What do you think?
Rate this book
The Fake Ghost
A dark farce and a supernatural thriller of rebirth, betrayal, vengeance, occultic magic, mysterious invocations and creepy rituals–from Nuzo Onoh, recipient of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement and “the Queen of African Horror.”
Set both in Nigeria and the USA, The Fake Ghost follows the whacky and sinister travails of the President of the United States, reborn as a black child in a tiny African hut. As the child grows, he insists on being called POTUS and hears disturbing voices in his head that often cause him to be cruel and selfish. Until one day an accident separates the linked souls. With the help of a medicine-man, the president must find a way to free his trapped soul and return to the United States to prevent a dastardly political plot against him. But first, he must enter a diabolical blood pact, which might return to haunt him with devastating consequences.
"Sometimes shocking, fantastical and hilarious, but also tinged with hope, this ghost will haunt you long after the final page." —Tim Lebbon, author of The Last Storm
Set both in Nigeria and the USA, The Fake Ghost follows the whacky and sinister travails of the President of the United States, reborn as a black child in a tiny African hut. As the child grows, he insists on being called POTUS and hears disturbing voices in his head that often cause him to be cruel and selfish. Until one day an accident separates the linked souls. With the help of a medicine-man, the president must find a way to free his trapped soul and return to the United States to prevent a dastardly political plot against him. But first, he must enter a diabolical blood pact, which might return to haunt him with devastating consequences.
"Sometimes shocking, fantastical and hilarious, but also tinged with hope, this ghost will haunt you long after the final page." —Tim Lebbon, author of The Last Storm
- GenresHorror
300 pages, Paperback
Published August 12, 2025
2 people are currently reading
3597 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 20, 2025
I mean, a reincarnated POTUS in a Nigerian kid's body was always going to be unhinged but this was also genre-defying, fun, profound and reflective all at once.
If the concept of Stewie Griffin and his banter and personality has ever made you cackle, you may vibe with this, because this is what The Fake Ghost reminded me of, at least in the beginning… Except, instead of a cartoon baby with a posh accent, we’ve got the a Nigerian baby who insists that he is "POTUS" and makes everyone call him that. It's very body swap (think Freaky Friday) as Inciminci and other readers have mentioned, and the setup alone had me laughing and the humour carried throughout.
The book also surprised me with how layered it was. It’s a satirical supernatural thriller with a transformative character arc about learning empathy and self-awareness. It's a ghost story, a family drama, a mystery, a political commentary and occasionally a fever dream involving celebrities who turn out to be aliens. To reiterate, it’s unhinged. But wholly original.
Yet, beneath the absurdity, the heart of the novel has some gut-punching threads. I learned a lot about queerness in Nigeria and where being LGBTIQ+ is criminalised. Reading about that through dark comedy was painful, because fiction or not, the reality exists and watching how the community is treated in the book was heartbreaking and enraging. Nuzo handles the deeper themes with care, threading humour through heartbreak, which makes it hit even harder and I found myself very moved.
It’s messy, provocative, bizarre, frequently hilarious, and sometimes unexpectedly profound. Learning about Nigerian culture was such a highlight.
Recommend reading this if you’re looking for a change of pace in your usual and are up for a laugh. A few content warnings such as characters expressing racism, homophobia, bigotry and misogyny, toxic family dynamics, death and plenty of cursing, so please mind your triggers!
My thanks to Ms. Nuzo Onoh for reaching out and sending me a review copy, for which I'm leaving a voluntary review, as well as to Zana for the buddy read chats while I tried to process what on earth I was reading (in a good way).
〰〰〰〰〰
Just started The Fake Ghost. A US President gets reincarnated as a Black baby in an African hut. Definitely not based on anyone specific.
If the concept of Stewie Griffin and his banter and personality has ever made you cackle, you may vibe with this, because this is what The Fake Ghost reminded me of, at least in the beginning… Except, instead of a cartoon baby with a posh accent, we’ve got the a Nigerian baby who insists that he is "POTUS" and makes everyone call him that. It's very body swap (think Freaky Friday) as Inciminci and other readers have mentioned, and the setup alone had me laughing and the humour carried throughout.
