Latifa_Al_Qasemi

In the meticulously ordered city of Veritas, 17-year-old Anya is an apprentice at the Ministry of Truth, where stories have been declared relics of a dangerous, bygone era.  "Fictions" are systematically purged, while fact-based "Non-Fictions" are the sole source of sanctioned knowledge. Citizens live under the watchful eye of the surveillance network and are bombarded with daily "Fact Showers" reinforcing the Ministry's approved version of reality.

Since childhood, Anya has harbored a forbidden love for the whispers of old tales, passed down secretly by her grandmother. This yearning explodes when she stumbles upon a hidden room in the Ministry's archives, stacked with dusty, forbidden books.  Anya's world shifts; she can't resist the lure of imagined worlds. Worse yet, she discovers a rare ability: the characters and landscapes in the stories she reads flicker into vivid visualizations, as real as her dull surroundings.

Torn between loyalty and her newfound passion, Anya's life is further complicated when she's drawn into the orbit of The Storytellers. This clandestine group believes stories feed the soul and ignite critical thinking –  precisely what the Ministry fears. Anya finds herself caught between order and imagination, duty and rebellion, especially as sparks fly between her and Luka, a daring young Storyteller.

Meanwhile, the Ministry's hold on Veritas tightens. The Censor, a man haunted by a childhood tragedy he blames on the chaotic power of fiction, oversees ruthless suppression of dissent. He secretly develops a technology to stifle the very act of imagination, ensuring the unquestioning obedience of his citizens.

As Anya is swept up in the Storytellers' plans for rebellion, she realizes her visualizations could be their most potent weapon. But her power also paints a target on her back. She must choose: protect herself and comply with the Ministry's oppressive rule, or join the fight for the transformative power of stories, facing capture, the uncovering of her gift, and the threat of the Censor's mind-numbing technology.

In a city where truth itself is subjective, Anya discovers the line between fact and fiction is less solid than she once believed.  The future of Veritas hinges not just on survival, but on the battle to revive the human spirit – a fight that may depend on the last storyteller.

Table of The Last Storyteller

Table of contents

Volume 1