Review by Booklist Review
ldquo;Power is like water . . . . It is not loyal. It is not honest. It has no desire but to grow . . . . Even when defeated, it simply changes shape or place, filling any vacuum it finds." Utomi returns to the Forever Desert with this devastating, timely fantasy novella about the impossibility of peace when the powerful seek only to control and manipulate others, set centuries after The Lies of the Ajungo (2023). Junior Peacekeeper Osi lives in the City of Truth, the last city that has not fallen to the cruel Aleke, who command a host of monstrous warriors. Osi becomes a hero to the common people when he loses an arm defending the city from the Aleke. Suddenly elevated in status and training with four legendary Truthseekers, Osi feels he is finally on the right path--but what he learns in the Forever Desert about his enemy and his own people makes him question everything he's been taught. Naive Osi is a tragically flawed hero, easily manipulated through his desire to do good by older, cunning figures who understand that history is a story written by the victors. There is no solace in this thought-provoking sequel, only uncomfortable truth.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Utomi returns to the Forever Desert with this resounding fantasy novella set 500 years after The Lies of the Ajungo. Sixteen-year-old Osi is a Junior Peacekeeper in the City of Truth, which for the past three centuries has been at war with the Cult of Tutu and their cruel leader, the Aleke. After a massacre at the hands of the Aleke and his warriors leaves the City shell-shocked, Osi steps forward to defend his home, setting off on a quest to defeat the Aleke and retrieve the God's Eyes, ancient magical artifacts that were stolen from the City during the bloodbath. But a failed ambush leaves Osi as the Cult of Tutu's prisoner--and his time with the Aleke and his people opens his eyes to the City of Truth's dark past, challenging him to unlearn the only beliefs he has ever known. This heart-wrenching sequel recaptures the tone of the opening volume and again packs an epic's worth of worldbuilding into a limited page count. Osi's flaws and naivete make him a realistic and relatable protagonist and the lesson that truth can be both fixed and flexible depending on one's perspective is well taken. This mind-bending story will have both new and returning fans hooked. (Mar.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Five hundred years after the conclusion of The Lies of the Ajungo, events have become legends, truths are hidden more deeply, and both sides have become even more invested in keeping those truths hidden. Young Osi grew up believing that his City of Truth was the last bastion of civilization holding back the ravening hordes of the Aleke and that his father was a hero for falling in the city's defense. But his first journey into the desert shows him the lies at his city's heart and the truth of his enemies. When his journey comes full circle, Osi is beaten, broken, and reformed, and finally learns the lesson that the Forever Desert has been attempting to teach him all along. Underneath Osi's journey is a truth about how old struggles and original sins become baked into culture to the point where the living continue fighting dead wars for irrelevant reasons, pushing peace further out of reach with each generation. VERDICT Utomi's searing, thought-provoking fantasy novella (the second in "The Forever Desert" series, set in an environment inspired by the Sahara) has heartbreaking parallels in the present and is highly recommended.--Marlene Harris
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