The book also surprised me with how layered it was. It’s a satirical supernatural thriller with a transformative character arc about learning empathy and self-awareness. It's a ghost story, a family drama, a mystery, a political commentary and occasionally a fever dream involving celebrities who turn out to be aliens. To reiterate, it’s unhinged. But wholly original.
Yet, beneath the absurdity, the heart of the novel has some gut-punching threads. I learned a lot about queerness in Nigeria and where being LGBTIQ+ is criminalised. Reading about that through dark comedy was painful, because fiction or not, the reality exists and watching how the community is treated in the book was heartbreaking and enraging. Nuzo handles the deeper themes with care, threading humour through heartbreak, which makes it hit even harder and I found myself very moved.
It’s messy, provocative, bizarre, frequently hilarious, and sometimes unexpectedly profound. Learning about Nigerian culture was such a highlight.
Recommend reading this if you’re looking for a change of pace in your usual and are up for a laugh. A few content warnings such as characters expressing racism, homophobia, bigotry and misogyny, toxic family dynamics, death and plenty of cursing, so please mind your triggers!
My thanks to Ms. Nuzo Onoh for reaching out and sending me a review copy, for which I'm leaving a voluntary review, as well as to Zana for the buddy read chats while I tried to process what on earth I was reading (in a good way).
〰〰〰〰〰
Just started The Fake Ghost. A US President gets reincarnated as a Black baby in an African hut. Definitely not based on anyone specific.
May 21, 2025
There's a reason that out of body experiences such as body swaps or astral projections are a staple of speculative fiction – the possibility of experiencing life in a different body, literally walking in the shoes of someone else, is EXCITING, it is the antidote of looking at the same old boring face in the mirror every single morning. But it is only when the experience is not a swap anymore, and becomes one sided, say like a possession or a haunting, then we're entering horror, uncanny territory. And if the bodies merged belong to people of backgrounds antithetical in nature, let's say the richest and most powerful white man of the world, the president of the USA, and an orphaned boy in Nigeria, you have pure social comedy, and that's what Nigerian-British author Nuzo Onoh explores in her latest book The Fake Ghost.
We follow the Nigerian boy Adisa, known to everybody as POTUS because from the very beginnings of his life he rejected being called anything else, much to the dismay of his adoptive parents and to the amusement of his classmates who then take the piss out of him, but soon get used to it. From his childhood on he has always had a streak of something rebellious, something defiant, and visions and auditory hallucinations he can't explain to himself come and go. The town's elder Babawoo tries to give him a spiritual shield with charms against what he thinks is a water spirit, but it's only when POTUS goes through the most traumatic event of his life, and finds himself in a hospital bed with a broken body, nowhere to go and his world shattered to pieces that he is able to connect to the thing that possesses him and find out what's going on; the spirit, the “fake ghost” of Jerry King, the President of the Unite States, who (or whose body) is in a coma in a hospital bed after an unfortunate accident on the golf field. And he is determined to return among the living, no matter how many bodies he needs to stomp upon.
Jerry King would probably be raging that although he only seemingly plays a major part in Adisa's life, he's in fact more of a sideshow in the boy's spiritual quest. But whichever way you look, in his constant and excessive hatefulness, arrogance and misanthropy, King's appearances are almost reduced to a comedic circus gig, which POTUS quickly learns to manage. In fact, this is rather Adisa's journey to find himself, interrupted by a self serving and malevolent spirit.
In a secondary storyline, a young POTUS, still but a child, discovers a secret about his parents, a secret that may be somewhat too heavy a burden for his little shoulders. The weight of such a burden on a child's psyche as well as the societal aspect of it were very well portrayed by the author. There was a certain mixing, a certain confrontation and meshing of ideas which are in our time perceived as opposing, the coming together of so many opinions and politics and lifestyles concentrating in this one person, that it is a little difficult for the reader to distinguish what of his reactions belong to Adisa and which don't. It's a joy to gain that clarity as the story advances.
Similar to what happens in her latest work, Where the Dead Brides Gather, the main character finds guidance and support in an older companion, who, to some degree overtakes the course of the events, in this case it is Babawoo who gradually turns from a mere mention to an important influence and guide for Adisa. I like that kind of shift, it gives the story a layer of realism that many fiction works lack nowadays, and I like seeing elder characters who matter, who can still move things.
