Moses Ose Utomi is such an incredible writer and has written a trilogy that is absolutely unforgettable. The Memory of the Ogisi was an amazing instalment and conclusion to the Forever Desert series. Like the first two books, this was a short and fast-paced read that delivered a shocking and clever ending. I rated this a 4.5/5 and would highly recommend the whole trilogy.

This book brings together all we’ve learned from the previous novellas and the span of time the author is able to cover in these novellas astonishes me. This book really hammers home how history is bound to repeat itself and in the political climate we are currently living in, it was quite a difficult read. The foreshadowing in this book is unbelievable. Everything is connected and this book, unlike the others you get two different viewpoints from opposing sides. This author is absolutely incredible. The prose is very well written without being overly flowery, and the impact he is able to make in such short novellas is truly astonishing. Will be picking up anything from this author!

Oof, well that was a beautifully written gut punch, which, when combined with the previous two novellas in the Forever Desert series, clearly illustrates the painfully circular cycles of history. The point the author makes in the afterword really brings home his message: that you could really start with any one of these novellas. Each of the main characters in these novellas see themselves as acting righteously and bravely, and it still perpetrates incredible harm among the people that their cultures "other."

This novella, like the first two, are incredibly quick reads, and a great deal of character work gets covered very succinctly. Unlike the first two, however, in this installment, we follow two main characters on two opposing sides of the cultural divide, and it also covers a greater breadth of time. I'm always surprised at how much ground Utomi is able to cover within his novellas, and this novella is no exception.

Especially as our world seems to be repeating historical cycles which we'd sworn that we'd never repeat, this was a difficult read for me personally, because the takeaway feels bleak at times. However Ethike's optimism and ability to rise above his circumstances at the end of the story seem to offer a glimpse of hope for exiting the cycle these characters are trapped within, even if the end of the story itself continues the cycle. I was surprised at how well everything was able to be tied back together from the first book through the last – it was a deeply satisfying, if unsettling, ending.

I really love this ending to the trilogy and would highly recommend all three of them. Thank you to Tor Publishing Group and Netgalley for an early copy of this novella.

What an amazing conclusion to a brilliant trilogy. Seriously, this book absolutely nails the ending; everything builds up to it. Moses Ose Utomi is just a BRILLIANT storyteller. All I'll say is that I will definitely be thinking about this series for years to come, particularly its characters and powerful messages. I genuinely couldn't recommend it more.

Thank you to the NetGalley team at Tor/Forge for an ARC!! 4.5 / 5.0 ⭐️

Absolute madman Moses Ose Utomi brought a conclusion to the Forever Desert, and I just have to sit here with the knowledge and try not spoil anything. "The Memory of the Ogisi" is out 15 July 2025.

"Even deserts have a beginning. Even gardens have an end. Even water has a story."
Ethike is an Ogisi, a historian, in the City of A Thousand Stories. While the Ogisi know many things, they do not know where the city came from or how they came to be so prosperous. Ethike primarily studies a figure who didn't seem to do much, on paper at least, named Osi. He believes something in his life holds the key to the answers the city needs. So he presents his theory, galvanized by his love for his city and family, and gains approval. Unfortunately he finds his answers.

Reasons to read:
-These are so meticulously written and I was enthralled the whole way through
-Builds on everything we have learned in the others
-Damn the Aleke is cruel
-Holy crap it all makes sense
-A very good end

Cons:
-I can't talk about it

One of the most beautifully intricately linked trilogy I’ve ever seen, I'm genuinely shocked at how good it was i already loved a lot the first 2 books but i struggle with short stories to Love them but this one crept up on me and made me so incredibly sad for the whole ending and the last chapter made me fall on my knees bc how tragic it is but that vicious circle is also reality in a way. It is very sobbering
anyway beautiful message, beautiful writing, beautiful characters ethike and agba made me feel a lot of emotions (especially agba) i will think about those books often very memorable, this trilogy is genius

The Memory of the Ogisi is the final installment in a trilogy of novellas by Moses Ose Utomi, each book distinct in its time period but carrying with it similar messaging and themes.

