Nigerian author Tobi Ogundiran is set to release his debut novella, In the Shadow of the Fall, on July 23, 2024 through Tor.com. The book cover just came out a few weeks ago and we are absolutely thrilled by the captivating cover that represents this epic story about Yoruba gods and their fated enemies.
In the Shadow of the Fall is the first of two novellas in the fantasy duology The Guardian of the Gods which explores an action-packed cosmic war and the challenges faced by an inexperienced acolyte who has to figure out how to end this war on her own. Book 2 will follow in Winter 2025.
The cover for Ogundiran’s debut novella is absolutely brilliant! Featuring a cloudy watercolor background, the cover centers the protagonist, acolyte Ashâke, as she learns to wield her powers. We love this figure of strength on the cover with her flowing white gown, magical symbols gleaming on her arms, and a look of fierce concentration as she appears to be channeling the lightning above her.
The cover art is by Godwin Akpan, while the design is by Christine Foltzer. They have done a fantastic job bringing Ogundiran’s impeccable storytelling to life!
Read the full synopsis of the novella below:
Ashâke is an acolyte in the temple of Ifa, yearning for the day she is made a priest and sent out into the world to serve the orisha. But of all the acolytes, she is the only one the orisha refuse to speak to. For years she has watched from the sidelines as peer after peer passes her by and ascends to full priesthood.
Desperate, Ashâke attempts to summon and trap an orisha—any orisha. Instead, she experiences a vision so terrible it draws the attention of a powerful enemy sect and thrusts Ashâke into the center of a centuries-old war that will shatter the very foundations of her world.
Tobi Ogundiran is the Ignyte award-winning author of the critically acclaimed Jackal, Jackal, a Publisher’s Weekly Top Ten Summer Read. He has been nominated for the Shirley Jackson, British Science Fiction Association, and Nommo awards. His short fiction has been collected in several Year’s Best anthologies, and also featured on the podcast LeVar Burton Reads.
Preorder In the Shadow of the Fall here.