Finally, as usual, I'm a sucker for Nuzo's humor and this book had me cracking up so many times, for which I'm grateful to her – we don't have much to laugh about these days, so it's wonderful to see her take it all with good humor and share that mood with us.
I'd love to thank the author for sending me a review copy, which didn't affect my rating, my opinions are honest and my own!
We follow the Nigerian boy Adisa, known to everybody as POTUS because from the very beginnings of his life he rejected being called anything else, much to the dismay of his adoptive parents and to the amusement of his classmates who then take the piss out of him, but soon get used to it. From his childhood on he has always had a streak of something rebellious, something defiant, and visions and auditory hallucinations he can't explain to himself come and go. The town's elder Babawoo tries to give him a spiritual shield with charms against what he thinks is a water spirit, but it's only when POTUS goes through the most traumatic event of his life, and finds himself in a hospital bed with a broken body, nowhere to go and his world shattered to pieces that he is able to connect to the thing that possesses him and find out what's going on; the spirit, the “fake ghost” of Jerry King, the President of the Unite States, who (or whose body) is in a coma in a hospital bed after an unfortunate accident on the golf field. And he is determined to return among the living, no matter how many bodies he needs to stomp upon.
Jerry King would probably be raging that although he only seemingly plays a major part in Adisa's life, he's in fact more of a sideshow in the boy's spiritual quest. But whichever way you look, in his constant and excessive hatefulness, arrogance and misanthropy, King's appearances are almost reduced to a comedic circus gig, which POTUS quickly learns to manage. In fact, this is rather Adisa's journey to find himself, interrupted by a self serving and malevolent spirit.
In a secondary storyline, a young POTUS, still but a child, discovers a secret about his parents, a secret that may be somewhat too heavy a burden for his little shoulders. The weight of such a burden on a child's psyche as well as the societal aspect of it were very well portrayed by the author. There was a certain mixing, a certain confrontation and meshing of ideas which are in our time perceived as opposing, the coming together of so many opinions and politics and lifestyles concentrating in this one person, that it is a little difficult for the reader to distinguish what of his reactions belong to Adisa and which don't. It's a joy to gain that clarity as the story advances.
Similar to what happens in her latest work, Where the Dead Brides Gather, the main character finds guidance and support in an older companion, who, to some degree overtakes the course of the events, in this case it is Babawoo who gradually turns from a mere mention to an important influence and guide for Adisa. I like that kind of shift, it gives the story a layer of realism that many fiction works lack nowadays, and I like seeing elder characters who matter, who can still move things.
Finally, as usual, I'm a sucker for Nuzo's humor and this book had me cracking up so many times, for which I'm grateful to her – we don't have much to laugh about these days, so it's wonderful to see her take it all with good humor and share that mood with us.
I'd love to thank the author for sending me a review copy, which didn't affect my rating, my opinions are honest and my own!
July 19, 2025
I’m not sure what I expected but this was better! The creativity of this story blew me away. I gasped, I laughed, I rooted for various characters, and I wished others ill.
Imagine Freaky Friday, traditional Nigerian folklore, the US President, an adopted African baby, and more, that I can’t say because no spoilers here, all rolled into one.
Read this if you like supernatural thrillers. Scratch that, read this even if you don’t like the supernatural because it’s not a favorite of mine and I loved the book anyway. That aspect is handled in such a way that it feels more like fantasy or magical realism.
Don’t read this if you don’t like “bad” language and/or have no sense of humor.
I received an advance reader copy from NetGalley.
Imagine Freaky Friday, traditional Nigerian folklore, the US President, an adopted African baby, and more, that I can’t say because no spoilers here, all rolled into one.
Read this if you like supernatural thrillers. Scratch that, read this even if you don’t like the supernatural because it’s not a favorite of mine and I loved the book anyway. That aspect is handled in such a way that it feels more like fantasy or magical realism.
Don’t read this if you don’t like “bad” language and/or have no sense of humor.
I received an advance reader copy from NetGalley.
October 2, 2025
3.5 stars
Thank you to Esta for strongarming me into requesting and buddy reading this weird ass book with you. (jk jk!)
