Blood Tournament (2018, #1)

Your greatest fear has materialized. The year is 2018, and the world as we know it has ceased to be. The 2015 galactic war took it all and now, three years later, it's like we are starting all over again.

Welcome to New World!

When starving, dusty, smoke-blackened refugees were ushered by metal-skinned soldiers, who rap out orders in machined voices, into a country they never knew existed, four displaced teenagers find themselves in Western Region, District V.

Alex King is a 19 years old Nigerian youth who, like everyone else, is forced to survive under an oppressive government. When he and his best friend Mercy Damalie are chosen to represent their district for the 3rd Annual Fight-to-the-death Tournament, Alex finds himself stuck between two choices - to accept Mercy's father's offer and escape with them, leaving his own family in danger, or to go to the tournament alone.

Alex has made what he feels is the better decision, in the best interest of his family, but he can't just let go forever of the girl whose presence has added so much meaning to his life. He is allowed to go to the tournament with her on the promise that he will return her alive. Alex is forced to make another similar promise to his mother before she will let him out of her sight.

Mercy strongly believes Alex has the ability to survive anything, but Alex doesn't think so. And at the training camp, when the day of the tournament draws closer and Alex sees the thirty-eight other bigger and stronger youths they are to battle against, he isn't sure he can keep his promises anymore and Alex is left to find out whether the decision he took won't turn out to be the biggest mistake of his lifetime.