In a disturbing nod to a future that mirrors the past, 'The Tyrant's Novel' follows the story of a writer known as Alan Sheriff, who is coerced by a totalitarian regime into penning a propagandistic novel. Set in a country turned from ally to adversary of the West, Sheriff finds himself trapped between his moral integrity and the ruthless demands of a dictator known as Great Uncle. Under intense scrutiny and facing dire consequences for disobedience, Sheriff must navigate the perilous line between survival and complicity. In this metafictional tale, Keneally blurs the boundaries between the storyteller's reality and the fiction he's forced to create, resulting in a haunting narrative about the power of the written word and the cost of freedom.