Deji Bryce Olukotun

Overview After the Flare is a science fiction novel by Deji Bryce Olukotun, published in 2017 by The Unnamed Press. It is the sequel to his debut novel, Nigerians in Space. The story is set in a near-future Nigeria that has become the unlikely savior of global space exploration after a catastrophic solar event known as “the Flare” devastates most of the world’s technological infrastructure. The novel blends Afrofuturism, political thriller, archaeological mystery, and space opera into a narrative that explores themes of identity, diaspora, cultural heritage, technological ambition, and survival. The protagonist, Kwesi Bracket, is an African American engineer who has relocated to Nigeria to work on a rescue mission for a stranded astronaut. As he navigates the complexities of Nigerian culture, institutional politics, and a mysterious ancient power buried beneath the spaceport, he must also confront his own personal demons and the fractured state of the post-Flare world. Prologue: The Catastrophe The novel opens with a vivid depiction of the Flare from the perspective of Masha Kornokova, a Russian cosmonaut aboard the International Space Station. She has just completed a six-hour spacewalk when an intense light a coronal mass ejection of unprecedented magnitude engulfs the Earth. The light …

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Overview Nigerians in Space is the debut novel by Deji Bryce Olukotun, published by The Unnamed Press. It is a genre-blending work that combines elements of crime thriller, noir fiction, science fiction, and literary fiction. The novel explores themes of diaspora, identity, homecoming, betrayal, and the tension between personal ambition and familial duty. The story moves across three continents North America, Europe, and Africa and spans two time periods: 1993 and the present day (roughly the early 2010s). It follows two primary narratives that eventually converge: the story of Dr. Wale Olufunmi, a Nigerian-American lunar geologist who steals a priceless moon rock and flees to South Africa, and the story of Thursday Malaysius, a coloured South African abalone poacher who becomes entangled in a criminal underworld. The novel is structured in three books: “The Moon Rock Thief,” “The Abalone of Obz,” and “Melle,” with a prologue and an epilogue. It is a complex, multi-layered narrative that examines what it means to go home, the nature of sacrifice, and the consequences of betrayal. Book I: The Moon Rock Thief Chapter 1: Houston, Texas (1993) The novel opens in 1993 in Houston, Texas, with Dr. Wale Olufunmi, a Nigerian-American lunar geologist, playing …

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