This felt less fable-like and more grounded than Ajungo, in a way that I enjoyed. Osi and the other Truthseekers felt realistically flawed, if less likeable at first.

Despite feeling three-dimensional, I did feel like they were somewhat static. I understand that was the point of Osi’s character, but after the betrayal and capture, I would have loved to see him learn from that experience and instead feel like the cycle repeated itself. His cyclical nature did tie back in with the fable-esque qualities of the first book.

The author’s note about people who are so convinced of their own righteousness that they can easily be manipulated really resonated, and I wished it had been said so explicitly in the story. But maybe that’s a me problem that it went over my head until it was laid out so directly!

Overall, I think this series would have worked better for me if I could have read all three back to back.

As a disclaimer, I have not read The Lies of Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi, book 1 of Forever Desert. However, I will now need to get my hands on it.

This novella was a fast paced adventure. When they say "The Aleke is clever," the author was not lying. The main character seems destined for greatness, but in truth he has nothing but hardship, pain and death in his future. Everyone sees him and uses him as a pawn in the grander scheme for power and politics. I may be reading too deep into things (though I have very little knowledge of the author's background), but this novella is very political. It speaks on how every story and situation has two sides, and it is up to the people to figure out the truth despite how each party has it's own truth it wants to portray.

The Truth of the Aleke is not a light book. It is very much an adult fantasy novella. I disliked and wanted to slap the main character at times, but it was out of their own ignorance and lack of maturity.

Thank you Netgalley and Tor Books for allowing me to read this excellent novella. Looking forward to reading Book 1 by Moses Ose Utomi.

The Truth of the Aleke is Moses Utomi’s sequel to his fantastic The Lies of the Ajungo, which I said in my review was “as close to perfect a modern parable as I’ve read in some time.” I’m happy to report that if the follow-up isn’t quite as “perfect,” it’s nonetheless a fantastic read, and one that makes me oh so eager to see how Utomi wraps up this loosely connected trilogy set in the Forever Desert.

The story opens with a brief history that tells of the rise of the fearsome Aleke and his Cult of Tutu that conquered all in the Forever Desert save for the one last free city, The City of Truth, which stood for three centuries against the Aleke. Young Osi hopes to one day join the ranks of the city’s elite soldiers, the Truthseekers, and protect his city against the Aleke. But an Aleke attack/massacre leaves the city reeling and Osi missing an arm. Now, he heads out with a small band of Truthseekers on a mission to kill the Aleke and retrieve the God’s Eyes — the magical artifacts stolen in the attack. The mission will take him across the desert, where he will learn more about the Aleke and his own people than he ever could have imagined.

I called The Truth of the Aleke a “sequel,” but in some ways that’s probably overstating things a bit. It certainly follows its predecessor in time, but rather than pick up immediately or shortly after the events of The Lies of the Ajungo, Utomi has chosen to leap ahead five hundred years, leaving not only book one’s characters behind but much of its social and cultural underpinnings as well, even though it is set in the same basic location, as noted above. Instead of considering it as following the first book, therefore, I like to think of it instead as being in conversation with it.

One way this occurs is via an echoing of plot. In both books a young boy, Tutu in The Lies of the Ajungo and Osi here, set out on a quest to save their respective city. In both books that quest quickly goes awry. Both boys learn to fight, both end up captured, both find a mentor. And in both books the world they thought they knew and understood turns out not to be that world at all. The similarities are clear and obviously intentional. I’d love to say more about these echoes, but honestly, this is an incredibly difficult book to review without ruining the reading experience, not simply by revealing basic plot points of either book, but by also ruining the reader’s movement through those points that is so integral to the themes.

So best I can do is say the plot is compelling, tense, twisty and turny, and both well sign-posted and pleasingly surprising. And to note as well that while one needn’t have read The Lies of the Ajungo to enjoy The Truth of the Aleke, which works fine as a stand-alone tale, but to read it out of the larger context is to rob it of much of its richness, its layered exploration of truth and lies, of the power of history and story-telling and how that power can be warped, of power itself and its corrupting nature, of deception and willful blindness.

