Muthomi

A gripping speculative fiction novel about power, corruption, and one boy's impossible choice

In a nation obsessed with digital control, a fourteen-year-old shoemaker from a remote village is given an extraordinary opportunity: a full scholarship to the most prestigious university in the country. Joseph Muthomi-wa-Njema should be grateful. Instead, he's terrified.

Hidden in his bag is a banned book: a manifesto written by his grandfather, a man the authorities killed for daring to challenge the system. As Muthomi arrives at Clarence University, he discovers he's not just another scholarship student. He's a pawn in a war he never asked to fight. As his grasp on reality fractures, one question becomes impossible to ignore: Can one person change a broken system, or will the system break him first?

MUTHOMI is a haunting debut novel that explores themes of surveillance, inequality, education reform, and the burden of inherited legacy. It is perfect for readers who loved The Hunger Games, 1984, and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. This speculative fiction piece examines how systems of control shape young lives in the developing world.

Set in a richly imagined African nation, Koome's powerful prose weaves together the intimate struggle of one boy with the larger machinery of institutional oppression. A story about resistance, sacrifice, and the question of whether truth can survive in a world built on lies.

For fans of dystopian fiction (think Octavia Butler, Nnedi Okorafor), African literature, and thought-provoking speculative worlds.