Scan barcode
anna_hepworth's review
4.0
I initially received this as a free ebook from BookBub or similar marketing site; I have subsequently purchased a physical copy
Tightly written, beautifully realised urban fantasy. Deft weaving of political, religions, and personal aspects of the lives of the characters. Religious aspects are possibly a little heavy handed for those who are already familiar with Islam, but as a reader from a different religious tradition, I found it helpful. Similarly, I suspect some of the level of detail in the setting would be excessive for people familiar with Karachi and the way of life of its upper classes, but for me, it was useful to give a sense of place. The characterisation is good, but not great - I had difficulties with distinguishing some of the up-and-coming young men from scene to scene, and even the villains were a little mechanical at times, but the main character came through quite clearly as the spoiled only son of a somewhat wealthy family.
My main complaint is the ending - the story just seemed to stop, without any really clear idea of having achieved more than setting the scene for a bigger story. Given that this is part one of two, I have hopes of the sequel.
Tightly written, beautifully realised urban fantasy. Deft weaving of political, religions, and personal aspects of the lives of the characters. Religious aspects are possibly a little heavy handed for those who are already familiar with Islam, but as a reader from a different religious tradition, I found it helpful. Similarly, I suspect some of the level of detail in the setting would be excessive for people familiar with Karachi and the way of life of its upper classes, but for me, it was useful to give a sense of place. The characterisation is good, but not great - I had difficulties with distinguishing some of the up-and-coming young men from scene to scene, and even the villains were a little mechanical at times, but the main character came through quite clearly as the spoiled only son of a somewhat wealthy family.
My main complaint is the ending - the story just seemed to stop, without any really clear idea of having achieved more than setting the scene for a bigger story. Given that this is part one of two, I have hopes of the sequel.
corar's review
4.0
Fire Boy is the story of a teenager in Karachi, Pakistan named Wahlid who is attacked by Djinn while driving his friends home from a party. The Djinn cause his car to crash, killing his best friend and putting the girl he has a crush on in a coma. In order to save the girl, Wahlid must solve the mystery of why the Djinn attacked him, find them, and retrieve the piece of the girl's soul that was stolen. The story was filled with Islamic mythology that was both familiar and new to me. The author did a good job of integrating the mythology into present day Pakistan and explaining to the reader without taking me out of the story with an information dump. I am looking forward to reading more of Wahlid's story. One warning though - the book just ends midway through the story so if you do not like cliffhangers consider having the sequel [b:Earth Boy|33798082|Earth Boy (Djinn-Son Duology, #2)|Sami Shah|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1491010797s/33798082.jpg|54695882] ready. They are both relatively short books so they can easily be read together as one big story.
thesarcasticlibrarian's review
5.0
4.5 stars! I went into this book not knowing what to expect but I am pleasantly surprised by how engaging this book was. More thought out review to come.
glaiza_echo's review
4.0
A fantastic urban fantasy set in modern day Pakistan and filled with intense encounters with djinn and the supernatural as drawn from tightly woven mythology.
whatthelog's review
I loved the world that this book created – this is one of the few fantasies I’ve read that is so clearly placed in a non-Western setting (in this case, it was Karachi). The mythology was based on Islam, and in my mind it was done very cleverly. The best parts were little flash-backs every so often about the djinns. Creepy and mystical, I’ll definitely be picking up the next book in the series.
kjcharles's review
I heard of this on Twitter: a fantasy set in Pakistan and inspired by its mythology and culture, own voices author. I am bored to tears with a lot of current fantasy and the endless parade of straight white men grimdarking their way through vaguely Europe-with-dragons analogues. So I grabbed it.
And it is mostly fantastic. It’s violent, really scary. (I feared it might be YA because of the 18yo hero, but no. It’s brutal.) Super vivid and fluent writing, wildly imaginative, fantastic use of the setting and mythology. Twisty plot, engaging geeky asthmatic protagonist. A tremendous read.
But. But there is not one single female character with agency. The women exist only to help, or to motivate the hero/plot; almost all the minor characters are male. We barely get to see the girlfriend before she’s abducted. I mean, this isn’t a sexist book, let alone a misogynistic one. The author obviously feels passionately about violence against women, and men are victimised and attacked just as much and with as much relish as women. (Yay equal opportunity horrible death!) It’s just all about men.
It’s not fair to ask any one author to redress all the wrongs of everything, especially in a book that does so much in the teeth of the sad puppies. This book is really good in itself, and triumphant in use of setting and mythology; it is a perfect example of the desperate need for SFF to diversify because it is simply *far more interesting* than the same old Tolkien/GoT dullardry. I haven’t enjoyed a fantasy so much in ages. Only, it I’d have enjoyed it a lot more if the women had been more than plot drivers, that’s all.
I recommend this if you’re okay with full-on horror/violence--and with the fact that this is End of Part One and does not conclude the story in any way *at all*. I am totally buying the second one, but I really hope the author moves on from Man World and I see no reason why he shouldn’t.
And it is mostly fantastic. It’s violent, really scary. (I feared it might be YA because of the 18yo hero, but no. It’s brutal.) Super vivid and fluent writing, wildly imaginative, fantastic use of the setting and mythology. Twisty plot, engaging geeky asthmatic protagonist. A tremendous read.
But. But there is not one single female character with agency. The women exist only to help, or to motivate the hero/plot; almost all the minor characters are male. We barely get to see the girlfriend before she’s abducted. I mean, this isn’t a sexist book, let alone a misogynistic one. The author obviously feels passionately about violence against women, and men are victimised and attacked just as much and with as much relish as women. (Yay equal opportunity horrible death!) It’s just all about men.
It’s not fair to ask any one author to redress all the wrongs of everything, especially in a book that does so much in the teeth of the sad puppies. This book is really good in itself, and triumphant in use of setting and mythology; it is a perfect example of the desperate need for SFF to diversify because it is simply *far more interesting* than the same old Tolkien/GoT dullardry. I haven’t enjoyed a fantasy so much in ages. Only, it I’d have enjoyed it a lot more if the women had been more than plot drivers, that’s all.
I recommend this if you’re okay with full-on horror/violence--and with the fact that this is End of Part One and does not conclude the story in any way *at all*. I am totally buying the second one, but I really hope the author moves on from Man World and I see no reason why he shouldn’t.
More...