So I’d recommend reading Lies first, and rereading it (or at the least skimming it but really it’s so short and so good why deny yourself the pleasure of a reread?) to wade more deeply into the book’s waters. For instance, knowing exactly what happens with Tutu in Lies will enhance one’s pleasure in how Utomi shows us the way in which history gets distorted as it is passed down, and how it can also become both a weapon and a weakness, especially when it moves from history to myth.

It's also a good idea to have a better idea of not just the similarities in the two boys’ stories but also in the differences. For example, Tutu is motivated for love of his mother to go out in search of water, while Osi’s early motivation is a desire to be a hero. As he thinks, “Most people believe history was the story of other people … History was the story of those worth writing about.” He plans to be one of those people. Osi is not as easy to relate to, is not as “likable” a character, nor as “simple” a one, both in himself and his viewpoint. This second novel on the whole is filled with more grey, is overall a darker novel (and Lies was pretty dark). Some of this greatly complexity is mirrored in the style as well, with Lies reading much more as a stylized fable or parable and The Truth of the Aleke written more as gritty realism.

A good author changes his voice and mode to fit their aim, and with these two novellas, Utomi leaves no doubt he is a very good author indeed. On a sentence level, on a structural level, and particularly on a thematic level. The thought-provoking nature of the story is all the more impressive given its relatively scant length. I look forward to rereading the first two in advance of the third and final story, which can’t get here soon enough

Thanks to NetGalley and Tordotcom for the chance to review this book, all opinions are my own.

I continue to be amazed by Moses One Utomi’s ability to impart so much emotion, surprises, and storytelling into so few pages!

The Truth of the Aleke is the sequel (companion?) to The Lies of the Ajungo. If you haven’t read that book I think technically you could start with this one but Aleke will make much more sense and hit in a different way if you have read Ajungo.

There are a lot of similarities between the two books. Both have a young protagonist who wants more for himself and his family and both are at the mercy of the people in power and their own ignorance of the world outside their city. Both are forced out of their city and must learn harsh truths once they discover the world beyond them.

I definitely thought that Aleke would follow the same story/plot structure as Ajungo and while I can’t really say more without spoilers, I will say that I was once again surprised by the twists of the story and was not expecting what happened!

This book ends on much more of cliffhanger than Ajungo, the story is finished for now but I expect we will see the same characters again in the third story. I can’t wait for more!

4.75*

We pick up the story about 500 years after the events of The Lies of the Ajungo in the City of Truth with our main character, Osi, who attends a ceremony against the instruction of his higher-ups. He witnesses the ascension of the newest Truthseekers and a catastrophic attack by their enemy, the Aleke and the Cult of Tutu. He manages to save the city against the attack thanks to his heroic and quick efforts. The Speaker honors him by raising him to Truthseeker status and entrusting him to seek out their vengeance on the Aleke after training for one year. Armed with a mission that Osi doesn’t quite agree with (though he can’t explain why), he embarks on this journey and is ultimately captured by the Aleke and his army. Confronted with the truth he’s been seeking, Osi must decide if he will betray his people or his new allies in the battle to come.

This novella takes on a significantly darker tone than Ajungo and it is PERFECT for what Utomi was trying to accomplish with this narrative. Osi and Tutu are both characters who have to deal with seemingly insurmountable challenges in their young lives, but they have very different approaches and attitudes. Osi is much more naive and easily swayed – he wants to believe that there is a way to establish peace among their nations that won’t result in massive, innocent bloodshed, but he’s continuously proven wrong at great cost to himself and the people around him.

This story is gruesome, gritty, and painful: it forces us to confront the stories we’ve been told throughout our lives and to question who is in charge of writing history. There’s a bonus in the author’s note at the end for readers that provides context for the style of writing and the shape of the story, and I can’t recommend this extra reading enough! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m always impressed by authors who pack so much character- and world-building into novellas, and Utomi is a master. I’m so eager to see what Utomi has cooked up for the final installment in this series!

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.

The start was so confusing, I knew it was set some time later but was so unclear on the cult of tutu. Just not as enjoyable as the first book which was 5 stars for me

TTOTA was more complex than The Lies of Ajungo ever was. It makes you question if the hero is running a fool’s errand or if the fool is just a fool all along. TTOA takes place 500 years after the story of Tutu’s bravery, and war is still upon the Forever Desert sands. This time, though, they are not fighting over water rights but rather freedom and peace.