This was such a wild and ridiculous ride! This is labeled as a supernatural thriller, but I'd lean more towards dramedy with supernatural elements.
I was very amused by the characters and the dialogue. When the scenes were funny, the author went all out with the absurdity and didn't hold back when it came to writing a sexist and racist caricature of a white male US president. And when the story became serious, the author knew when to set the tone appropriately while dialing back the comedy.
In between the silliness, there was an actual story about homophobia, transphobia, racism, and wealth inequity. I wasn't expecting such a deep and depressing story within the comedy, so it was quite jarring at first. But when I got used to it, I actually wanted more drama and less comedy. POTUS's life in Nigeria was both interesting and tragic.
I'm not sure if I liked the story enough to recommend it. It's a quick read and if you're in the mood for a dramedy about the haves and have nots, then this might fit the bill.
Thank you to Dead Sky Publishing and NetGalley for this arc.
Thank you to Esta for strongarming me into requesting and buddy reading this weird ass book with you. (jk jk!)
This was such a wild and ridiculous ride! This is labeled as a supernatural thriller, but I'd lean more towards dramedy with supernatural elements.
I was very amused by the characters and the dialogue. When the scenes were funny, the author went all out with the absurdity and didn't hold back when it came to writing a sexist and racist caricature of a white male US president. And when the story became serious, the author knew when to set the tone appropriately while dialing back the comedy.
In between the silliness, there was an actual story about homophobia, transphobia, racism, and wealth inequity. I wasn't expecting such a deep and depressing story within the comedy, so it was quite jarring at first. But when I got used to it, I actually wanted more drama and less comedy. POTUS's life in Nigeria was both interesting and tragic.
I'm not sure if I liked the story enough to recommend it. It's a quick read and if you're in the mood for a dramedy about the haves and have nots, then this might fit the bill.
Thank you to Dead Sky Publishing and NetGalley for this arc.
August 11, 2025
Thanks to The Future of Agency and Dead Sky Publishing for gifted access via NetGalley. All opinions below are my own.
This may be one of the most unhinged, bananas books I've ever read. POTUS is a young boy born in Nigeria on the same day the president of the United States is hit by a golf ball and goes into a coma. The boy grows insisting his name is POTUS despite his parents protestations and he hears voices from time to time. His parents think he is possessed by a water spirit and do what they can to protect him at the babawalo. Until one day he has crosses water and he realizes that the spirit of the president in the coma has actually been living within him. He sees an opportunity to extort the president to help him get out of Nigeria while attempting to reunite the president with his body. Insanity ensues.
Boy, was this a strange read. The premise was great. The writing I'd describe as having your skin raked over with a cheese grater. It's marked as horror and yet I'd say it's more fantasy with characters who are just awful people. The langugage, the racism, the homophobia are intense and so over the top that at times it was hard to read. I kept with it because the realities of POTUS's life were actually a very interesting story that reminded me at times of The Death of Vivek Oji, POTUS and his family have such an immense arc. I also wanted to know just what happened to get the spirit back where it belonged. But I'd caution you the pages to get there make for a challenging journey for sure.
This may be one of the most unhinged, bananas books I've ever read. POTUS is a young boy born in Nigeria on the same day the president of the United States is hit by a golf ball and goes into a coma. The boy grows insisting his name is POTUS despite his parents protestations and he hears voices from time to time. His parents think he is possessed by a water spirit and do what they can to protect him at the babawalo. Until one day he has crosses water and he realizes that the spirit of the president in the coma has actually been living within him. He sees an opportunity to extort the president to help him get out of Nigeria while attempting to reunite the president with his body. Insanity ensues.
Boy, was this a strange read. The premise was great. The writing I'd describe as having your skin raked over with a cheese grater. It's marked as horror and yet I'd say it's more fantasy with characters who are just awful people. The langugage, the racism, the homophobia are intense and so over the top that at times it was hard to read. I kept with it because the realities of POTUS's life were actually a very interesting story that reminded me at times of The Death of Vivek Oji, POTUS and his family have such an immense arc. I also wanted to know just what happened to get the spirit back where it belonged. But I'd caution you the pages to get there make for a challenging journey for sure.
