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Jan 16, 2014JCLChrisK rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is a top-rate fantasy/techno-thriller set in an unnamed middle-eastern police state. Alif, as he pseudonymously calls himself online, is a mildly revolutionary dissident who operates as a hacker for hire until he finds himself in more trouble than he ever imagined and forced to put his beliefs into action in the real world. He also finds that information is much more than the latest computer code, as he comes into possession of an arcane codex that leads him into a world of jinn, other spirits, and ancient and divine magic. A unique blend of technology, magic, religion, fable, culture, love, and adventure that I found most engaging and captivating. ----- Alif was surprised to see that the wooden shelves lining the shop were packed more or less equally with books and computer parts: old tomes bound in leather, paperback novels in several languages, clumsy motherboards from the early nineties, third-generation optical drives less than a year out of beta. / "Is this a bookstore or a computer store or what?" he asked. "Who shops here?" / Sakina laughed without unkindness. / "What third-born questions," she asked. "This is neither a bookstore nor a computer store, Alif. I trade in information, no matter what form it takes. People come here when they wish to buy or barter for knowledge." / "Oh." Alif wished he hadn't spoken. He gazed pensively at a quad-core processor sitting on a shelf at eye level. Sakina looked at Vikram. / "Computers and books," she said. "Does that mean he can't see the other things?" / "Probably not," said Vikram, giving a fond slap to the back of Alif's neck. "He's still made of mud, after all."