Utama: A Novel

Ng Yi-Sheng
Paperback, 360 pages
9789815348026

Finalist for the 2025 Epigram Books Fiction Prize

A mythic historical novel by two-time Singapore Literature Prize winner.

Utama reimagines the rise of Sang Nila Utama through the eyes of those who shaped his path— exiles, warriors and queens. From the Chola invasion to a fateful sea crossing, ambition and betrayal forge an empire. As dragons fall and a sea goddess awakens, the Lion City is born.

"Reading Utama is like being led into a secret history. Ng Yi-Sheng conjures a world where empires rise on fields of gold, sea beasts carry kings skyward and history itself ends towards magic—all carried by a writing tone that is lyrical and layered with echoes of the Malay Annals, Chinese classics and Hindu epics, with the plot unfolding in such a way that grips the reader... - Nuraliah Norasid, author of The Gatekeeper