Mage of Fools

In the dystopian world of Mafinga, Jasmin must contend with a dictator’s sorcerer to cleanse the socialist state of its deadly pollution. Mafinga's malevolent king dislikes books and, together with his sorcerer Atari, has collapsed the environment to almost uninhabitable. The sun has killed all the able men, including Jasmin’s husband Godi. But Jasmin has Godi’s secret story machine that tells of a better world, far different from the wastelands of Mafinga. Jasmin’s crime for possessing the machine and its forbidden literature filled with subversive text is punishable by death. Fate grants a cruel reprieve in the service of a childless queen who claims Jasmin’s children as her own. Jasmin is powerless—until she discovers secrets behind the king and his sorcerer.

Jeffrey Ford, multi-award winning author

"Eugen Bacon’s unique vision, Mage of Fools, is a wonderfully imagined dystopia; a techno/folklore blend with a resourceful mother at its heart"

Nuzo Onoh, Queen of African Horror

"Armed with her all-conquering sword for carving unforgettable, lyrical and magical prose, Dr. Eugen Bacon has, yet again, delivered in her latest book, Mage of Fools ... A brilliant and powerful work of mind-blowing dystopian novel."

Tlotlo Tsamaase, author, The Silence of the Wilting Skin, Nommo Award finalist and Lambda Literary Award finalist

"Mage of Fools' enchanting imagery and worldbuilding is richly woven in dark, delicious prose. This beautiful story reads like a dream trapped in a dystopian world with the texture of a fairytale. A poignant tale that has its characters dancing to its song with spirit, strength and some humour. I drank every achingly beautiful word."

Stephen Embleton, James Currey Fellow for African Literature, Nommo-nominated author of Soul Searching

"A brutal dystopia elegantly conceived with elements befitting legends and horror. A gritty world of politics versus community, the whole versus the individual. Bacon summons an African future where words and stories, folktales and memories, can subvert outside forces seeking to control the mind wanting to break free."

About the Author

Eugen Bacon is African Australian, a computer scientist mentally re-engineered into creative writing. She’s the author of Claiming T-Mo (Meerkat Press), Road to Woop Woop & Other Stories (Meerkat Press), Ivory’s Story (NewCon Press) and Writing Speculative Fiction (Macmillan). Her work has won, been shortlisted, longlisted or commended in national and international awards, including the BSFA Awards, Foreword Book of the Year Awards, Bridport Prize, Copyright Agency Prize, Australian Shadows Awards, Ditmar Awards and Nommo Awards for Speculative Fiction by Africans. Danged Black Thing is her 2021 collection by Transit Lounge Publishing. Website: eugenbacon.com | Twitter:@EugenBacon

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