New favourite author pending…

I originally thought The Final Strife was a YA novel. I couldn’t be farther from the truth.

This book is dark. It explores oppression and resistance in all its horror and pain. It explores whether those raised in privilege can truly confront their power and roles in upholding suppression. It has themes of drug use, genocide, radicalism, and slavery. The Final Strife misses no detail in its portrayal of empire and subjugation.

Having previously read Faebound, I knew I’d enjoy this trilogy. And yet, I didn’t realise El-Arifi’s debut would be so much richer in detail, have fully fleshed out characters, and have an original unexpected plot.

Things I loved:
• deeply flawed characters who are products on their environments
• layered worldbuilding with twists and turns
• Arabic and African influences
• tense mysteries and hidden secrets
• explorations of family and belonging
• badass protagonists

Things I’m looking forward to in the next two books:
• More of Hassa’s character 
•

an exploration of the wider world