Alif the Unseen

I'm a big fan of Ms. Marvel and wanted to give the book a shot. The book is a cyberpunk fantasy adventure novel with encryption and hacking themes in an Islamic/Hinduism context. Typically, most cyberpunk novels are written by men in a western context, making it hard to relate. This book speaks to my Indian background and gives me a charged reading experience full of gusto and feel. I quite like the interdisciplinary linkages to languages, scripts, and artificial intelligence.

This is the first book that I have read that deals has Muslims as the main characters. I don't even know if I've read a book that has Muslims as ancillary characters. This is really good. Though it plays more fantasy than cyberpunk it still is a great story. The characters are believable, to me at least, and the religion is just as exotic and interesting as I find others. I know less about Muslim but I would like to think that I now understand the Muslim and the Islamist. As an American, I know nothing about either, and my education being only what the media tells me, I think I have a better understanding. An Islamist is definitely and Muslim but a Muslim is not necessarily an Islamist. (I hope I understand that correctly, if not please feel free to correct me.) This may not be a book to read to learn about either but I have a better appreciation and sorrow for what is happening to the Middle East.

All in all, a great book and a wonderful story.