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A review by songwind
Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson
5.0
This book is a heady mixture of tech thriller and urban fantasy, with a pinch of horror.
Wilson does an excellent job of combining these disparate threads into an unusual but very readable whole.
Alif is the online handle and adopted name of our protagonist. He acts as a "gray hat" hacker, providing hosting, encryption and other services for a wide variety of dissidents in his fictional Middle Eastern emirate. He and his associates are constantly defending against State security, particularly in the form of an online presence known as the Hand of God.
Before long, Alif's life is thrown into turmoil as his upper-crust girlfiend tells him that her family is giving her away in an arranged marriage. His attempts to hide himself from her attract the attention of the Hand, and Alif's life may never be the same.
The book is well written, tightly plotted, and interesting. In addition, it leans on the Quran and Muslim folklore for its supernatural elements, which makes it stand out from the crowd in modern fantasy offerings. Wilson uses a deft hand to make the material accessible to outsiders, but maintains a great deal of nuance and complexity in her depiction of Middle Eastern social structure, religion and magic.
Highly recommended. Particularly if you are a Muslim looking for a multifaceted depiction of your coreligionists in fantasy, anyone who likes to see fantasy outside its standard settings, or are interested in jinn and other Middle Eastern folklore.
Wilson does an excellent job of combining these disparate threads into an unusual but very readable whole.
Alif is the online handle and adopted name of our protagonist. He acts as a "gray hat" hacker, providing hosting, encryption and other services for a wide variety of dissidents in his fictional Middle Eastern emirate. He and his associates are constantly defending against State security, particularly in the form of an online presence known as the Hand of God.
Before long, Alif's life is thrown into turmoil as his upper-crust girlfiend tells him that her family is giving her away in an arranged marriage. His attempts to hide himself from her attract the attention of the Hand, and Alif's life may never be the same.
The book is well written, tightly plotted, and interesting. In addition, it leans on the Quran and Muslim folklore for its supernatural elements, which makes it stand out from the crowd in modern fantasy offerings. Wilson uses a deft hand to make the material accessible to outsiders, but maintains a great deal of nuance and complexity in her depiction of Middle Eastern social structure, religion and magic.
Highly recommended. Particularly if you are a Muslim looking for a multifaceted depiction of your coreligionists in fantasy, anyone who likes to see fantasy outside its standard settings, or are interested in jinn and other Middle Eastern folklore.