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Alif the Unseen - G. Willow Wilson
Alif the Unseen
by: (author)
3.78 375
In an unnamed Middle Eastern security state, a young Arab-Indian hacker shields his clients—dissidents, outlaws, Islamists, and other watched groups—from surveillance and tries to stay out of trouble. He goes by Alif—the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, and a convenient handle to hide behind.... show more
In an unnamed Middle Eastern security state, a young Arab-Indian hacker shields his clients—dissidents, outlaws, Islamists, and other watched groups—from surveillance and tries to stay out of trouble. He goes by Alif—the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, and a convenient handle to hide behind. The aristocratic woman Alif loves has jilted him for a prince chosen by her parents, and his computer has just been breached by the State’s electronic security force, putting his clients and his own neck on the line. Then it turns out his lover’s new fiancé is the head of State security, and his henchmen come after Alif, driving him underground. When Alif discovers The Thousand and One Days, the secret book of the jinn, which both he and the Hand suspect may unleash a new level of information technology, the stakes are raised and Alif must struggle for life or death, aided by forces seen and unseen. With shades of Neal Stephenson, Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman, and The Thousand and One Nights, Alif the Unseen is a tour de force debut—a sophisticated melting pot of ideas, philosophy, religion, technology and spirituality smuggled inside an irresistible page-turner.
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Format: hardcover
ISBN: 9780802120205 (0802120202)
ASIN: 802120202
Publisher: Grove Press
Pages no: 433
Edition language: English
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Community Reviews
lorannen
lorannen rated it
3.0 G. Willow Wilson is the best
Picked this up because of a book club selection (and I'm a fan of Wilson's work on Ms. Marvel). I think I like her comics work better, but I thoroughly enjoyed the merging/analogous relationship between magic and technology!
Chris' Fish Place
Chris' Fish Place rated it
3.0
My relationship with this book is problematic. On one hand, I love it for what it is. Finally, we have something that draws on Eastern and Islamic tradition. It’s great and wonderful. We need books like this.On the other hand, it is so predictable and some parts of the book just don’t work for me.So...
Momster Bookworm
Momster Bookworm rated it
4.0 Alif the Unseen
This story combines ancient mythology and the somewhat mystical world of the internet, and births a metaphysical work that is simultaneously tangibly graspable, and at the same time, vaguely mirage-like. In reading it, I found myself on the one hand, drawn into the plot, while simultaneously, marve...
Inkspot Fancy
Inkspot Fancy rated it
4.0 Once upon another time
I'm not really sure I can adequately wrap up how I feel about this book. That's in part to it just having been weeks since I finished it. I thought the time might help me get some clarity, but if anything it muddied the waters a bit. Alif the Unseen is about a hacktivist who finds himself unexpect...
darlingbooks
darlingbooks rated it
0.0 Alif the Unseen
DNF: Despite adoring the writer, I had serious issues enjoying this narrator. He was an immature jerk that I couldn't possibly root for... that does not a good novel make. :(
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