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(First of all, I need to apologize for my poor writing. English isn’t my first language, and I hope you won't cringe too much at my errors.)
Mirage really is a great book. I felt fully immersed in the world while I was reading. I feel like the strength of the novel doesn’t come much from the story itself, but is more due to the way Somaiya Daud fleshed out her world and characters.
The world
The world-building is incredible. The descriptions of the settings are rich and detailed. The reader is guided into a sci-fi world, inspired by moroccan culture. We get to see beautiful buildings, dresses and motives, all really well described.
But what I loved the most about the world-building is that the author didn’t stick with detailing the decor. She did an incredible job with putting a whole culture into shape, from its traditions to its mythology, faith and poetry, all inspired from moroccan culture. I really liked the fact that faith was such an important part of the story, strenghtening and accompanying the heroine as she followed her path (or, as she created her own path from sheer dust and bright hope). I also loved the fact that the author included poetry in the novel. It adds a lot of complexity and believability to the Kushaila culture.
My only complaint would be that the Vathek seemed a little unidimensional. I can understand it, given that we only get to see the most powerful and merciless of them, but I would like to learn more about their culture too. I can’t believe that every one of them is awful and cold, and I hope that we will learn more about their own history in the next book. It would also be really interesting to get to see how the Vathek people are made into believing their regime is doing the right thing by conquering other territories for their resources, which sadly doesn't happen in fiction only. I feel like it would make the villains more interesting if we could understand why they act that way, and how they have been raised, so that they wouldn't appear to us as heartless aliens, with no other trait than being evil.
The characters
Amani is a strong main character, well developed. She is ready to fight for what she believes in, and never loses hope. She won't let anyone defines who she is, even though the Vathek try to shape her into another person. I enjoyed the fact that she isn't blinded by her desire for revenge neither. She does what she thinks is the right thing, without being caged by one loyalty over another. I also love Amani's feminism and social intelligence (though she seems sometimes a little too clever to feel real). Her kindness of heart leads her to trust others easily, which I can be dangerous in her situation.
Maram is an interesting character. She feels rejected by both side of her family, doesn't think she can belong anywhere. She is a good demonstration of the way one can accomplish horrible things without being intrinsically evil. She feels weak but is forced to look strong. She doesn't know who she is, who she can trust. She's constantly walking on a rope, and can change her mind easily, switching from one emotion to another in seconds.
It felt a little harder to connect with Idris. I think that it would have been easier to like him if his romance with Amani was more slow-burning, if they got to really know each other before losing their mind in each other's presence. I felt like Idris lacked some depth.
The relationships
The most interesting relationship was the one between Amani and Maram. I love how they complement perfectly each other. Amanis hope, determination and assurance helping Maram to be more confident and trusting, while Maram's maturity, power and objectiveness help Amani understand better the complexity of the situation. Their relation developed slowly, which lets us see how they evolve, constantly resetting their points of view.
Amani's insta-love for Idris fell flat in comparison. The two characters didn't take the time to know each other before being deeply attracted to each other. I think that the thing that bothered me the most with the romance was the way it made Amani look helpless at first. It didn't feel right coming from such an independent character.
What I also loved in this novel is the family dynamics it showed. Characters like Idris and Amani have really strong bonds with their family. It helps them going on even when life strikes them hard. Even Maram considers family as an ideal. One of the main reasons she has closed herself to the world is the fact that she is sure no family could ever want her.
The plot
Given that this is a character-driven story, the plot is mostly linked with the complexity of relationships between characters, as well as their evolution throughout the novel. I feel like the plot itself is quite simple,. It made her characters and story feel far more realistic, far more human.
Conclusion
All in all, I had a great time reading this novel and felt completely immersed in the universe Somaiya Daud shaped. I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series.
Mirage really is a great book. I felt fully immersed in the world while I was reading. I feel like the strength of the novel doesn’t come much from the story itself, but is more due to the way Somaiya Daud fleshed out her world and characters.
The world
The world-building is incredible. The descriptions of the settings are rich and detailed. The reader is guided into a sci-fi world, inspired by moroccan culture. We get to see beautiful buildings, dresses and motives, all really well described.
But what I loved the most about the world-building is that the author didn’t stick with detailing the decor. She did an incredible job with putting a whole culture into shape, from its traditions to its mythology, faith and poetry, all inspired from moroccan culture. I really liked the fact that faith was such an important part of the story, strenghtening and accompanying the heroine as she followed her path (or, as she created her own path from sheer dust and bright hope). I also loved the fact that the author included poetry in the novel. It adds a lot of complexity and believability to the Kushaila culture.
My only complaint would be that the Vathek seemed a little unidimensional. I can understand it, given that we only get to see the most powerful and merciless of them, but I would like to learn more about their culture too. I can’t believe that every one of them is awful and cold, and I hope that we will learn more about their own history in the next book. It would also be really interesting to get to see how the Vathek people are made into believing their regime is doing the right thing by conquering other territories for their resources, which sadly doesn't happen in fiction only. I feel like it would make the villains more interesting if we could understand why they act that way, and how they have been raised, so that they wouldn't appear to us as heartless aliens, with no other trait than being evil.
The characters
Amani is a strong main character, well developed. She is ready to fight for what she believes in, and never loses hope. She won't let anyone defines who she is, even though the Vathek try to shape her into another person. I enjoyed the fact that she isn't blinded by her desire for revenge neither. She does what she thinks is the right thing, without being caged by one loyalty over another. I also love Amani's feminism and social intelligence (though she seems sometimes a little too clever to feel real). Her kindness of heart leads her to trust others easily, which I can be dangerous in her situation.
Maram is an interesting character. She feels rejected by both side of her family, doesn't think she can belong anywhere. She is a good demonstration of the way one can accomplish horrible things without being intrinsically evil. She feels weak but is forced to look strong. She doesn't know who she is, who she can trust. She's constantly walking on a rope, and can change her mind easily, switching from one emotion to another in seconds.
It felt a little harder to connect with Idris. I think that it would have been easier to like him if his romance with Amani was more slow-burning, if they got to really know each other before losing their mind in each other's presence. I felt like Idris lacked some depth.
The relationships
The most interesting relationship was the one between Amani and Maram. I love how they complement perfectly each other. Amanis hope, determination and assurance helping Maram to be more confident and trusting, while Maram's maturity, power and objectiveness help Amani understand better the complexity of the situation. Their relation developed slowly, which lets us see how they evolve, constantly resetting their points of view.
Amani's insta-love for Idris fell flat in comparison. The two characters didn't take the time to know each other before being deeply attracted to each other. I think that the thing that bothered me the most with the romance was the way it made Amani look helpless at first. It didn't feel right coming from such an independent character.
What I also loved in this novel is the family dynamics it showed. Characters like Idris and Amani have really strong bonds with their family. It helps them going on even when life strikes them hard. Even Maram considers family as an ideal. One of the main reasons she has closed herself to the world is the fact that she is sure no family could ever want her.
The plot
Given that this is a character-driven story, the plot is mostly linked with the complexity of relationships between characters, as well as their evolution throughout the novel. I feel like the plot itself is quite simple,
Spoiler
but I enjoy the fact that the author didn't force reversals of the situation just for the sake of itConclusion
All in all, I had a great time reading this novel and felt completely immersed in the universe Somaiya Daud shaped. I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series.