Arabesk trilogy

Last updated

The Arabesk trilogy is a sequence of alternate history novels by the British author Jon Courtenay Grimwood. [1] [2]

Contents

Starting with the 2001 novel Pashazade and continuing with Effendi (2002) and Felaheen (2003), the point of divergence occurs in 1915 by US President Woodrow Wilson brokering an earlier peace so that World War I never expanded outside the Balkans. The books are set in a liberal Islamic Ottoman North Africa in the 21st century, mainly centring on Alexandria, referred to as El Iskandriyah.

The central character, Raf, is an enigma. Genetically enhanced, frequently wired on various drugs, occasionally accompanied by the hallucinatory fox Tiriganiaq, and strongly conscientious in everything he does, Raf's past is as much a mystery as his future.

Pashazade

Pashazade Pashazade cover (Amazon).jpg
Pashazade

ISBN   0-7434-6833-3 (shortlisted for the 2002 Arthur C. Clarke Award, BSFA award for Best Novel and John W. Campbell Memorial Award)

The first book centres on the arrival in Alexandria of Bey Ashraf al-Mansur, [3] claimed to be the son of the Emir of Tunis. Shortly after his arrival, though, Raf's tendency to do exactly what he thinks is right leads to unexpected consequences. Between caring for his niece, Hani, and attempting to understand Zara, the girl he was to marry, Raf ends up suspected of his Aunt Nafisa's murder, running from the police as he tries desperately to work out who really killed her.

The main story is intercut with out-of-order flashbacks to Raf's past as a schoolboy in Swiss and Scottish boarding schools and as 'ZeeZee', a low-ranking agent of Hu San, an influential Triad boss in Seattle.

Effendi

Effendi Effendi cover (Amazon).jpg
Effendi

Effendi was shortlisted for the BSFA award for Best Novel.

The second book opens with the discovery of a body near the mansion of billionaire Hamzah Effendi, [4] Zara's father. As the new Chief of Detectives, Raf is obliged to investigate, he uncovers a past as a child soldier under the infamous Colonel Abad that Hamzah would rather forget. Meanwhile, as agents from Berlin, Washington, DC, and Paris battle diplomatically for influence over North Africa's most influential port, its nominal ruler, the young Khedive, is sent on holiday by the Governor General Koenig Pasha, whose cryptic notes Raf is left struggling to understand. The whole city hangs in the balance, and this time, Raf will need help to save it.

This novel includes a second narrative dealing with the young Hamzah's actions as a prepubescent soldier surviving famine and desert to carry out his lethal mission for the mysterious Abad.

Felaheen

Felaheen Felaheen cover (Amazon).jpg
Felaheen

Felaheen was the winner of the BSFA award for Best Novel and shortlisted for the British Fantasy Award.

The third book starts with the near-death of the Emir of Tunis, forcing Raf to investigate the biggest mystery of all, [5] his own origins. As the 11-year-old Hani races to get to the Emir's banquet, Raf is forced underground to discover the truth about his father. Kashif Pasha, the Emir's other son, is intent on removing any threat Raf might pose to his own claim to the throne, but he could get more than he bargained for if Raf's djinn-like abilities are as real as Hani thinks.

Frequent flashbacks tell the story of Sally Welham, Raf's mother, from New York to Tunis via Thailand as she sets out to get what she wants.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken MacLeod</span> Scottish science fiction writer

Kenneth Macrae MacLeod is a Scottish science fiction writer. His novels The Sky Road and The Night Sessions won the BSFA Award. MacLeod's novels have been nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke, Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and Campbell Memorial awards for best novel on multiple occasions. A techno-utopianist, MacLeod's work makes frequent use of libertarian socialist themes; he is a three-time winner of the libertarian Prometheus Award. Prior to becoming a novelist, MacLeod studied biology and worked as a computer programmer. He sits on the advisory board of the Edinburgh Science Festival. MacLeod has been chosen as a Guest of Honor at the 82nd World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff VanderMeer</span> American writer (born 1968)

Jeff VanderMeer is an American author, editor, and literary critic. Initially associated with the New Weird literary genre, VanderMeer crossed over into mainstream success with his bestselling Southern Reach Trilogy. The trilogy's first novel, Annihilation, won the Nebula and Shirley Jackson Awards, and was adapted into a Hollywood film by director Alex Garland. Among VanderMeer's other novels are Shriek: An Afterword and Borne. He has also edited with his wife Ann VanderMeer such influential and award-winning anthologies as The New Weird, The Weird, and The Big Book of Science Fiction.

