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allthatissim 's review for:
Mirage
by Somaiya Daud
Full review on: FLIPPING THROUGH THE PAGES
TW: Torture, Physical abuse, cultural erasure, kidnapping
Wow! What a book [b:Mirage|32768520|Mirage (Mirage, #1)|Somaiya Daud|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1521643356s/32768520.jpg|52481416] was. I never expected this to be so diverse and character-driven. This book has a thin line between fantasy and science-fiction. Though I won’t call it necessarily a fantasy book, there were sci-fi elements like droids and data packets and planets and moons. The overall setting of the book is Moroccan-inspired which definitely adds a charm to the story.
This story is about Amani who is living with her parents and two brothers on the moon called Cadiz. On the day of her coming of age celebration, when she got her daan and officially entered to adulthood, she was kidnapped by Vathek droids and was taken to the royal palace, the Ziyaana, on the planet of Andala. There she finds that she looks identical to the cruel princess Maram and she was brought there to took Maram’s place in public gatherings because her life was in danger.
WHAT I LIKED
=> I loved Amani’s character. She made an interesting lead. I love how she was inclined towards poetry and in difficult times it was the poetry passed to her that gave her courage and pushed forward. I really admired how well connected she was to her culture and wanted to preserve the remaining bits and traditions, which was destroyed by Vathek rule.
=> The cruel princess, Maram, was my favorite character in the story. She was an enchanting villain with an interesting and complex development. I love villains who are more than simply bad. I hated her in the beginning but soon she became my favorite of all.
=> I really loved how the relationship between Amani and Maram changed over the time. From enemies, they were turning to kind of friends and Amani felt as if she was a big sister to Maram. I really loved that transformation, though it was short-lived.
=> Idris was the fiance of Maram but soon he fell for Amani. I simply adored him. His arrangement with Maram was merely politically based and when he opens up with Amani about his childhood and earlier life, it was wonderful to read about his story. I can’t wait to read more about Idris and his part in the new world arrangement.
=> All the other side characters were intricate and well-developed. I really hated Nadine, adored Tala. I really liked that how every character took its own space in the story and yet they never overwhelmed me.
=> The world building was wonderful. [a:Somaiya Daud|15179415|Somaiya Daud|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1516594116p2/15179415.jpg] has crafted an amazing and horrifying world which you would definitely hate to live in. The planet and moon system and all have been created beautifully. But at the same time, the brutality of the Vathek empire has been depicted very well.
=> The book talks about the themes of colonialism and the erasure of native cultures. Andala had been invaded and occupied by cruel Vathek empire. This book also talks about the themes of love and loss, kindness, and friendship.
=> The writing was absolutely wonderful. [a:Somaiya Daud|15179415|Somaiya Daud|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1516594116p2/15179415.jpg]’s writing was flowy and stunning and it kept me hooked to the story till the end. I was never bored by her words or the way she explained the events.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
=> As I said earlier, the story is heavily character-oriented so it doesn’t have a lot of things going on in terms of plot if you compare it with other YA fantasies. But the world building is fantastic and if you are okay with character-driven stories this will definitely keep you entertained.
=> The writing was really beautiful, but in some places, the scenes were dragged. The dialogues were quite less and it was more of descriptions and exploring relationships. So it appears a little slow at times.
=> I think the addition of sci-fi elements felt unnecessary? It could simply have been a straight-up fantasy. But the droids and live feed and other things add nothing interesting to the story.
Overall, Mirage is a powerful own-voices Moroccan inspired SFF with a strong heroine and an enchanting villain. The world-building is brilliant with rich cultural descriptions and well-developed characters. The themes of love, loss, friendship, colonial oppression, and rebellion have been depicted wonderfully. If you love to read character driven stories and don’t mind if the story is a little slow, then you would definitely enjoy this.
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TW: Torture, Physical abuse, cultural erasure, kidnapping
Wow! What a book [b:Mirage|32768520|Mirage (Mirage, #1)|Somaiya Daud|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1521643356s/32768520.jpg|52481416] was. I never expected this to be so diverse and character-driven. This book has a thin line between fantasy and science-fiction. Though I won’t call it necessarily a fantasy book, there were sci-fi elements like droids and data packets and planets and moons. The overall setting of the book is Moroccan-inspired which definitely adds a charm to the story.
This story is about Amani who is living with her parents and two brothers on the moon called Cadiz. On the day of her coming of age celebration, when she got her daan and officially entered to adulthood, she was kidnapped by Vathek droids and was taken to the royal palace, the Ziyaana, on the planet of Andala. There she finds that she looks identical to the cruel princess Maram and she was brought there to took Maram’s place in public gatherings because her life was in danger.
WHAT I LIKED
=> I loved Amani’s character. She made an interesting lead. I love how she was inclined towards poetry and in difficult times it was the poetry passed to her that gave her courage and pushed forward. I really admired how well connected she was to her culture and wanted to preserve the remaining bits and traditions, which was destroyed by Vathek rule.
=> The cruel princess, Maram, was my favorite character in the story. She was an enchanting villain with an interesting and complex development. I love villains who are more than simply bad. I hated her in the beginning but soon she became my favorite of all.
=> I really loved how the relationship between Amani and Maram changed over the time. From enemies, they were turning to kind of friends and Amani felt as if she was a big sister to Maram. I really loved that transformation, though it was short-lived.
=> Idris was the fiance of Maram but soon he fell for Amani. I simply adored him. His arrangement with Maram was merely politically based and when he opens up with Amani about his childhood and earlier life, it was wonderful to read about his story. I can’t wait to read more about Idris and his part in the new world arrangement.
=> All the other side characters were intricate and well-developed. I really hated Nadine, adored Tala. I really liked that how every character took its own space in the story and yet they never overwhelmed me.
=> The world building was wonderful. [a:Somaiya Daud|15179415|Somaiya Daud|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1516594116p2/15179415.jpg] has crafted an amazing and horrifying world which you would definitely hate to live in. The planet and moon system and all have been created beautifully. But at the same time, the brutality of the Vathek empire has been depicted very well.
=> The book talks about the themes of colonialism and the erasure of native cultures. Andala had been invaded and occupied by cruel Vathek empire. This book also talks about the themes of love and loss, kindness, and friendship.
=> The writing was absolutely wonderful. [a:Somaiya Daud|15179415|Somaiya Daud|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1516594116p2/15179415.jpg]’s writing was flowy and stunning and it kept me hooked to the story till the end. I was never bored by her words or the way she explained the events.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
=> As I said earlier, the story is heavily character-oriented so it doesn’t have a lot of things going on in terms of plot if you compare it with other YA fantasies. But the world building is fantastic and if you are okay with character-driven stories this will definitely keep you entertained.
=> The writing was really beautiful, but in some places, the scenes were dragged. The dialogues were quite less and it was more of descriptions and exploring relationships. So it appears a little slow at times.
=> I think the addition of sci-fi elements felt unnecessary? It could simply have been a straight-up fantasy. But the droids and live feed and other things add nothing interesting to the story.
Overall, Mirage is a powerful own-voices Moroccan inspired SFF with a strong heroine and an enchanting villain. The world-building is brilliant with rich cultural descriptions and well-developed characters. The themes of love, loss, friendship, colonial oppression, and rebellion have been depicted wonderfully. If you love to read character driven stories and don’t mind if the story is a little slow, then you would definitely enjoy this.
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