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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
tense
I really enjoyed the setting and the premise of this book.
However, I felt the MC was too naive at times. I wanted to see much more of her relationship with Maram, specially. Finally, the book suffers a bit on the fact that the MC had little space to have autonomy, so most of the time it was a story about all that happens TO her, in place of how she is finding her own way. I'm curious to see how this evolves in the sequel.
However, I felt the MC was too naive at times. I wanted to see much more of her relationship with Maram, specially. Finally, the book suffers a bit on the fact that the MC had little space to have autonomy, so most of the time it was a story about all that happens TO her, in place of how she is finding her own way. I'm curious to see how this evolves in the sequel.
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Some really beautiful writing and impressive worldbuilding. The various settings have depth and clarity, and the elements of poetry and religion brought into focus are fascinating and well-developed. Other aspects of the book didn't compel me as much as I hoped they would. Maram's arc is too convenient, and there's a strange ease and predictability to the major events of the novel; Amani never feels in real danger until the book's last pages. By the time that anvil drops, I found myself thinking "well, it's about time!" rather than "oh shit!"
Also, while Amani and Idris are perfectly likable protagonists, their relationship ends up fairly rote. Maybe the sequel will address/subvert some of the choices that left me cold. I'm certainly interested in reading it, just to immerse myself in Daud's lovely writing and world again.
Also, while Amani and Idris are perfectly likable protagonists, their relationship ends up fairly rote. Maybe the sequel will address/subvert some of the choices that left me cold. I'm certainly interested in reading it, just to immerse myself in Daud's lovely writing and world again.
I love reading books, especially fantasy books, with culture and histories that are while unfamiliar to me. This one is a perfect example. It gripped me from page one. Amani was instantly sympathetic without being hopeless. She was a girl trapped in a system much more powerful than herself, that tripped right over all the worst stereotypes of that genre, and still managed to remain endearing and wonderful.
It's a book about colonialism that leaves some sympathy, not for the colonizers, but for the second generation, the people who have to grow up after the conquest is a given thing. Amani feels sympathy for Miram because she figures out that Miram is just as trapped as she is. And the betrayal-that-mightn't-have-been-a-betrayal at the end is all the more heartbreaking for it.
The sequel is the next book on my queue, and I dearly hope it is as good as this one.
It's a book about colonialism that leaves some sympathy, not for the colonizers, but for the second generation, the people who have to grow up after the conquest is a given thing. Amani feels sympathy for Miram because she figures out that Miram is just as trapped as she is. And the betrayal-that-mightn't-have-been-a-betrayal at the end is all the more heartbreaking for it.
The sequel is the next book on my queue, and I dearly hope it is as good as this one.
4.5 (I rounded up)
This book was another that I liked a lot more than I thought I would. 2018 has been the year for books y'all.
Mirage by Somaiya Daud is intelligently and creatively written and I absolutely cannot wait to continue the story when the next book comes out. I did feel as though the book has somewhat of an abrupt ending, but that's probably because I didn't want the book to end anyways.
This book is both sci-fi and fantasy, and I think that when those two genres are tied together, it makes for an awesome world, and story-telling.
The world-building at first was confusing as this story takes place on several different moons (which is super cool, by the way). After getting into the story more, the setting of the book made more sense and I really enjoyed it.
The characters..
wow. Just wow. The characters are so well written, and I don't want to spoil anything but our main character (Amani), the princess (Maran), and Idris have such differing personalities and the way that they grow and ebb through the story was just spectacular.
I'm just going to leave it here, and stop rambling. If you haven't added this book to your TBR, do it now!
If you enjoy books with a sci-fi, fantasy feel, with some romance, deep plots and friendship, then I 110% recommend that you add this book to your TBR!
Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for sending me an e-ARC of this book.
If you would like to read more book reviews, visit my blog at www.sarahjuneblog.com.
This book was another that I liked a lot more than I thought I would. 2018 has been the year for books y'all.
Mirage by Somaiya Daud is intelligently and creatively written and I absolutely cannot wait to continue the story when the next book comes out. I did feel as though the book has somewhat of an abrupt ending, but that's probably because I didn't want the book to end anyways.
This book is both sci-fi and fantasy, and I think that when those two genres are tied together, it makes for an awesome world, and story-telling.
The world-building at first was confusing as this story takes place on several different moons (which is super cool, by the way). After getting into the story more, the setting of the book made more sense and I really enjoyed it.