At first, I questioned why Utomi set up the narration the way he did. But after the first few attempts of giving off undetermined vibes, you begin to question what is considered good or bad. Another thing I liked about this story is the many messages it exudes. I implore you to READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE!

I read The Lies of the Ajungo last year and loved it! I was so excited when I heard about the upcoming release of The Truth of the Aleke, book 2 of the Forever Desert series, this year.

The book is set 500 years after the events of The Lies of the Ajungo, where Osi, a 17-year-old boy, is tasked with destroying the Aleke and the cult of Tutu—a force that committed a massacre in Osi’s city—and defending his home and land.

“Not what?” Obasa spoke softly, watching Osi with knowing, compassionate eyes. “Not the history you were told? History is only a story, told by those with power to justify why they have it. The truth does not bend to power’s whims.” —Moses Ose Utomi

After receiving the ARC and reading it last week, I have to say this book went beyond my expectations, even topping the first one. While The Truth of the Aleke shares a similar style and tone with The Lies of the Ajungo, the character Osi brings a new angle. The novel explores the struggle between truth and lies, with characters grappling with the consequences of both and the search for truth, especially in the face of deception and manipulation. The protagonist, Osi, represents the conflict between youthful idealism and the harsh realities of the world, while also being vulnerable to manipulation in his search for the truth.

Despite this being a short novel, it brings to life its themes, characters, history, and world-building in a vivid and detailed manner. Moses Ose Utomi's talent as a writer is evident in how he adds emotion and complexity to every part of the story.

I read this one right after The Lies of the Ajungo, and I really loved being able to directly compare the two while they were both fresh in my mind. Both of these novellas read like folk stories that would be passed down from elder to youths, a lesson wrapped in an adventure, and while I had a little trouble getting into them at first I was invested enough to keep going (and was glad I did!).

I won't condescend by explaining the themes of each novella, but I enjoyed the overt points Utomi makes about oral tradition, storytelling, and cultural history. The characters are fairly simple without feeling one-dimensional, and at least to me, Utomi does a great job building the world of the Forever Desert without wasting too much time or getting bogged down in unnecessary details. I attribute this largely to his writing style, which lends itself well to that feeling of folk tales told as a spoken performance. Even though The Lies of the Ajungo could be considered self-contained, once you read The Truth of the Aleke you will be anxiously waiting for the next novella (like me!!)

The Forever Desert is listed as a trilogy, so I'm looking forward to the conclusion in the next entry and hope Utomi writes even more books like these!

Last year I read The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi and it was my favorite short story of the year. So when I saw The Truth of the Aleke, book 2 in the Forever Desert series, on NetGalley I applied. Amazingly I got picked!
What I enjoyed the most about The Truth of the Aleke was how the story from the first book was distorted. The second book is set hundreds of years after the first. I love how stories told over generations are "changed" It's interesting to see how and why it's done. You can see how the story of Tutu has been manipulated and distorted by both sides. I don't want to give away any spoilers so I'll stop there, but 😬😁😳
I wasn't as fond of Osi like I was of Tutu, after reading the Acknowledgement at the end of the book I understand why, it put the book in a different light, for me, and I advise reading it when you're done with the story. The Truth of the Aleke was a great short read and it comes out soon, March 5th. Highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I LOVED this book. I thought it was a great continuation from book one. The Truth of the Aleke is a captivating story that takes place 500 years after the first book. It follows Osi, who makes many mistakes while on his journey to figure out the truth. There are twists and turns that make it hard to put the book down.

Overall i really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to see how book 3 unfolds. I already know there will be many twists that will make you question everything just like the other books in this series.

Moses Ose Utomi has done it again. The Truth of the Aleke is another banger of a fantasy novella building off the bombastic foundation he set in The Lies of the Ajungo. If you were a fan of Ajungo, you absolutely need to pick up this sequel which further muddies the ethical and moral proverbial waters of the Forever Desert.

The Truth of the Aleke picks up 500 years after the events of The Lies of the Ajungo and follows Osi as he attempts to protect his home, The City of Truth, from the invading Aleke and his Cult of Tutu. I won’t say much more about the plot because like with Ajungo, again nothing is at it initially seems and Utomi envelopes the reader in twists and turns, truths and lies.

