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cfeijoo's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death
lumidouce's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Murder
spadedigsbutts's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This wasn't quite the book for me but it was still good overall. If you like dark fables or coming of age stories, you will probably enjoy this a lot! This is a weird ask, but if you partake, I would almost suggest reading it out loud with a friend or two. The writing style itself feels very much like an oral tale put to print, which really adds to the vibes of the story and its fable-like nature, but it did make me want an audio book my whole read, which we sadly rarely get for novellas.
Due to its shortness, only the MC gets any development and despite how few characters there were I didn't quite latch onto anyone else but him. Granted, he does have very interesting and justifiable development, it's just I often struggled to remember other character's existence even when they were right there. There are a lot of fight scenes and they are decently written with some very nice visual language. All that in mind, if an African influenced fantasy coming-of-age fable in a desert of lies and obfuscation with a bunch of fight scenes is your jam, go for it!
Due to its shortness, only the MC gets any development and despite how few characters there were I didn't quite latch onto anyone else but him. Granted, he does have very interesting and justifiable development, it's just I often struggled to remember other character's existence even when they were right there. There are a lot of fight scenes and they are decently written with some very nice visual language. All that in mind, if an African influenced fantasy coming-of-age fable in a desert of lies and obfuscation with a bunch of fight scenes is your jam, go for it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Grief, and Murder
internationalreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
rheagoveas's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, and Blood
jstilts's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
The author says this is a fever-dream they've turned into a novella, and from this perspective it's a success - something abstract and strange and not entirely logical made into a coherent linear plot.
However I found it hard to engage with - while I can empathise with the characters they are unfortunately very broadly sketched, the situation they find themselves in is largely nonsensical at first (other than being dickish, what do the Ajungo gain from this deal?), and is even more nonsensical later when the truth is revealed, which rather ruins the twists that seem bold only until scrutinised.
The fantasy aspects in terms of people's powers are fine but are largely unearned (that it's a basic "heroes journey into the underworld and back" is all there is to justify it) and don't add anything to the story other than a convenient means to turn the tables, which is disappointing - there's no internal logic to it nor thematic reasons for it.
The writing style is fine - described as poetical and in fact quite economical, but if you removed the phrase "city of lies" you could probably reduce the page count of this already short book by 10.
However I found it hard to engage with - while I can empathise with the characters they are unfortunately very broadly sketched, the situation they find themselves in is largely nonsensical at first (other than being dickish, what do the Ajungo gain from this deal?), and is even more nonsensical later when the truth is revealed, which rather ruins the twists that seem bold only until scrutinised.
The fantasy aspects in terms of people's powers are fine but are largely unearned (that it's a basic "heroes journey into the underworld and back" is all there is to justify it) and don't add anything to the story other than a convenient means to turn the tables, which is disappointing - there's no internal logic to it nor thematic reasons for it.
The writing style is fine - described as poetical and in fact quite economical, but if you removed the phrase "city of lies" you could probably reduce the page count of this already short book by 10.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Classism
sprocketthecat's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
rorikae's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The Lies of Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi is a fantastic fantasy novella. The story centers on Tutu, a young boy who lives in a city with little water. Every few years, children are sent out into the desert that surrounds the city to try and find water but they never return. When Tutu’s mother nearly dies from dehydration, he decides he will be the next child to take on this task but he’ll be sure to find water.
Utomi has created a fantasy world that feels expansive but also fits well within a novella length story. Tutu is instantly likable and it’s both fun and harrowing to follow along on his journey. Utomi adds a small but engaging cast of characters to fill out the story. The truth of what is going on in this world is devastating. I’m excited to read further with the second book in this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Gaslighting
Minor: Death of parent
remescient's review
adventurous
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
It's a good novella, I liked it. I wish the world felt a little more fleshed out, since it feels pretty flat, but since it's so short it's mostly not a problem.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
biojesspj's review
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
A beautiful blending of folklore and fable. A boy sets out to save his mother and his people, and he finds unexpected lessons that upend his world.
I loved having sign language be a vital part of the culture. An amazing depth fits into fewer than 90 pages, and I found myself surprised by how attached I had become to the characters and their cause in such a short time.
I loved having sign language be a vital part of the culture. An amazing depth fits into fewer than 90 pages, and I found myself surprised by how attached I had become to the characters and their cause in such a short time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Death
Moderate: Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Grief, and Classism
The book begins with a dehydrated city, and the lack of water causes death to be widespread. Ritualized, compulsory mutilation is key to the plot, and the process and results are described briefly a few times.