A review by voela321
The Ardent Swarm by Yamen Manai

dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I ordered this in my quest to read books from international authors. This book is set in Tunisa after the Arab Spring Uprisings. This is a story of poor people fighting for democracy but easily overwhelmed by evil fundamentalists. It holds many parallels to what is happening in the US with Christian nationalism. The evil takes over by first enticing and then controlling the people. In a subplot a bee keeper fights to discover what has killed his beloved bees and finds it is Asian Murder Hornets also imported by the goods the evil fundamentalists use to entice the people. A brief but unresolved story indeed. We are all still waiting to see how it ends. 
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