Samoan author Lani Wendt Young has launched her 14^th novel – ‘Mata Oti’ (in English ‘Eyes of Death’) – the first apocalyptic zombie thriller set in Samoa.

Mrs. Young, writer of the Telesa Series and Scarlet Lies, is a fan of apocalypse stories, she said in a statement provided to the Samoa Observer.

“I’m a fan of apocalypse stories. Like Stephen King’s masterpiece The Stand, and the A.M.C. Network’s Walking Dead series,” she said. 

“I’ve always wondered though what’s happening in the rest of the world during these stories? What would a zombie event look like here in Samoa? This book centers us, makes Samoa the focal point of the apocalypse.”

‘Mata Oti’ was released on 30 August.

“What do you do when there’s a pandemic and much of the world is in lockdown as it battles a virus? If you’re author Lani Young, then you write a novel about it – only you take it a wild step further, and make it a virus that turns the infected into Tagata Oti, Samoa’s version of zombies. The result is Mata Oti, an apocalyptic thriller set in Samoa which had its worldwide e-book release on August 30^th,” the statement explains.

Like her Telesa Series, Mrs. Young’s new novel ‘Mata Oti’ has a female protagonist who must overcome ‘impossible’ odds.

It tells the story of Iva, a librarian who is partially sighted.

She is the guardian for her two young nieces when their parents go to New Zealand for medical treatment. There’s a virus raging across the world, that’s a lot like COVID-19, and so Samoa’s borders are closed.

But when a genetically engineered variant is accidentally released on a repatriation flight from the United States of America, Samoa is plunged into a nightmare as the infected are transformed into savage creatures, Tagata Oti.

They are unnaturally strong, fast, and driven by a ferocious hunger. The novel explores how different families, villages and churches respond as our Paradise falls, as the crisis brings out the best and the worst in our people. Iva must protect the children from both the infected and the desperate.

There’s an emergency evacuation plane leaving from Faleolo International Airport and Iva is determined to get the children there, through hordes of 'Tagata Oti' (dead people or zombies). It’s a race against time though as the variant rampages through her own veins. Can she fight off the change for long enough so they all survive?

The novel marks a shift in genre for Mrs. Young.

Both her Young Adult fantasy series and contemporary Scarlet Lies novels had strong romance elements.

“Mata Oti is certainly a darker story, and much more action driven,” said Mrs. Young.

“But ultimately, it’s about hope even in the face of despair. And how love and family are our strength.”

This year is the tenth anniversary since Mrs. Young published Telesa, the first Young Adult novel from Oceania.

It’s been a busy decade of writing for the author who has continued to carve out new territory for Pacific Literature and who has won multiple awards including being named the 2018 ACP Pacific Laureate.

Mrs. Young said “this is very much a novel from Samoa, 100% Samoa-made!”

“I wrote it here from inside our closed borders, it has an ISBN from our very own library at the National University, and we worked with Commercial Printers who have done an amazing job to get these copies done,” she noted.

‘Mata Oti’ is Mrs. Young's 14^th novel.

Electronic copies can be purchased from Amazon, Apple Books, and Kobo.

It will be launched in Samoa on 30 September at a celebration event held at Taumeasina Island Resort.

Print copies will then be made available for purchase from local bookstores.