Not at all what I thought. The start of Martyr!, about 100 or so pages, sucked me in. I enjoyed it, despite having drastic expectations that were not being met, but I understood where the book was going and was excited to see the outcome. I, surprisingly, hated the structure of this novel. I'm over multiple POVs in books these days but that's just my personal opinion. I don't think having more than one point of view here took away from the powerful messaging of Akbar's poetry.

Lyrical and introspective; I found myself highlighting multiple lines as I felt they resonated with me deeply. Then the entire middle section happened, and like what most complained about, the confusing end, and that's where it lost me. I get why people like this. I see it's potential. I would read from this author again if he decides to publish anything forward. But for now Martyr is a low 3 for me.