As much as Aleke is as good as Ajungo, it is a very different book. In many ways it almost criticizes, in a very meta-way the naivete of The Lies of the Ajungo in its storytelling and outlook. In my review of Ajungo I applauded Utomi for his fable-like prose and approach to storytelling. Tutu was an honorable hero, a young boy just trying to save his mother, and Ajungo had a clear message from Tutu’s story: political messages are powerful forces that have the power to quite literally manipulate and distort reality; question everything, especially those who have power and will do anything to keep it. I still love Ajungo, but The Truth of the Aleke mad me realize how simple Tutu was as a character and how one-note his character arc truly was. This isn’t a criticism of Utomi or his writing; rather, it is a compliment because we needed Tutu and Ajungo to truly appreciate what Aleke offers.

And oof does Aleke offer us so much. This is a darker novella, and one that challenged me as a person more than most other books. Osi is not as immediately likable as Tutu, as his motives come across as much more selfish and self-serving. He wants power for himself, and this ultimately blinds him from the political machinations going on around him. Through Osi’s journey, Utomi explores so many of the great moral political quandaries of our day, exemplified no more truly than the current (as I am writing this review) war between Israel and Hamas. Utomi forces his readers to engage with the big questions: How does power corrupt even the noble of goals? To what lengths can we accept a person or group of people fighting for (what they see as) justice? What is the political good? Can anyone in power ever truly be good?

As Utomi pushes us into these tougher dilemmas, his storytelling style changes with it. Aleke is still beautifully written, but it loses much of the fable like quality of Ajungo. I don’t want to call it Spartan, because this book is an absolute delight to read from a prose perspective, but it is much more “lived in” than the writing of the Ajungo. When I was reading Tutu’s story, I felt like I was watching events unfold from above, distant and all-knowing, almost as if the story was being told to me (as it was!). With Aleke I felt more on the ground with Osi in a way that was significantly more visceral. This was a genius authorial move by Utomi because in Aleke he explores the role of cultural mythology in the constitution of political power. I highly recommend re-reading Ajungo before you start Aleke because Utomi masterfully plays with and intentionally distorts the events of that first book as the events of Aleki unfold. Five-hundred years is a long time, something that most fantasy authors forget as most historical events in fantasy epics are passed down unchanged for millinia, and Utomi shows how even just small changes to historical fact can create brand new social memory for the benefit of the few.

This is a hard review to write because so much of the power of The Truth of the Aleke needs to be experienced with limited knowledge going in. All I will reiterate is that if you loved Ajungo, you will be floored with Aleki. It is a tougher book, a more challenging book, and a very different book, but ultimately is a better and more important book for it.

And if you haven’t picked up The Lies of the Ajungo yet, what are you waiting for? It was one of my top reads of 2023, and this sequel has also been quickly added to my all-time favorites list.

Concluding Thoughts: Eschewing much of the style of its predecessor, The Truth of the Aleke is a deeper, darker, and more ethically troubling novella. This makes it all the more powerful as we get to see the Forever Desert five hundred years after Tutu’s journey to find water and the secrets he unraveled. The political landscape is much changed, and yet Utomi shows us how at the end of the day nothing ever really changes with power and politics. Go on this journey with POV character Osi as Utomi will challenge you to think about the moral ambiguity between good and evil, all in a propulsive and compact novella packaging. I cannot wait for the third book in this series.

The Truth of the Aleke is the second book in the Forever Desert novella series. The story takes place 500 years after the events of the first book. It was really intriguing as I didn't know what would happen in the future after how the first book ended. Osi's story is particularly sad, as he just wants to make things right and tends to trust others too easily. I got so frustrated at some parts and got sad in the end and I highly recommend reading the author's note because everything makes sense. I'm looking forward to reading the final book in the series to see how everything ends. I highly recommend this book, but I suggest reading the first book to gain a better understanding of the story.

History is written by those in power and nothing you are told is as simple as they’d have you believe.

The Truth of the Aleke takes place 500 years after the last novella, when the story of Tutu has been rewritten. This is a tale about truth, lies, and propaganda and about one boy’s desperate desire to do good in a world that does not have his best interests at heart.

