A mixture of folklore, horror and thriller with a beautifully written cast of characters and an intense, deeply anxious aura that lingers long after the last page.

I loved the Nigerian folklore and body horror elements. The book is funny, but with a lot going on. The characters are very unlikeable and everything is so over the top-- this was fun.

4/5 stars

This was just so much fun. Violent and funny, Nuzo Onoh writes a horror novel I don’t think I’ll forget.

We follow Chia, a Nigerian woman who has made bargains with a malevolent spirit for power, beauty, and money. We also follow 50 year-old Claire, a British diplomatic working in Nigeria and living with her much younger boyfriend and his cousin. When their two worlds collide we get some crazy shit and thus this novel is born.

Never have I read a book where I loathed a main character so much. Claire was the actual devil, and I rooted for her death the entire book. The good thing is, you’re meant to. I don’t think you’re meant to like either Chia or Claire, recognising them as quite evil women who have largely been shaped by the wicked men in their lives. Chia was also heinous but in a more funny way that I could forgive: she’s very greedy and focused on revenge over the sheer hatred that dominates Claire’s POV. Anybody compared to Claire is a saint tbh

The story is centred around the Nigerian spirit of Futility and how it doles out gifts for its subjects at the price of male flesh. The dark humour here was great and I really enjoyed the look into Nigerian family culture and relationships. The prose was so easy to read and flowed really well; this book could easily be read in one sitting, especially since it’s quite short at only 200-ish pages.

Definitely the best book I’ve read in a while, helping me kill an awful reading slump I’ve been in for too long now :’) Totally recommend this bat-shit crazy book for some gory, mythological horror!!

Thank you so much to Titan Books for an ARC via NetGalley! Releases October 14th, 2025!

2.75 stars!!!!

Futility blends body swapping, vengeance, and Nigerian folklore in a story of two middle aged women. Chia, a successful Abuja restauranteur with a sinister secret in her pepper soup, and Claire, a bitter Caucasian woman protecting her vile son. When their paths cross, a malevolent deity ties their fates together in chaos and horror.

I loved the body horror elements and the way Nigerian culture was woven throughout (the glossary added by the author at the end was a great touch). But the pacing felt uneven, and with both women so deeply unlikeable, Zeuwa was the only character I truly felt for.

While the premise was strong and certain aspects worked well, the execution fell short for me.

Thank you to @netgalley and @titanbooks for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

wow did this swerve my thoughts and feeling across a whole landscape of directions. i wasn't sure whether i was scared,enraptured, grossed out or supportive! it was certainly a deep dive into the psyche of a pair i wouldn't usually have done into.
i wasn't sure i was clever enough to "get" it in some points. i thought i might be missing the points. but then id quickly feel and think stuff so got moved along for the ride anyway.
this story had so many demons flying around. not least the men in their lives.
when two lives collide what will happen next?
there was beliefs about looks, about ageing. there was bits about family dynamics bot heavy and thought provoking.
im not sure whether i liked the two ladies but that made it almost more comfortable because i got to read it with distance or becoming to emotionally overwhelmed lol.
trying to get into the minds of these woman both with issues and one of them being their intense burning for revenge was impossible. and im kind of glad for that. they were certainly wronged. but what level of wrong can you then do in response without you being just as bad or worse?
i cant put my finger on a lot of my thoughts surrounding this book. it would come out as more word waffle than is currently down! and non of us want that.
i got a eerie and uneasy feeling reading this book which i also cant pinpoint. there was themes to be swept along by and themes to keep you thinking on.
im glad i got to read it. thought i wondered whether i was the audience if i didn't truly feel like i understood it.
it was a ride and then some. the kind of book i think back to class and reading along with the class. then the teacher explains it to you and suddenly it become clear. so yeh, i need someone to explain it to me. or maybe i dont. who knows. this is what this book did to me people!

I really enjoyed the idea of this book but it just felt like there was a lot going on at all times, which made it hard to stay engaged or want to finish.

I usually love Nuzo's writing, but sadly this just didn't work for me. The main characters were so awful that I wasn't enjoying the time spent with them - I felt quite sorry for (some of) those who suffered at their hands. Others were equally terrible and so perhaps more deserving, but I just didn't vibe with the meanness of it all.

I know this sort of humour works for some, but it wasn't to my taste, alas.

What an absolutely fun read! Futility follows Chia, a Nigerian woman that runs the best restaurant in Abuja, Nigeria. However, it's only the best because she has the power to captivate her male customers with their "fantasy lay". This does not work on the women though, who can see right through her. She also sells her famous hot pepper soup which is laced with a secret ingredient. The story also follows Claire, an unpleasant and mean 50-year-old British woman, who works for the British High Commission Foreign Office in Abuja. She has a young Nigerian boyfriend, Kalode, who brings his cousin Shadé everywhere with him.

Claire's troubled son Tom arrives to Abuja to visit her and they, along with Kalode and Shadé, go to have dinner at Chia's restaurant. Tom ends up missing and the battle between Chai and Claire begins. Both women, who are filled with rage and want vengeance, become entangled with a supernatural being who can grant them their wishes, but for a price.

