I was prepared to really like this book. I enjoyed Mbalia’s Tristan Strong books and assumed I would also like this one. While I grew to like it more than the beginning, it was not my favorite read. The story is about young Yared competing in a virtual/real world competition to locate an obelisk that turns into a desperate battle with a  warring alien race. I struggled at the beginning of the book with the skimpy world-building needed to understand the setting of the story. Many invented words are thrown at the reader so quickly that it’s hard to get a sense of the story. Once I got far enough into the action-packed plot, the story picked up & moved through many action scenes with thrills & plot twists. While I enjoyed the action, I wonder how many readers will stick with it long enough to get there. The afterword was interesting when it was revealed that this sci-fi world and battle are actually based on real Ethiopian history.