I love the idea of truth in this story: how it’s both an intangible and unobtainable concept and how it is controlled and manipulated by those in power. This series explores different approaches to this and what we as people can do about it.

For the third time in a row, I am absolutely shocked by the ending. Book 1 shocked me, and I went in to books 2 and 3 expecting to be shocked and thus had twists in mind and somehow was still shocked. I don’t know how Moses Ose Utomi does it. This book had the best ending in the trilogy and I just had to put my kindle down and stare at the wall. Incredible work.

If you take anything away from this review: Please read all three of these books in quick succession. I had a two-month break between books 2 and 3 and I think it impacted my enjoyment of book 3. Each book has a different set of characters and features a limited third person perspective, so what you hear from characters about people and events from past books is generally not accurate. Thus, it’s really important to have past books fresh in your brain when you read so you can follow plot threads and themes.

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for this ARC.

If this series is a meditation on the Attack on Titan story, then this book is about the beginning/end, 2000 years from now.

As a side note, I've been trying to figure out what the author is trying to say with the words "ajungo", "aleke", "ogisi". These are Igbo words, I think, but a simple online search as to what they mean leads in so many different directions that I feel defeated. That's fitting for these books, I guess.

This is the only book to have more than one POV character. We both learn about an ogisi named Ethike, who lives in a city where most people can use implanted magic to look at the past to see what "really" happened and so who don't rely on their memories or other sources of information. Ogisi are scholars who read other sources and they are seen as odd by those who don't see the need to seek out other ways of knowing. This is painfully on target with today's information ecosystem and that sharp analogy is par for the course with this wonderful author.

Ethike is given a remit to go on a truthfinding mission to find out the true story of Osi, a minor character in the history of his people but one that Ethike suspects may lead to the actual truth of things.

Ethike does come across more of the truth but that information is embedded in a different culture with its own injustices and horrors, which eventually spill out into the greater world. A new and powerful character, one whose mission is to overturn and eliminate the unjust power systems of the world, comes to the foreground.

In this book, people still mutilate themselves to "keep themselves safe", have their mantras that they believe are the truth but that really serve to keep them in their places, and power still strives to keep power for itself. Innocence is a deadly flaw. Is there a place for softness in this world? It's hard to say and that makes me sad and worried for what might happen next in our own.

“Even deserts have a beginning.
Even gardens have an end.
Even water has a story.”

This is another beautiful story. This series has a lot to say, and the conclusion did not go where I anticipated.

Ethike is a historian in the City of a Thousand Stories. He ventures into the Forever Desert on a quest to find the lost tomb of Osi. What he finds is a truth he didn’t anticipate.

I love the exploration of history and how people are remembered in this series. This latest installment shows how Tutu and Osi have been remembered (or forgotten) by history.

The Memory of the Ogisi by Moses Ose Utomi is the third and final installment of the Forever Desert series.

Utomi’s writing is lyrical, worldbuilding is imaginative, and storytelling is unique. I was incredibly impressed by the depth of this series’ exploration of political power, historical narratives, truth and memory, and familial relationships.

The three novellas are woven into one another, and the finale should most definitely be read in short succession after the first two books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the ARC. I look forward to reading Moses Ose Utomi's future works.

I always wondered how this trilogy of modern folk tales was going to come to a close and I certainly could never have predicted the direction that it went. This is definitely the kind of story that is best enjoyed by reading all three books in quick succession because the amount of easter eggs that appear in this final installment can really only be enjoyed with a fresh memory. The number of callbacks not only in character names and historical events, but also in specific phrases and themes was amazing to experience. What started out as a small contained fantastical tale in The Lies of the Ajungo has ballooned outward to grow beyond the scope of a single city into the fate and history of the entire world and every being that has lived within it. Reading this I was simultaneously filled with a sense of wonder as the story that has been unfolding from the beginning reached it’s end and dread that the characters would never learn enough to save themselves. While I wish there was more to this story I am satisfied by the ending that we were given and this will be a series of tales that will stick in my head for a long time. And I will definitely return to this review once the book has released to share my favorite quotes because Utomi’s writing is incredibly quotable and poignant.

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC of this story. This review is left voluntarily and any opinions are my own.