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A review by tagoreketabkhane31
Cyber Mage by Saad Z. Hossain
5.0
This has become one of my favorite books of all time. Perfect for fans of G. Willow Wilson "Alif: The Unseen" and for those who are fans of literature from the Subcontinent and Desi authors, Saad Hossain knocks it out of the park with his latest release, "Cyber Mage". This is my first book from the author, and I am putting him in my automatic buy corner because as a Bangladeshi author, he beautifuly melded his brand of dark comedy, fantasy, mythology, science fiction and technology to continue his world building with his latest release.
The story takes part in a future Dhaka, one that has changed and become the center of many things, in part because of the individuals that now operate in the bifurcated city. On one hand we have the Cyber Mage, a fifteen year old hacking prodigy who is counted among the very best of the netizens in the virtual and gaming sphere - and also indicative of the trends and cultural jargon that any affluent fifteen year old Bangladeshi kid would be. On the other front is Djibrel, a golem created by djinn on Earth to serve as their champion as he goes around parts of Old Town (a district in Dhaka) providng vigilante justice as he attempts to fulfill the mission that he was brought back to life for.
The book is filled with comedic moments, gaming and technology references that showcase not only the very best of the science fiction genre, but also contains moments that reflect the very Bangladeshi nature of the book - as an #OwnVoices author writing about his home city of Dhaka, I appreciated how he was able to straddle the various religious, social, economic, and political spheres that control the city and put them in the background of his novel. Indeed, what makes the book even better is veiled political commentary on state of Dhaka (and Bangladesh as a whole) in what the government is (and is not) doing for her citizens.
I won't give too much of the plot away (because I really encoruage anyone who either wants to diversify their shelf, read more from BIPOC, Desi authors) to check out this book. It remids of the work of Samit Basu, but also G. Willow Wilson on the merging of myth, magic and tech. I can't wait to read the rest of his backlist.
The story takes part in a future Dhaka, one that has changed and become the center of many things, in part because of the individuals that now operate in the bifurcated city. On one hand we have the Cyber Mage, a fifteen year old hacking prodigy who is counted among the very best of the netizens in the virtual and gaming sphere - and also indicative of the trends and cultural jargon that any affluent fifteen year old Bangladeshi kid would be. On the other front is Djibrel, a golem created by djinn on Earth to serve as their champion as he goes around parts of Old Town (a district in Dhaka) providng vigilante justice as he attempts to fulfill the mission that he was brought back to life for.
The book is filled with comedic moments, gaming and technology references that showcase not only the very best of the science fiction genre, but also contains moments that reflect the very Bangladeshi nature of the book - as an #OwnVoices author writing about his home city of Dhaka, I appreciated how he was able to straddle the various religious, social, economic, and political spheres that control the city and put them in the background of his novel. Indeed, what makes the book even better is veiled political commentary on state of Dhaka (and Bangladesh as a whole) in what the government is (and is not) doing for her citizens.
I won't give too much of the plot away (because I really encoruage anyone who either wants to diversify their shelf, read more from BIPOC, Desi authors) to check out this book. It remids of the work of Samit Basu, but also G. Willow Wilson on the merging of myth, magic and tech. I can't wait to read the rest of his backlist.