The characters..
wow. Just wow. The characters are so well written, and I don't want to spoil anything but our main character (Amani), the princess (Maran), and Idris have such differing personalities and the way that they grow and ebb through the story was just spectacular.
I'm just going to leave it here, and stop rambling. If you haven't added this book to your TBR, do it now!
If you enjoy books with a sci-fi, fantasy feel, with some romance, deep plots and friendship, then I 110% recommend that you add this book to your TBR!
Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for sending me an e-ARC of this book.
If you would like to read more book reviews, visit my blog at www.sarahjuneblog.com.
I really wanted to love this book but I don't know why I didn't. Don't get me wrong it was enjoyable, just something was missing. I didn't click with Amani, and I wish there was more of Maram. I love me a bitch.
This one was very hard to get started for me. But it was worth it in the end.
“Even your happiness is rebellion."
It’s been a bit since the last YA book I read and I’m happy to say that Mirage was a pleasant return to the genre. I’ve been trying to read as much as I can about colonialism lately and I’m especially itching for speculative stories of colonialism, so Mirage was a great fit. At the same time, there are a couple of weaknesses to the book that left me a little lukewarm.
I think the book’s absolute greatest strength lies with the character of Maram, the princess whom Amani is abducted to impersonate. She is a really complex character and her position in the Vath empire is a fascinating one that belies the complexities of biracial identity in a colonized world. We see her internalized hatred for being part Andalaan and the way that she is a tool of the Vath regime, a puppet to be paraded around, a manipulator who is manipulated in turn. She is too Vath for the Andalaan and too Andalaan for the Vath and so she exists in a liminal space made possible only by empire, truly belonging to neither group.
She does horrible things to Amani over the course of the book and these things are never excused, but at the same time I think Daud does a great job of showing her inner vulnerability and how she was shaped to be the way she is now. The relationship between the two girls is a complex and uncomfortable dynamic to be sure - Amani says clearly that she is a slave in all but name and nonetheless takes it upon herself to try to change Maram because, while she is oppressing Amani, Amani sees that she in turn is being used by the empire. She tries to make use of this commonality, attempting to turn Maram into an ally to the rebellion. There is genuine sisterhood and affection in their relationship, to be sure, but how do we make sense of that given Maram’s power and Amani’s powerlessness? At first I was worried that the book would argue that it’s the responsibility of the oppressed to humanize themselves to the oppressor but I definitely don’t think that’s what Daud is saying. Rather, I think the point is to understand that it is possible to be oppressed and marginalized at the same time, and that it is important to find commonality in shared aspects of disenfranchisement if possible.
It’s a really rich and thought-provoking dynamic, clearly, and my favorite part of my story overall. I also appreciated some of the things we see through Amani’s story as well as Idris’s. We see how Amani is forced to become like Maram, assimilating herself to the empire’s standards of behavior while struggling against its claim on her autonomy and core identity. It’s also very interesting that Idris discusses how he and the other child survivors of murdered elite families all came to distrust each other as the Vath pitted them against each other so that they wouldn’t rise against the Vath together - divide and conquer. I think Mirage just absolutely nails the complexity of survival/existence and relationships under empire - the betrayals and compromises, the desperation to cling to what is yours and the way that identity and loyalty can be eroded away but nonetheless remain possible and more vital than ever.
With that being said about Amani and Idris, however, I think the book’s greatest weakness lies in their characterization for me. Though I appreciated the points I just mentioned, I did not find either of them to be especially complex or interesting characters. Put together I cared even less for their romance. It moves quite quickly and hits all the familiar beats of YA romances. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with it but I do feel that it detracts from the much more interesting aspects of the book such as Amani’s relationship with Maram and the rebellion.
The book’s writing is smooth and lyrical and I loved the inclusion of poetry as well as all of the descriptions of North African-inspired culture. While I’m on this point I’ll mention that some reviews I saw complained about the world-building not making sense because it’s such a combination of sci-fi high tech and North African tradition but...eh. I think the emphasis on a culture that’s overlooked in spec fic is more meaningful to me than a complex explanation of how high tech and traditional ways exist together. It just isn’t the hardest thing for me to accept, thought it’s clear that others feel differently.
Finally, I’ll just mention that I love that Daud is clearly a massive BioWare fan - there is a character named Corypheus in Mirage, and her author profile picture on her shows her wearing an N7 jacket. :)
It’s been a bit since the last YA book I read and I’m happy to say that Mirage was a pleasant return to the genre. I’ve been trying to read as much as I can about colonialism lately and I’m especially itching for speculative stories of colonialism, so Mirage was a great fit. At the same time, there are a couple of weaknesses to the book that left me a little lukewarm.
