EZE

by Ray Anyasi, Raphael Kazeem (editor), Mario Apkojiyovwi (illustrator)

Around 300BC in the early expansion era of the Nri Kingdom, a divine clan, Umu'zu, made of keenly gifted blacksmiths dwelled in the middle of an enchanted forest, 13 miles North East of the Great River. They are the only Nri clan gifted and permitted to make weapons of war, and they only make them for people who need weapons for self-protection, not oppression. A power-hungry high priest, Otakum, and his warrior chief, Mmuoka, set out to dominate the world, but he needs to eliminate Umu'zu if his mission would succeed. They carry out a vicious massacre of Umu'zu, but as this was going on, a group of fearless women escapes with the mighty Mma-ike which is centre of the Umu'zu power and the symbol of Eri's hand of justice. To ensure no one knows the location of the sword, the women took their lives. Their spirits would become the guardians of the Mma-ike, known as the Sword Watchers. 207 Full moons after this event, EZE is born according to the prophecy of Eze Nri. His destiny is to wield the Mma-ike without fear to bring justice and judgement against Otakum and all other forces causing mayhem on ala Nri. Young, angry and hungry for vengeance, EZE sets out on the journey of his destiny, but he will soon find that the powers he must defeat are harmed with more than a few tricks and wits of their own.

Kindle Edition

Published December 25, 2024

About the author

Ray Anyasi is one of Africa's most published authors with over 25 books which include; Ujasiri, Bloodline and This Town: a postcard of terror and most recently, Africa's best selling epic fantasy thriller series, Sorrows of Udi. His writing influence is majorly the extraordinary stories of ordinary people who have to confront monstrous challenges they do not orchestrate, yet must overcome. His books like Ujasiri and Sorrows of Udi have been translated to international languages like Portuguese and Spanish. Sorrows of Udi have also been adapted into an animated web series which has made official selections for several international film festivals.

He is also a poet with a poetry collection, "Lines of Thoughts", that includes the acclaimed Ogbanje. Anyasi continues to partake in the global conversations that concerns political and social developments; his book, How to Terrorize Terrorism is one of such contributions. He is an award winning movie script writer. Ray is passionate about growing literacy around the world, especially in Africa, because of this; he founded #theWriteClubwithRayAnyasi which is a series of interviews with authors to introduce them to the reading audience under his influence. He is also the host of Life Lessons from My Bookshelf, a book review show on Youtube and IgTV which digs into books to share the most important life lessons hidden in them.

Fresh out of the University, Anyasi published his first book, A Poll of Vampires, a political crime thriller. Since then he has published over twenty titles. Anyasi is also a certified Copywriter and Content Developer. He is the founder of Bookhouse Nigeria, a not for profit enterprise focused on boosting literacy and the reading culture in Africa while helping authors make a living from their books and writing skills. Bookhouse Nigeria achieves this by organizing book exhibitions, writing workshops, book industry discussions, authors-readers social hangouts and literary awards. Ray is also the Chief Event Coordinator of Lagos Comic Convention (Africa's Biggest Geek and Pop Culture Marketplace) and he organizes the Ray Anyasi Writers' Mentoring Program to help new and intending authors navigate their writing careers. His current hobbies are tending a backyard vegetable garden and engaging fans of his craft on social media.