Loved this story! I honestly was rooting for Chia the entire time! Both woman, Chia and Claire, have had horrible experiences with men and those encounters fueled their rage and obsession with revenge. They also have an obsession with looking young and beautiful. I don't typically read supernatural horror stories, but because this includes real life horrors (SA, cannibalism, and murder), it gave the story much more substance. The pacing was great, never a lull in the story. Nuzo Onoh is an amazing writer and I look forward to reading her other books! Chei-chei!

Thank you, NetGalley and Titan Books, for the ARC.

This book made me laugh nonstop with its quirky, unforgettable characters and clever humor. A fun, lighthearted read! Would recommend
Thank you to Nuzo Onoh, Netgalley and Titan Books for the arc of this book.

I thought this book would be right up my alley. African horror, gruesome revenge plots with mystical man-eating demon entities, female rage, pepper soup laced with the cooked penises of cheating men? And that beautiful cover? Sign me up. But unfortunately it just didn't work for me. I must admit I am tired of powerful, radiant middle-aged women who are still obssessed with youth and physical appearance, and the men who wronged them. I was right with the women in the nail salon at the end - you don't need that man, not even for well deserved revenge.

The humor also kind of went over my head because it was so completely over the top. Who is that angry and rude in real life constantly? They almost became caricatures of wronged women. I was rooting for them to find a mission beyond men but they never did, even if I completely understood their motivations for acting the way they did.

Chia is a seemingly wealthy Nigerian woman who owns a famous restaurant that serves a specialty pepper soup. Thanks to the help of a demon who grants her a wish for the body of a man, she has hexed men to see their fantasy lay and set up a perfect life, despite being ugly and obese after letting herself go for losing her fiancee to her best friend after he dumps her when he learns she has a developmentally delayed brother.

Then there's Claire, an equally crass and racist white diplomat who is a former police officer, who was abused by a boss who handed her out to coworkers to sleep with her. She also has a pedophile son whom she has inexplicably protected all these years (gross).

The two women's fates become intertwined when they encounter the same demon, and their greed and lust for revenge soon overpowers them both.

I am not a fan of splatterpunk because I find it gratuitously gruesome and self-consciously offensive, and I'd definitely describe this as African splatterpunk meets body horror and laced with feminine rage. I could have dealt with unlikable characters but I found them so completely wild and unrealistic that it was hard to stay in the story.

I really understood the rage these women had, but I wanted them to stop obsessing about their looks and about shallow, abusive men so it became hard to be on their side and follow their journey to bloodthirsty vengeance. This sadly wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

No idea what I just read but I liked it very much! Main characters were too funny and the whole story just unhinged. This was also my first book from the author and Nigerian literature - and I was not disappointed!

Not what I expected, but oh so good! The two main characters are unlikeable. No redeeming qualities., which makes the story ending perfect. I really cannot describe what I just read and can only say it was hard to put down. Enjoy! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Futility by Nuzo Onoh
4🔮🔮🔮🔮
Est. Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2025

Abuja, Nigeria.

I had a date, a date with a restaurant. This was “the” restaurant in Abuja. The place to be, the places where your taste buds screamed for more. The owner, Chia, was the mastermind behind the famous hot pepper soup. I casually sat down at an awaiting table, and Chia herself came out to meet me. What was this? She was gorgeous, the straight-out-of-my-fantasies type of beauty. It was as if she were reading my mind. Coming back to my senses, I proceeded to order a beer and some of the hot pepper soup I had been hearing about. As the spoonful of goodness hit the back of my throat, I noticed a splendid flavor I had never experienced before. “Oh, my! This is fabulous.” I thought. Chia’s secret ingredient was weaving its magic, indeed. As I left the establishment, I graciously thanked Chia for this wonderful meal. With a sadistic smile, she winked at me. What was that smile for? It was sadistic, wasn’t it? How strange.

Upon my exit, a curious group of four people entered. An older woman, Claire Bellows, is taking center stage as the leader. Wholly unlikeable, I listened intently as she began to berate the waiter and everyone else in earshot. The young man to her right, Kolade, was her boyfriend? What tomfoolery was going on here? There was a strangeness in the air, creating an underlying havoc for both Chia and Claire, that I could not quite put my finger on. Who or what was orchestrating this tale of debauchery?

Nuzo Onoh, author and sous chef, steadily holds a chef’s knife. Slow, steady sawing motions back and forth through the succulent flesh. Concocting a dish full of murderous intent, the pages dyed with bloody aftermath.

Chia and Claire are opposites and yet the same. On looks alone, they couldn’t be further from one another; however, what is festering inside is eerily similar. They are women scorned, both with revenge on their minds. But how? What plans will they hatch to get their desired outcomes?

An egoistic fog rolls off the shoulders of Chia and Claire. Money and power permeate through their skin, respectively. This isn’t man-made power; no, this seems the doing of a greater being. Perhaps Efu, the Deity of Despair, is the provider of these wicked powers, enabling both women great success and secret abilities.

