A Dance for the Dead - by Nuzo Onoh (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Nuzo Onoh, 2022 WINNER of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement! On a moon-lit night, Diké, heir to the Kingdom and leader of the terrifying warrior cult, the Ogwumii, falls asleep inside his bedroom. He wakes to find himself trapped within the secret shrine of the village deity, a dark cave forbidden to all, save the powerful witchdoctors. Overnight, the mighty warrior-prince becomes an Osu--an untouchable and outcast. In disgraced exile in the forbidden shrine, his sole companion is the raging ghost of a murdered slave girl, wrongly sacrificed to the gods on the false prophecy of a lecherous witchdoctor. To break the Osu curse, Diké must find the traitors who orchestrated his downfall and embark on a terrifying journey to the ancestors' realm. A deadly quest, but one that could return him to full citizenship and glory.

Review Quotes

"A Dance for the Dead is an exceptionally written tale full of African legend and tradition.... Onoh has penned a deeply original story full of cultural and supernatural elements that combine to create a tension fueled fight for redemption and justice as the prince seeks out the truth." --Candace Nola, Uncomfortably Dark

"A Dance For The Dead is a celebration of nightmarish imagination. It is African-horror triumphant. I am eager to read more from Nuzo Onoh." --Grimdark Magazine

"Nuzo Onoh's A Dance for the Dead is a fascinating blend of horror and fantasy, with a strong set of engaging characters. The novel is set in an African village, home to the king of the nearby clans. Onoh makes great use of this setting, weaving together mythology and the rhythms of life in rural Africa. It is the intense rivalries of this close-knit community that fuel the dramatic plot." --British Science Fiction Association

"Nuzo Onoh's A DANCE FOR THE DEAD is a thrilling, creepy, and moving novel about betrayal, sacrifice, redemption, and the weighty but necessary cost of reconciliation and restitution. Very powerful. A story I won't soon forget." --Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and Survivor Song

"Nuzo Onoh's novel, A DANCE FOR THE DEAD is a mesmerizing and terrifying thrill-ride from start to finish. I haven't read anything really like this before. Crafty plot twists, brisk pacing, and multi-dimensional characters bring the story to life and will keep readers turning the pages well into the night." --Jeremy Bates, author of SUICIDE FOREST and THE SLEEP EXPERIMENT

About the Author

Nuzo Onoh is a Nigerian-British writer of Igbo descent. She is a pioneer of the African horror literary subgenre. Hailed as the "Queen of African Horror," Nuzo's writing showcases both the beautiful and horrific in the African culture within fictitious narratives. Her books, The Reluctant Dead (2014) and Unhallowed Graves (2015) are both collections of ghost stories depicting core Igbo traditions, beliefs, and superstitions. She's also the author of the novels, The Sleepless (2016), Dead Corpse (2017), The Unclean (2020), and the non-fiction work, Call on Your Ancestors.