forever Desert is shaping to be a brilliant trilogy of novellas somewhere on the intersection of dark fantasy and fable. I can’t wait to read the last one in the series.