Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novellas - The Lies of the Ajungo By Moses Ose Utomi

Interested in reading a novella that was a finalist for the 2024 Locus Awards? Novellas are books under 175 pages.

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?

To save his dying mother, twelve-year-old Tutu journeys into the Forever Desert to find water, a quest many have undertaken, but from which none have returned. Tutu weathers many dangers in this harshly beautiful, post-apocalyptic landscape, but he also befriends people from other oppressed cities that ultimately reveal a deadly secret. Utomi's searing novella is as lean and tight as a fable, with a profound message about the devastation of lies and the power of knowledge that lingers far beyond its heartbreaking, hopeful end.