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bergsteiger 's review for:
Mirage
by Somaiya Daud
Mirage started out good. I loved the connections with the Golden Age of Islam versus the customary European framework for fantasy/sci-fi. In the first 100 pages I might have described it as a more lush, YA version of Dune. Unfortunately, the tension built between the princess and her double, abates quickly as they become, more or less, friends. What takes its place is a hopelessly naive and improbable romance between the betrothed prince and the double. What finally ruined it for me was the poor attempt at adding a martial element to the book. For example, bombing in a futuristic sci-fi novel. No missiles? No advanced weaponry? Just a bombing run on a coastal city that is rebelling? That is like 1930s Ethiopia, not intergalactic space. I still enjoyed this book but the author should have stuck to her world building and palace intrigue as she did these much better than romantic relationships and military tactics. The book started out very good and ended as a cheap dystopia-teenage rebellion knockoff. Maybe still worth picking up off the shelf if you like this genre, but definitely disappointing.