Where The Lies of the Ajungo was a more myth-like telling of good vs evil, the Truth of the Aleke is more complex and threaded through with realistic shades of grey. There are more characters, more action, and a deeper plot here than in the previous book. While technically each of these novellas could stand alone, the lessons held within seem to be building off each other and gaining momentum in a way that has me eager to see where the next book in the series takes us.

As a final note: be sure to read the author’s Acknowledgment at the end. It adds even more layers and enhances the novella further.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved The Lies of the Ajungo, and this did not disappoint as its sequel. While I liked the first novella better, I really loved how Moses Ose Utomi combines fable-like storytelling with fascinating worldbuilding and a great fantasy plot. This novella is definitely more complex than its predecessor. The theme in this novella of how history and "truth" can get manipulated or altered over time is so important in today's world. The author's note at the end solidified that theme, which I really thought was a nice touch. I will definitely be looking forward to more from the Forever Desert!

The basic premise of this story seemed similar to the first book — young boy leaves his city and ventures across the desert to face an enemy, then returns with a truth he has learned. However, Osi is a very different young man than Tutu, and the details made this an entirely different reading experience. Tutu set out to save his mother's life, found friends, and discovered a singular truth. Osi set out to become a hero, struggles to distinguish enemies from allies, and discovers truths from two sides.

I can't say I liked Osi in the beginning, knowing the true history before him made that difficult, but I certainly became invested in his story as things unfolded. He ultimately wants to do good, but as he learns that the world and the people within it are complicated, he struggles to determine the motives of others and foresee how the choices he makes for himself in the moment may be part of a larger picture.

The other characters are more complex than in the first book. The divide between good and evil has blurred over hundreds of years as history has been rewritten and leadership has changed. The Forever Desert is a familiar setting, but it was good to spend time within the cities in this book, and we get even more of the magic.

Overall, I loved this sequel. I definitely stayed up way too late reading it, because once things picked up I was hooked. Definitely recommend this series and I'm excited to see what happens in the next book.

Characters:
Osi is really the only character that we actually get to know. This is a novella that feels like a novella, to me. A bit too abbreviated with character work and development. I can appreciate certain elements of Osi's character -- his deep desire to know the truth of what is right and wrong and sometimes being naive because of that... but my god he was painfully oblivious one too many times. Like when your best friend is being all cagey and clearly trying to tell you that you don't know something about some people and that you should be a little afraid of them... and your friend is OBVIOUSLY afraid of them... you should probably assess that??? He was just like, "She's being weird. I don't understand what her deal is. K bye!" Like... idiotic. It wasn't that his desire for being right and good made him gullible that got on my nerves. It was those kinds of just absolutely idiotically oblivious moments.

Plot:
I did enjoy the overall plot here. Once again, it felt like a novella and a bit too abridged in certain points for me. Various plot points felt rushed/cut down. I truly hope that this author plans to write a full length novel at some point because I highly suspect I would LOVE a full length novel from him.

Themes:
How the truth can get altered, manipulated, or watered-down over time. How power can corrupt. Difficult choices for the greater good, or for more power. Allowing moral compass to blind us or make us too gullible if we think we are getting the truth.

I was thrilled to return to the world of The Forever Desert that began with The Lies of the Ajungo. The excellent writing and world-building present in the first book I was happy to find was here as well. An interesting turn of events has happened since The Lies of the Ajungo. We are following a new hero and the twists were many!! I had to keep going back and forth and even busted out my copy of Ajungo to check on events. I definitely had a harder time keeping up with ‘who was on first’ in this book but still greatly enjoyed it. The author’s note at the end provided some chilling context to Utomi’s thoughts behind his writing and the underlying messages of the book. Thrilled to see a third book is on its way!

4.5 rounded up.

This author is GREAT when it comes to themes - The Lies of the Ajungo started to show this, and The Truth of the Aleke really nailed it down. This story is set 500 years after the previous novella, where the story of Tutu has become a legend that the different powers use to prove their points. But what is the truth? How can you know? This is something that Osi has to grapple with. While he is not as likeable as Tutu was, he is extremely realistic, which is what makes the reading experience so uncomfortable. How can we ever be sure that we know the truth? How do we know that our actions are correct? It's almost impossible.

Really looking forward to the next installment!!