Review of The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi

By definition, meta-modern could be anything. The relatively linear progression of cultural mediums fragmented sometime around the start of the 21st century, meaning such mediums now largely exist in pockets and niches. Fantasy, for example, is no longer dragons and knights, or monsters and horror. It's been deconstructed, and mixed, and matched, and mixed again to the point it's... meta-modern—something you can't put your finger precisely on. Picking up a book or story with the generic label 'fantasy' requires deeper inquiry. Let's take a look at Moses Ose Utomi's fantasy novella The Lies of the Ajungo (2023).

The Lies of the Ajungo is the story of Tutu. A teenage boy, he is raised in a society which, once per year, must pay homage to the neighboring kingdom of Ajungo by handing over all of its adults' tongues. Yes, tongues. Communicating with sign language, they have traded their tongues for water, something their desert home is in precious little supply of. Many people and children have been sent into the desert to look for a steady supply, but none have returned. One day Tutu's mother's thirst becomes so dire she nearly dies. He appeals to the leader of his city to let her have a little extra so she may live, a request that is granted so long as Tutu's goes into the desert for one year to try to find a source of water. Tutu's agrees and heads out into the wilds, there discovering more than he or his society could ever dream.

If that intro sounds like an intro to heroic fantasy, that would be misleading, at least partially. The Lies of the Ajungo is more myth or legend than epic or action. Ingredients of such stories do exist, but the arc of the story is one which is handed down from generation to generation in describing an origin story. The origin of what needs to be read to be found out.

And its in myth that the novella has it's largest challenge. Where the scene by scene, blow by blow story shifts and flows effectively, the underlying tone is not one mythic or legendary in nature. There are several lightly comedic moments and some of the character interactions—not all—lack the gravitas such mythopoeia should have. To be clear, the events describe a mythic arc, it's only that Utomi's choice of tone pulls the punch, thus neglecting Tutu's story the full impact.

Another challenge is the relative speed with which some events occur, in turn reducing the potential impression they could have had on the reader. For example, some of the creatures or characters deserved a little more introduction and attention. As a result, they do not have the threat or risk they might have had with a bit more stage setting. They deserved a bit more meat on the bones.

In the end, The Lies of the Ajungo is a decent little fantasy novella. While Utomi struggles with a tone complementary to the type of story he's trying to tell, it still has punch. Readers looking for a mix of lore, action, magic, and tragedy—similar to fantasy of the golden age—will find comfort food here. Nickelodeon's Avatar popped to mind several times...