July 21, 2025
Thanks again to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review. This was my first read of the author, and it was a doozy. The characters really transformed before my eyes, including the main character and the president. Scary at times, touching at other times, this novel just felt good to read. There is plenty of humor throughout. To say too much more would ruin the surprises ahead for the reader. Highly recommended.
July 30, 2025
When a book opens with a perfectly hilarious - but no less heart-pounding- description of a man feeling his power (whom we will learn is POTUS - or as Sam Seaborn tells us in the opening scenes of The West Wing- the President of the United States) having his soul hurtle through a metaphysical tunnel system to be deposited in a, let’s say, more modest, actual infant, you know you’re in for a ride of your own.
The next several chapters of The Fake Ghost from Nuzo Onoh follow the infant who, instead of his given name, Lanre, insists to all that his name is POTUS - the name one of the voices he hears from the time he is born uses - as he grows into a selfish bully of a child under the care of his wealthy adoptive parents in Lagos, his primary joys lying in his many golf championships and extorting his parents for money in exchange for keeping family secrets.
Every so often, we see a news report giving the status of U.S. President Jerry King’s state of health as he lies in a coma after being hit in the head with a golf ball, learning more about him which strengthens the connection already drawn between POTUS and, well, “the” POTUS.
When POTUS is a teenager, an accident separates his “fake ghost” from him, and it’s a race against time for them to get “the” POTUS back to his body, still lying in a coma in the U.S.
The Fake Ghost is one of those novels that cannot be easily categorized although it is being billed as “supernatural thriller”, “magical realism”, “dark farce” - and it is all of these, but it is also gut-wrenchingly violent at times, heart-breaking at others, and, yes, the dark farce has definite laugh-out-loud moments. It is an examination into human behavior, societal expectations, and being authentically ourselves while understanding what it’s like to live in someone else’s skin - and maybe (sometimes) being better for it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Dead Sky Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
The next several chapters of The Fake Ghost from Nuzo Onoh follow the infant who, instead of his given name, Lanre, insists to all that his name is POTUS - the name one of the voices he hears from the time he is born uses - as he grows into a selfish bully of a child under the care of his wealthy adoptive parents in Lagos, his primary joys lying in his many golf championships and extorting his parents for money in exchange for keeping family secrets.
Every so often, we see a news report giving the status of U.S. President Jerry King’s state of health as he lies in a coma after being hit in the head with a golf ball, learning more about him which strengthens the connection already drawn between POTUS and, well, “the” POTUS.
When POTUS is a teenager, an accident separates his “fake ghost” from him, and it’s a race against time for them to get “the” POTUS back to his body, still lying in a coma in the U.S.
The Fake Ghost is one of those novels that cannot be easily categorized although it is being billed as “supernatural thriller”, “magical realism”, “dark farce” - and it is all of these, but it is also gut-wrenchingly violent at times, heart-breaking at others, and, yes, the dark farce has definite laugh-out-loud moments. It is an examination into human behavior, societal expectations, and being authentically ourselves while understanding what it’s like to live in someone else’s skin - and maybe (sometimes) being better for it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Dead Sky Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
July 31, 2025
The opening got me- imagine a certain president gets bopped in the nog with a stray golf ball on one of his many outings while playing golf with friends- then his soul leaves his body in the after life, and being the slippery slimy man he is, jumps into the first baby born in the world. Well that’s exactly what happens and the baby just happens to be POTUS- a baby boy born out of wedlock to a young girl in a Nigerian village. POTUS is adopted by a well-to-do couple and he’s given everything he could ever want- but he’s inherently hateful, racist, homophobic, self righteous, narcissistic, and a straight up bully. He moves through his life this way- beating up anyone who makes fun of him and hurls slurs and insults at anyone who gets in his way.
On his 9th birthday, while POTUS is getting ready for his party, things start to change, his perfect life not so anymore- and at 17 he wrecks his bike, untethering the trapped soul from his- the only goal now is to get it back to the body it belongs to on the other side of the world before they pull the president off life support.
At times this book is hard to read, the racism, classism, and homophobia are rampant on the US POTUS side and in Nigerian POTUS’ head. In Nigeria the consequences of being queer are dire and dangerous. Other times, it’s quirky, funny, and reminiscent of things we’re seeing play out in the world around us. It’s an interesting take on current events, leaving you thinking and wondering how we got here.