Is there an excuse for the mistreatment of others? Hmm, a question I pondered throughout. On the one hand, I can understand the hostility both women harbored for being wronged in their lives. When does overstepping the line between fierce loathing and homicidal aspirations become reality? Let’s not mince words, dear readers; Chia and Claire are 100% horrible individuals. There were flashes of kindness sprinkled on the soup like parsley as a garnish, but ultimately, Nuzo Onoh presents these two in such an undesirable manner that I am sure some will be put off by it. I began to put myself in their shoes. If a genie grants you wishes in exchange for something, would you do it, no matter the cost? In modern-day society, this is on full display. Politicians are a perfect example. Selling the proverbial soul for the lifestyle entitlements that it provides.

I found this novel to be an interesting escape into the land of Nigeria. Certain customs and verbiage that I was unfamiliar with became a learning experience. The stark contrasts between Nigeria and London were evident, but materialism was bridging the gap between both worlds, at least in this story. The horror elements are well executed. Onoh did a fabulous job of meshing both Claire and Chia’s lives together in a satisfying conclusion.

So, as the last thud of the knife hitting the chopping block can be heard reverberating through the room, an ominous feeling lies in wait. Who will be the next victims? For now, I might suggest staying away from the soup!

Many thanks to Titan Books for the ARC through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Recommended!

I am obsessed with this book. Chia and Claire drove me crazy the entire time, and I sorta hated them both, but that's what made the book so good. The novel was a great mix of body horror/gore and humorous moments, and also sweet moments when the chapters were on Chia's family. I will definitely be checking out Nuzo Onoh's other books.

Thank you Nuzo Onoh, Titan Books, and NetGalley for the ARC!

If you enjoy stories about two unlikeable, unhinged women who are fed up with their lives and out for revenge on men, then Futility might be right up your alley. It’s bloody, a bit outrageous, and has a darkly funny edge.

For me, though, it didn’t land as strongly as I’d hoped. I never really connected with the characters, which made it harder to stay invested in their descent. Some of the dialogue early on even felt a little immature for my taste.

Still, there’s no denying the book’s boldness. It doesn’t hold back, and if you like messy characters making even messier choices, it is a wild ride.

Chia and Claire are both disappointed with the way their lives have turned out, both frustrated by the way they are perceived by society, and both harbouring a dark secret. And after a chance encounter in Chia's restaurant, their lives become entwined, as both women will stop at nothing in their pursuit of revenge...

Revenge is not a new topic for fiction, but Futility manages to make it feel fresh. I have deliberately not given much away in my plot summary, because one of my favourite things about this book was its capacity to surprise me. What I initially assumed was another book about a woman getting revenge on men (which I love as a subgenre, but am growing a little tired of) soon reveals itself to be so much more, and Futility uses its Nigerian setting to bring a supernatural element to the story that is brilliant and bonkers and genuinely dread inducing. I loved the way Futility breathes new life into well-worn tropes, and I found its exploration of its themes really thought-provoking.

I also loved the way Futility pulls you into the story, making you care about characters that do terrible things and that terrible things happen to, and part of the book's horror comes from watching events play out that you're powerless to stop. I loved the complexity of this book's protagonists, and fellow fans of unlikable women won't be disappointed. Futility wasn't quite a five-star read for me, and I did find it took a little while to get into as the opening chapters set up the different storylines, but I found it a compulsive read that I can't stop thinking about.

This was my first book by Nuzo Onoh and also my first time reading Nigerian literature, and what an introduction it was. At first I struggled with the pacing and almost set it aside, but I am so glad I kept going because once the story hit its stride it turned into something dark, dramatic, and unforgettable.

The novel reads like a Nigerian drama brought to life on the page, full of betrayal, grief, and vengeance. Onoh layers multiple perspectives together, slowly building toward a conclusion that ties every viewpoint into one powerful and devastating finale. I especially loved the Nigerian dialect woven throughout the dialogue, which added so much authenticity and made me feel immersed in the setting.

The story is messy in the best way, with no easy heroes and plenty of flawed, human characters who make choices driven by pain, pride, and revenge. By the end, it felt like I had witnessed an entire Nollywood film unfold in novel form.

This book was so bloody and juicy at first I was a bit confused lol cause it was so much going on but to put it all into perspective it was damn good I really hated Claire she was so messy and jealous and hateful old bat lol to the author you did your thing in this read I can not wait for others to read this !!!!!

after reading “the eyes are the best part” i just had to read this too, and it didn’t disappoint!! thank you so much for this arc xx

Nuzo Onoh’s Futility is a wild, bloody ride that mixes folklore tricksters, revenge, and body-swapping chaos. Chia and Claire are unapologetically flawed, and the book leans into its gore and dark humor with gusto. The satire is sharp, and the folklore elements add great texture.

What didn’t work for me was the constant use of “WTF” as an exclamation. It stood out because the book already uses swearing freely, so the repetition felt distracting and pulled me out of the story.