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Cover of Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson

Alif the Unseen

  • 448 pages · about 7 hours
  • First published 2012
  • 14 editions

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1 About this book

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 fianceé 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.

Good for readers who want: adventure and fantasy.

  • Adventure
  • Fantasy
  • Fantasy, contemporary
  • Middle east
  • Computer hackers
  • Hackers

2 About G. Willow Wilson

Born 1982

Gwendolyn Willow Wilson (born August 31, 1982) is an American comics writer, prose author, and essayist. Her work is most often categorized as magical realism. Wilson's prose works include the novels Alif the Unseen (2012), which won the 2013 World Fantasy Award for "Novel", and The Bird King (2019).

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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