Described as a first-contact speculative thriller, The Fist of Memory explores memory, power, and interconnectedness against the backdrop of a mysterious alien spacecraft appearing in Earth’s skies.
By Abioye Damilare Samson
The award-winning Nigerian writer Wole Talabi is set to release his second novel, The Fist of Memory, in October 2026 through DAW Books in the United States and Gollancz in the United Kingdom.
The novel follows Talabi’s critically acclaimed Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon, which was recognised by The Washington Post as one of the best science fiction and fantasy novels of 2023. Described as a first-contact speculative thriller, The Fist of Memory explores memory, power, and interconnectedness against the backdrop of a mysterious alien spacecraft appearing in Earth’s skies.
The story centres on Tope, a Nigerian assassin employed by a witch doctor named Baba, whose routine assignment spirals into a global crisis. He is joined by Itumeleng, a South African astronomer plagued by mysterious dreams, and together they must find a way to survive and come to understand how they, and all of humanity, are connected to the alien craft before the world changes forever. However, sinister forces are marshalled against them, including a strange and motivated assassin obsessed with a single memory.
The forthcoming novel is already attracting early attention. The Harare Review of Books has featured it as one of the most anticipated titles of 2026 and has appeared on Goodreads’ “Can’t Wait Sci-Fi & Fantasy of 2026” list.
Wole Talabi is a Nigerian engineer, writer, editor, and author of The Fist of Memory (2026) and Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon (2023). His fiction, collected in Convergence Problems and Incomplete Solutions, blends African history, myth, and futurism. He has won the Nommo and Sidewise awards and has been shortlisted for the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, World Fantasy, and Caine Prize.
You can preorder the book here.