<i>Newtons Cannon</i> 1998 novel by Gregory Keyes

Newton's Cannon (1998) is a science fantasy novel by American writer Gregory Keyes, the first book in his The Age of Unreason series. The protagonist for the novel is Benjamin Franklin; other key characters to the novel are James Franklin – Ben's brother, John Collins – Ben's friend, as well as Adrienne and King Louis XIV – the Sun King.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Courtenay Grimwood</span> Maltese born British science fiction and fantasy author

Jon Courtenay Grimwood is a Maltese born British science fiction and fantasy author. He also writes literary fiction as Jonathan Grimwood, and crime fiction and thrillers as Jack Grimwood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian McDonald (British author)</span> British science fiction novelist

Ian McDonald is a British science fiction novelist, living in Belfast. His themes include nanotechnology, postcyberpunk settings, and the impact of rapid social and technological change on non-Western societies.

The Axis of Time trilogy is an alternative history series of novels written by Australian journalist and author John Birmingham, from Macmillan Publishing.

Pashazade may refer to:

Felaheen may mean:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lavie Tidhar</span> Israeli writer

Lavie Tidhar is an Israeli-born writer, working across multiple genres. He has lived in the United Kingdom and South Africa for long periods of time, as well as Laos and Vanuatu. As of 2013, Tidhar has lived in London. His novel Osama won the 2012 World Fantasy Award—Novel, beating Stephen King's 11/22/63 and George R. R. Martin's A Dance with Dragons. His novel A Man Lies Dreaming won the £5000 Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize, for Best British Fiction, in 2015. He won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel in 2017, for Central Station.

<i>Island in the Sea of Time</i> 1998 novel by S.M. Stirling

Island in the Sea of Time (ISOT) is the first of the three alternate history novels of the Nantucket series by S. M. Stirling. It was released in the United States and Canada on February 1, 1998 and in the United Kingdom precisely a month later.

<i>Murky Depths</i> British Horror and Science fiction magazine

Murky Depths bylined as "The Quarterly Anthology of Graphically Dark Speculative Fiction" was a British horror and science fiction magazine which began publishing in 2007. The magazine editor-in-chief was Terry Martin and the editor was Anne Stringer. The magazine was published four times a year. It blended illustrated prose short stories with comic strips. Since Issue #3 it featured a gloss laminated card cover, whereas Issue #1 and #2 covers were on the same paper stock as the contents. From Issue #7 the cover artwork had been wraparound. Its size was unusual for a magazine, being American comic book or graphic novel format. Murky Depths received the British Fantasy Awards Best Magazine/Periodical in 2010 and shortlisted for the same award in 2011.

<i>Against the Tide of Years</i> 1999 novel by S. M. Stirling

Against the Tide of Years is the second out of the three alternate history novels of the Nantucket series by S. M. Stirling. The novel was released in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom on May 1, 1999.

<i>On the Oceans of Eternity</i> 2000 novel by S. M. Stirling

On the Oceans of Eternity is the third and final novel of the Nantucket alternate history series by S. M. Stirling. The novel was released in the United States and Canada on April 10, 2000, and was released in the United Kingdom on April 29 of the same year.

Alan Campbell is a Scottish fantasy novelist.

The Nantucket series is a set of alternate history novels written by S. M. Stirling.

Effendi is a title of nobility.

Gareth Lyn Powell is a British author of science fiction. His works include the Embers of War trilogy, the Continuance series, the Ack-Ack Macaque trilogy, Light Chaser, and About Writing, a guide for aspiring authors. He has also co-written stories with authors Peter F. Hamilton and Aliette de Bodard.

Pornokitsch is a British "geek culture" blog that published reviews and news concerning speculative fiction and other genre fiction.

<i>Ancillary Justice</i> 2013 science fiction novel by Ann Leckie

Ancillary Justice is a science fiction novel by the American writer Ann Leckie, published in 2013. It is Leckie's debut novel and the first in her Imperial Radch space opera trilogy, followed by Ancillary Sword (2014) and Ancillary Mercy (2015). The novel follows Breq—who is both the sole survivor of a starship destroyed by treachery and the vessel of that ship's artificial consciousness—as she seeks revenge against the ruler of her civilization. The cover art is by John Harris.

References