I don’t think I’ve ever read anything quite like this. This is a thought provoking, interesting read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dead Sky Publishing for the privilege of reading this ARC in exchange for an honest review
On his 9th birthday, while POTUS is getting ready for his party, things start to change, his perfect life not so anymore- and at 17 he wrecks his bike, untethering the trapped soul from his- the only goal now is to get it back to the body it belongs to on the other side of the world before they pull the president off life support.
At times this book is hard to read, the racism, classism, and homophobia are rampant on the US POTUS side and in Nigerian POTUS’ head. In Nigeria the consequences of being queer are dire and dangerous. Other times, it’s quirky, funny, and reminiscent of things we’re seeing play out in the world around us. It’s an interesting take on current events, leaving you thinking and wondering how we got here.
I don’t think I’ve ever read anything quite like this. This is a thought provoking, interesting read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dead Sky Publishing for the privilege of reading this ARC in exchange for an honest review
August 11, 2025
ARC provided by NetGalley
This book is marketed as a supernatural thriller, and the concept alone had me curious — a racist American president wakes up in the body of a Nigerian infant. From there, Nuzo Onoh spins a politically charged, genre-bending story that’s equal parts satire, social commentary, and speculative fiction.
I loved the originality and the way the premise was used to explore themes like power, identity, and LGBTQ rights in a hostile environment. POTUS’s character arc — from a manipulative, spoiled child to someone shaped by tragedy — felt believable, and Jerry King made for a consistent, infuriating antagonist.
That said, the pacing slowed significantly in the middle, and the “thriller” tension doesn’t always sustain. While the supernatural elements add an intriguing twist, they’re more a vehicle for the story than the central source of suspense. Still, if you want something unpredictable with sharp commentary and a touch of the otherworldly, this is worth picking up.
This book is marketed as a supernatural thriller, and the concept alone had me curious — a racist American president wakes up in the body of a Nigerian infant. From there, Nuzo Onoh spins a politically charged, genre-bending story that’s equal parts satire, social commentary, and speculative fiction.
I loved the originality and the way the premise was used to explore themes like power, identity, and LGBTQ rights in a hostile environment. POTUS’s character arc — from a manipulative, spoiled child to someone shaped by tragedy — felt believable, and Jerry King made for a consistent, infuriating antagonist.
That said, the pacing slowed significantly in the middle, and the “thriller” tension doesn’t always sustain. While the supernatural elements add an intriguing twist, they’re more a vehicle for the story than the central source of suspense. Still, if you want something unpredictable with sharp commentary and a touch of the otherworldly, this is worth picking up.
September 24, 2025
📚REVIEW COPY📚
✨ 4.5
“‘You think you know a rooster until the wind blows up its feathers and you discover it’s got a stinky arse.’”
This was such a fun and poignant read, especially with everything that’s happened in the last few weeks.
Honestly a truly wild read, and finding out Onoh wrote this during the height of the COVID pandemic makes so much sense, you can feel the therapeutic effect it must have had laced throughout.
The story itself is so well written and the characters, even the asshole Jerry King himself, felt so real. It dealt with heavy topics brilliantly that even when I was heartbroken by certain parts (if you’ve read it, you know 😭), I understood why they were crucial to include.
Although I will be keeping one eye on certain celebrities from now on! 👀😂
A huge thank you to Dead Sky Publishing for the review copy, I feel so honoured to have been able to read it, I loved every minute!
✨ 4.5
“‘You think you know a rooster until the wind blows up its feathers and you discover it’s got a stinky arse.’”
This was such a fun and poignant read, especially with everything that’s happened in the last few weeks.
Honestly a truly wild read, and finding out Onoh wrote this during the height of the COVID pandemic makes so much sense, you can feel the therapeutic effect it must have had laced throughout.
The story itself is so well written and the characters, even the asshole Jerry King himself, felt so real. It dealt with heavy topics brilliantly that even when I was heartbroken by certain parts (if you’ve read it, you know 😭), I understood why they were crucial to include.
Although I will be keeping one eye on certain celebrities from now on! 👀😂
A huge thank you to Dead Sky Publishing for the review copy, I feel so honoured to have been able to read it, I loved every minute!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews