The Lies of the Ajungo

Moses Ose Utomi

Tor Publishing Group, Mar 21, 2023 - Fiction - 112 pages

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.

A Library Journal Best Book of the Month!

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.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - thewanderingjew - LibraryThing

The Lies of Ajungo (The Forever Desert, Book 1), Moses Ose Utomi This book is less than 100 pages, and yet, the wallop it packs is greater than books of enormous length. It is so creative that it ...

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - jennybeast - LibraryThing

It's a cross between a fable and a post-apocalyptic wasteland, with a significant African point of view, and that makes for a strong story that's hard to put down. It's short. There are things about ...

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. His debut YA fantasy novel, Daughters of Oduma, will be coming out in early 2023. When he’s not writing, he’s traveling, training martial arts, or doing karaoke—with or without a backing track.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Lies of the Ajungo; Volume 1 of The Forever Desert
• Author: Moses Ose Utomi
• Publisher: Tor Publishing Group, 2023
• ISBN: 1250848423, 9781250848420
• Length: 112 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / Fantasy / Action & Adventure; Fiction / Fantasy / Epic