At the Fount of Creation by Tobi Ogundiran: Review by Archita Mittra
At the Fount of Creation, Tobi Ogundiran (Tordotcom 978-1-25090-803-2, $21.99, 224pp, hc) January 2025.
At the Fount of Creation is a thrilling conclusion to Tobi Ogundiran’s Guardians of the Gods duology, packed with cinematic action and with more deities from the Yoruba pantheon making an appearance. It continues the story of Ashâke, a failed acolyte who is later revealed to be the vessel for the surviving orisha, and is now unwittingly embroiled in a cosmic war.
Like the preceding book, In the Shadow of the Fall, Ogundiran evokes a vividly complex world of selfish gods and scheming godkillers with just a few details. The plot picks up a little while after the finale of the first book – some seasons have passed and Ashâke and the orisha have been on the run, as the shapeshifting and soul-stealing godkillers may lurk in any corner. She runs into her childhood best friend, Simbi – now married with kids. But this bittersweet reunion is cut short when Simbi betrays Ashâke to the godkillers to save her family. In the frequent skirmishes between the orisha and the godkillers, Ashâke meets Djábri – the grieving brother of Djola, who was murdered by the godkillers; yet he serves them in the futile hope that he may stumble upon a way to bring his brother back.
Ashâke has certainly come a long way. She is no longer the naïve and eager-to-please young woman we initially encountered, bullied by the temple elders for failing to summon the gods, though now the gods constantly berate her for her mortal failings. This leads to some resentment, as she slowly begins to assert herself and prioritize her needs over those of the gods she’s been conditioned to serve all her life. And recent encounters have shaped her profoundly – having witnessed horrific violence as well as the apathy of the gods, she is unsure as to which side is ultimately ‘‘good’’ or ‘‘right,’’ and dithers on her loyalties. Her immense character growth makes readers acutely invested in her journey – even if some readers may not always agree with some of her choices.
She’s easily the most endearing and interesting character of the lot; and even though the novella form doesn’t often provide enough space for supporting characters to have much depth, the occasional appearances of the cunning trickster figure Eshu, orisha of crossroads, enlivens the prose somewhat, while hinting at deeper mysteries and generational feuds. In Guardians of the Gods, powerful deities are portrayed as rather self-centred and callous – dependent on the worship of mortals but with no stakes in their everyday struggles. It is their casual cruelty that turns a mortal against them, leading to the creation of a cult of godkillers (with Eshu’s help), but their self-righteousness is soon tempered by a craving for power, leading to corruption and in-fighting among the factions.
Ogundiran’s novella asks important questions about power and the privileges that come with it, whether its intrinsic nature is to corrupt, and who gets to wield it and to what end. I personally found the ending to be a little rushed. It wraps up the battle between good and evil with the promise of peace and the rebuilding of community – at least temporarily – but it leaves some questions unanswered. Ashâke’s future, after her ascension to godhood, is left to speculation and Eshu’s role in the war, who’s been slyly pulling the strings of gods and mortals from behind the scenes all along, is never fully explicated. These perhaps can be explored in another sequel or other works set in the same fictional universe.
Overall, At the Fount of Creation is an enjoyable and engrossing book, filled with adventure and action sequences that unfold like a blockbuster film, exploring the nature and relevance of divinity in an embittered world. It will particularly appeal to lovers of epic fantasy who are keen on short and satisfying reads.
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Archita Mittra is a writer and artist, with a fondness for dark and fantastical things She completed her B.A (2018) and M.A (2020) in English Literature from Jadavpur University and a Diploma in Multimedia and Animation from St. Xavier’s College.
When she isn’t writing speculative fiction or drawing fanart, she can be found playing indie games, making jewelry out of recycled material, reading a dark fantasy novel, baking cakes, or deciding which new Tarot deck to buy.
She lives in Kolkata, India, with her family and rabbits.
This review and more like it in the August 2024 issue of Locus.
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