Dead on Arrival is a story about four characters in one family; Ochomma, a legend, Chibuike his son, Iroegbulam an army officer and Sochi, ‘a prodigal son’. These, all entwined in the story of the civil war, provide a glimpse into the ravages of war and the foibles of humanity.
“He walked confidently in the darkness, with practiced familiarity through the various enclaves constituting the compound. To go full circle, he had to go through the barn twice from different approaches and sides. He began at the northern side bordering his obi and finished at the southern side bordering Ugadiya’s obi. His compound, which brimmed with people in the daytime, was unusually dead silent at night. He was on his last approach through the barn when he thought he heard steps and movement. He stood still, rooted near the exit, his left hand lifted, with the knife held high. He was left- handed and was reputed to be the village’s most deadly knife fighter since his youth. The noise of footsteps on dry twigs in the barn came closer. His blood coursed through his head and his breath accelerated, as he waited, partly fearful of moving and attracting an attack, and partly angry at whoever might be ‘stealing from his barn’. He waited patiently and yet nervously. A head suddenly stuck out of the barn, then a hand, then a leg. He swung his arm and the knife plucked directly at the man’s neck. He did not miss. The head fell outside the barn and rolled, coming to rest a few steps further away while the body crashed back into the barn”
“An intriguing book, one with little to fault”…Sage Review
