From Kwame Mbalia and Prince Joel David Makonnen comes an Afrofuturist adventure about a mythical Ethiopian empire. Sci-fi and fantasy combine in this epic journey to the stars.
Yared Heywat lives an isolated life in Addis Prime -- a hardscrabble city with rundown tech, lots of rules, and not much to do. His worrywart Uncle Moti and bionic lioness Besa are his only family... and his only friends.
Often in trouble for his thrill-seeking antics and smart mouth, those same qualities make Yared a star player of the underground augmented reality game, The Hunt for Kaleb's Obelisk. But when a change in the game rules prompts Yared to log in with his real name, it triggers an attack that rocks the city. In the chaos, Uncle Moti disappears.
Suddenly, all the stories Yared's uncle told him as a young boy are coming to life, of kingdoms in the sky and city-razing monsters. And somehow Yared is at the center of them.
Together with Besa and the Ibis -- a game rival turned reluctant ally -- Yared must search for his uncle... and answers to his place in a forgotten, galaxy-spanning war.
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“Prince Joel Makonnen, coauthor, and Prince Araya Mengesha, narrator, are members of the Ethiopian imperial family, so they bring real history to this fantasy…Mengesha employs varying Ethiopian accents for all of the dialogue…This science fiction story is packed with detailed world-building and intense action. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Awards.”
— AudioFile Earphones Award
“An epic sci-fi adventure.”
— Nerd Daily“Inspired by the history and lore of Ethiopia…An enthralling tale of resilience, family, and bravery that will entertain young sci-fi lovers.”
— Publisher’s Weekly (starred review)Be the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Kwame Mbalia is a husband, father, writer, New York Times bestselling author, and former pharmaceutical metrologist, in that order. He is the author of the Tristan Strong trilogy, The Last Gate of the Emperor duology, and Black Boy Joy—an anthology of 17 stories celebrating Black boyhood. His work has received numerous starred reviews and a Coretta Scott King honor. A Howard University graduate and a Midwesterner now in North Carolina, he survives on dad jokes and Cheez-Its.