Oware Mosaic
The Bram Stoker Award-winning Novel from the Ace of Horror
Re-Released: June 16, 2023
Publisher: Crossroad Press
In the Metaverse, No One Knows the Dead Better than Feeni Xo
The story is set on alternate Earth and follows the life of Feeni Xo, a teenage enhuman girl who wants to become an investigative forensic coroner. Similar to vampires, “enhumans” need human blood for sustenance but thanks to the creation of synthetic blood, don’t need to break enhuman laws by harming humans for survival.
One night, coming home from a party, Feeni seems to kill a young girl. Her brother, who is a police officer, helps her cover it up, but when Feeni retreats to the metaverse to play a virtual reality game that uses data from police cold cases, she discovers the dead girl in real life is actually the younger sister of her neighbor, who also happens to be a police officer.
Overwhelmed with guilt, she’s forced to help her neighbor investigate her sister’s death in a case that becomes ominous when they play the House of Oware game that’s been reprogrammed to kill every participant.
A Taste of Horror
(an excerpt)
The car hit something, and I swerved, trying to gain control of it. It did a full three-sixty before I managed to skid to a stop. Everything happened fast. It took me a few to get my bearings. My head hurt. Blood was on the steering wheel, and I touched my forehead and the crimson substance on my fingers told me it was my own.
“Hey! Hey! Feeni!” Kofi said.
“What the hell was that?”
“Nothing—nothing. I think the tire blew.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, just a little bump to the head.” The passenger side of the car seemed higher than the driver’s. “Great.” “What?”
“I think I have a flat, now.”
“You jacked up my tires?”
“Relax, you should be more worried about me.”
I got out of the car and groaned. My abs bruised, slamming into the bottom of the steering wheel, although I had no recollection if it had. The rain started pouring down harder, but it felt good in the sweltering summer morning.
“You didn’t dent my car, did you?” Kofi asked.
I didn’t answer him. There was a child-size sandal covered in blood, lodged under the front tire.
“Hey, Feeni. I know you hear me. Just tell me. Did you wreck my car?”
I took a slow few steps toward the back of the car and gasped.
“What is it?” Kofi asked.
“Oh, no, no, no, no, no,” I said, and fell to my knees.
At first, I saw her mangled toes, and then her legs, before I got to the back of the vehicle and saw her small, lifeless body on the pavement. Half of her face was gone, leaving flesh and blood on the pavement, a stream of it leaked from out of her ears.
I screamed.
About Feeni Xo (pronounced zo)
Is Feeni Xo A Vampire?
Feeni Xo is not a vampire but a mutant called a “Ennie” who needs blood to survive and lives in a world where there’s a variety of blood-mixed beverages: sodas, energy drinks and even beer. Human blood consumption is not only frowned upon by her kind but considered perverse.
Unlike most horror depictions of a vampiric-like transformation, the novel also reveals that the “turning” is a natural yet complex event, somewhat like what happens to a butterfly; a common theme in the show.
The Secret Life of Feeni Xo
The dualities of life that Feeni and Sammi live between the virtual reality world and real life are intertwined in a futuristic medical procedural. the storytelling unravels a mystery that forces the girls to face the brutal realities of teenage life: drinking, drugs, romantic heartbreaks, bullying, gaining acceptance from peers and the meaning of friendship. The girls have to solve an adult case while living in teenage bodies and as a result face conflicts that to a teenager, are “bigger than life”.
Pete Nowalk, creator of ABC’s hit show, How to Get Away with Murder
“He is a brilliant writer, one readers and critics should be watching.”
Alma Katsu, New York Times Bestselling author of Red Widow
"If you're looking for a story that's daringly imaginative, Oware Mosaic will scratch that itch."
Linda Addison, 5x Bram Stoker winner
"I loved, loved, loved this novel by Nzondi! Breath-taking SF adventure!!"