Talabi unveiled the West African cover for his second novel and announced staggered release dates: October 27 for the US, UK, and Australia, and November 16 for the West African edition from Masobe Books. The novel is described as a Nigerian-centered first-contact thriller that examines memory, reality, and connection.
The novel is billed as a first-contact thriller set around a Nigerian protagonist and explores memory, reality, and human connectedness.
Talabi’s previous novel received major recognition, including Washington Post top 10 (2023) and the Nommo and Ilube awards (2024).
Wole Talabi revealed the West African cover for his forthcoming novel, The Fist of Memory, and published the release schedule. The book will be available in the US, UK, and Australia on October 27. A West African edition, produced by Masobe Books, will follow in Nigeria and the wider region on November 16.
Nigerian center of gravity. The core setup: a non-communicative alien spacecraft appears in the sky and global powers react. The story follows Tope, a principled Nigerian assassin working for a figure known as "Baba." When a job goes wrong, Tope becomes entangled in a scramble for power and for understanding the alien presence.
Tope teams up with Itumeleng, a South African astronomer haunted by mysterious dreams. Together they must survive, address complicated pasts, and discover how they and humanity are connected to the alien craft before it lands. The novel includes an antagonist described as a strange assassin obsessed with a single memory.
This is Talabi's second novel. His first, Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon (DAW/Gollancz, 2023), was named one of the Washington Post's top 10 science fiction and fantasy books of 2023. It won the Nommo Award for Best Novel in 2024 and the Ilube Award for Best Speculative Fiction Novel in 2024, and received nominations for the Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy awards.
Talabi is Nigerian-born, based in Australia, and trained as an engineer. His published body of work includes the story collection Convergence Problems and several edited anthologies, such as Africanfuturism: An Anthology and Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology.
Publishing details and representation
Masobe Books will publish the West African edition. Talabi is represented by Bieke Van Aggelen of the African Literary Agency.
Memory is presented as a thriller built for momentum, with speculative and philosophical layers: questions about the nature of reality, memory, and human connection are woven into a first-contact narrative rooted in African settings and characters. The description signals a mix of action, political maneuvering, and metaphysical inquiry anchored by distinctly West African perspectives.
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