BIRTH OF A DYNASTY is a fast-paced high fantasy about court intrigue, dangerous politics, power struggles, devastating violence, and surviving in a world dedicated to destroying you, perfect for readers who crave their next heart-shattering epic read.

BIRTH OF A DYNASTY
by Chinaza Bado
Voyager, Summer 2025
(via Nancy Yost Literary)

© courtesy of the author

Pitched as Game of Thrones meets Children of Blood and Bone, BIRTH OF A DYNASTY is an edge-of-your-seat, drama-filled, and gut-wrenching, epic high fantasy is set in Alkebulan, a fictionalized Africa, where magic is feared and giants are real. It follows three high noble families as they fight to maintain their power in the midst of averting a devastating prophecy.

M’Kuru Mukundi, the sole surviving member of the high noble Mukundi family of Madada, barely escapes a brutal attack by Prince Effiom and the Red Sun Army of the Zenzele. After watching his parents, then his sister, her lover, and everyone else he ever knew slaughtered by Prince Effiom, ten-year old M’kuru makes a vow:

We shall not forgive. We shall not forget. We will have our vengeance.

M’kuru flees to a small village where he hides as farm boy Khalil Rausi, unaware that the real Khalil’s father is the bloodthirsty Commander of Prince Effiom’s army. When an imposter claiming to be M’kuru shows up in the village, the real M’kuru—now Khalil—must make impossible choices and do the unforgivable as he makes his way to the capital, where he will one day avenge the murder of his family and his people.

Meanwhile, in Winneba, young Zikora Nnamani, the only daughter of Lord Nnamani, wants nothing more than to be a fierce Seh Llinga warrior. But Zikora is the most beloved child of Winneba and, according to the prophecy, the only living threat left to to the Zenzele Dynasty. When the Queen’s messenger arrives to « invite » Zikora to the castle, her family is not in a position to refuse. However, before she leaves her home, Zikora’s father secretly begins the dangerous Rite of Blessing to protect her, with the risk that it may also bring the world one step closer to completion of the prophecy that Prince Effiom so fears.

Between scheming ladies at court, backstabbing princes on the prowl, and everyone in between having nothing to lose, M’kuru and Zikora must do what they can, no matter how terrible, to save their people and claim vengeance for their families. No choices are easy, and nothing is as it seems…

Chinaza Bado has previously written under the pen name, J.J. McAvoy, in a variety of genres, most recently Regency romance. Her titles have sold in the UK, Hungary, Brazil, Poland, and were bestsellers in Turkey, Israel, and France. Chinaza is second generation Nigerian, who spends her free time traveling throughout Africa collecting stories and visiting family in Nigeria.