I think the book’s absolute greatest strength lies with the character of Maram, the princess whom Amani is abducted to impersonate. She is a really complex character and her position in the Vath empire is a fascinating one that belies the complexities of biracial identity in a colonized world. We see her internalized hatred for being part Andalaan and the way that she is a tool of the Vath regime, a puppet to be paraded around, a manipulator who is manipulated in turn. She is too Vath for the Andalaan and too Andalaan for the Vath and so she exists in a liminal space made possible only by empire, truly belonging to neither group.
She does horrible things to Amani over the course of the book and these things are never excused, but at the same time I think Daud does a great job of showing her inner vulnerability and how she was shaped to be the way she is now. The relationship between the two girls is a complex and uncomfortable dynamic to be sure - Amani says clearly that she is a slave in all but name and nonetheless takes it upon herself to try to change Maram because, while she is oppressing Amani, Amani sees that she in turn is being used by the empire. She tries to make use of this commonality, attempting to turn Maram into an ally to the rebellion. There is genuine sisterhood and affection in their relationship, to be sure, but how do we make sense of that given Maram’s power and Amani’s powerlessness? At first I was worried that the book would argue that it’s the responsibility of the oppressed to humanize themselves to the oppressor but I definitely don’t think that’s what Daud is saying. Rather, I think the point is to understand that it is possible to be oppressed and marginalized at the same time, and that it is important to find commonality in shared aspects of disenfranchisement if possible.
It’s a really rich and thought-provoking dynamic, clearly, and my favorite part of my story overall. I also appreciated some of the things we see through Amani’s story as well as Idris’s. We see how Amani is forced to become like Maram, assimilating herself to the empire’s standards of behavior while struggling against its claim on her autonomy and core identity. It’s also very interesting that Idris discusses how he and the other child survivors of murdered elite families all came to distrust each other as the Vath pitted them against each other so that they wouldn’t rise against the Vath together - divide and conquer. I think Mirage just absolutely nails the complexity of survival/existence and relationships under empire - the betrayals and compromises, the desperation to cling to what is yours and the way that identity and loyalty can be eroded away but nonetheless remain possible and more vital than ever.
With that being said about Amani and Idris, however, I think the book’s greatest weakness lies in their characterization for me. Though I appreciated the points I just mentioned, I did not find either of them to be especially complex or interesting characters. Put together I cared even less for their romance. It moves quite quickly and hits all the familiar beats of YA romances. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with it but I do feel that it detracts from the much more interesting aspects of the book such as Amani’s relationship with Maram and the rebellion.
The book’s writing is smooth and lyrical and I loved the inclusion of poetry as well as all of the descriptions of North African-inspired culture. While I’m on this point I’ll mention that some reviews I saw complained about the world-building not making sense because it’s such a combination of sci-fi high tech and North African tradition but...eh. I think the emphasis on a culture that’s overlooked in spec fic is more meaningful to me than a complex explanation of how high tech and traditional ways exist together. It just isn’t the hardest thing for me to accept, thought it’s clear that others feel differently.
Finally, I’ll just mention that I love that Daud is clearly a massive BioWare fan - there is a character named Corypheus in Mirage, and her author profile picture on her shows her wearing an N7 jacket. :)
This book literally left me speechless. I really loved this book because it reminded me of some of the books that I read this year (Grace & Fury, Children of Blood and Bone, and An ember in the ashes) because they all have some of the similar aspects and premises such as oppression, secrets, lies, loss, disenfranchisement of a people, and using others for their own personal gain. I enjoyed the character of Amani and how she progressed into being a person who would hold no ill will towards you even if you did many cruel and brutal things to her. I also loved the world building and the culture that was represented in this book, which I believe this book is based on a Moroccan culture and some of its morals, beliefs, and the beautiful language as well. Now this book is sci-fi but when you read it you can forget at times, which was perfect for me because there are some books out there that has too much sci-fi. Though this book was absolutely and the writing was phenomenal. The other character that I also really enjoyed was Maram because I feel that she was just misunderstood and no one really knew her or tried to get to know her except Amani, which they soon developed a sisterly bond. This was clearly an awesome book that also dealt with the beauty of poetry and the power that it has over people. All I can say is that this is a great book and I can not wait to read the next one because I really want to see what happens to Amani, Idris, Maram, and the world in general.
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No