A HILL OF FOOLS

An insightful exploration of humankind's fatal fascination with power

‘At first reading, Nyoka's novel is a straightforward narrative of the sempiternal co-existence of good and evil. A closer reading, however, reveals an insightful exploration of humankind's fatal fascination with power. Even though the doomed principality of Doma is fictional, it is however a place with which all of us are all too familiar. Africa, unfortunately, or even that region sometimes called the Third World, has been an arena where maggots and scavengers eat their fill. Told in places in the apocalyptic language of Greek classics, A Hill of Fools is Nyoka at his best, wielding a pen rather than his traditional scalpel, to cauterise a malignancy on the body of our continent.' – MANDLA LANGA ‘We have great need for many, many more individuals like Mtutuzeli Nyoka, all of them inspired by the courage we all need to advance what is just and serves the interests of the people.' – THABO MBEKI Ruled by the dictatorial King Kutu – a man happy to grow his wealth, cultivate his lands and indulge his taste for women – the fictional African country of Goma has been plunged into lawlessness and violence and is plagued by rampant corruption. When Queen Anuba is brutally murdered, the king calls on Anday, a high-ranking member of the country's police force who has long-standing ties with the royal family, to investigate the killing. Anday must set aside the betrayals and disappointments that have plagued his own life to solve the crime and, in the process, try to bring his beloved country back from the brink of disaster. A policeman turned leader, he finds himself instrumental in leading the people of Goma to rise up against their oppressor and flee to the neighbouring country of Gijuya where they hope for a better life. Hill of Fools cleverly brings together a poetic and traditional storytelling style with the daunting challenges that contemporary Africa faces to create a compelling and memorable read that resonates with the complexity and beauty of Africa. MTUTUZELI NYOKA served as the President of Cricket South Africa (CSA) from 2008 to 2011. His first novel Speak to the Silent was published in 2004.