Book Review - Omotola (Rave God #1)

Thanks to @didic, I get to write a review of this amazing book.

---

In a small corner of the African Continent the Yoruba people of West Africa live. The Yoruba Empire was one that lasted years and was frought with wars, usurpation and peace at some times. The history books tell us how they fought with the Dahomey, the Nupe, conquering all the way to present day Kogi state.

Image Source

But what the history books don't tell us is the supernatural aspect of events during the reign of this Empire. And that's where this book comes in.

The Yoruba people had their own deities with one super deity known as Olodumare which the English call "God". This God was the source of all power in creation and the lesser deities drew their power from him. Little did the Yoruba's know that there were others like this God above them.

When a cataclysmic event happened that wiped out the people of this God, only one female goddes was escaped with her life, and was born to a Yoruba family and given the name Omotola.

This girl grew up to notice strange things happening around her when she was angry, sad or gripped in an emotional state. People soon began to call her stormbringer and earthshaker. Some called her stormborn because she was born on the night of a great storm.

One day she had an encounter that would change her life forever. Ater she killed a lesser god trying to eliminate her, her powers awoke fully and she was recruited into a team of gods in the bodies of teenagers as they raced to the capital city of the Yoruba's at Oyo. There they found the city occupied by the Nupe and their gods.

After engaging with the seven Nupe gods in furious battle, the four teenage gods escaped while Omotola was captured by the Nupe Gods. She was tortured and raped for days till one of the teenage Yoruba gods - Ode, the god of the hunt, came back for her. Ode had to give up his divinity to reach her but when he finally did, he discovered that she was like Olodumare with the ability to grant divinity. So she gave him a new divine power after he worshipped her and they broke out of the dungeons.

They headed for the Ancestral place at abeokuta where the council of the gods sat and Ode trained her extensively on her powers along the way. Upon arrival, Omotola challenged the Yoruba gods to take back their city but they were reluctant and defiant. Then she cursed them and broke the mountain into what is now known as the Olumo rocks today.

After leaving abeokuta, she began to gather up an army after formally declaring war on the Nupe gods.

The armies met and fought but the spectacular fight was between Omotola and the first among the Nupe gods. Ode died in the battle after taking a blow that was meant for Omotola and Omotola, in a rage reached into the throat of the Nupe god and tore out his spine, exacting her revenge for her treatment at their hands while she was a prisoner. The Yoruba people defeated the Nupe and killed every last man, woman and child according to Omotola's instruction.

---

The book was set in the ancient Yoruba society and sought to explain the supernatural side to the rise and fall of the Yoruba Empire. It was written with a view to acknowledge the roles of gods and their influence in the back scenes of daily life. It was also written to present the struggle of the girl child, even one as powerful as a God. The dehumanization and debasement common in most African countries. The book also tried to extol the virtues of patience and determination in life. Loyalty to a cause should be rewarded and Ode was rewarded with far stronger powers than he had when he came back for Omotola.

---

The Nupe race, today is all but extinct as most of their people are either dead, nomads or the line watered down that it is not even worth calling Nupe anymore. This explains how powerful the wrath of a wounded god can be when Omotola ordered the execution of every person with Nupe blood in their veins.

---

I hope you enjoyed this review. You can download the book on Amazon here

Or on Okadabooks here