Tag: fantasy
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Science Fiction Lessons in Qadr: Ted Chiang’s ‘The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate’
Ted Chiang’s “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” explores themes of time, free will, and divine decree through the story of a merchant, Fuwaad, who learns about repentance and accountability through time travel. Nested tales illustrate moral lessons, emphasizing that while the past is fixed, knowledge of it shapes present actions.
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Vultures in the House of Silence: A Masterpiece of Islamic Fantasy
In the ever-evolving landscape of fantasy literature, A. R. Latif’s “Vultures in the House of Silence” emerges as a groundbreaking work, poised to become the “Harry Potter” of the burgeoning Islamic fantasy genre. Set against the backdrop of the Arabian peninsula in the aftermath of the Mongol invasion—one of history’s most catastrophic events—this novel incorporates…
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Islamic Fiction and Crafting a Muslim Hero: A Book Review of Blood of the Levant
Defining a “Muslim” or “Islamic” fiction genre can be challenging due to considerations of permissibility, creativity, and purpose. Omar Braun, the protagonist of Abdullah Yousef’s debut novel, Blood of the Levant, exemplifies this perfectly. The world of Blood of the Levant is part historical-fiction and part military fiction, with a dose of fantasy.
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The Limits of Sin in Fantasy: A Book Review of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
Over the past few years, there has been an increase in published Muslamic fiction: fiction written by Muslims that depicts Muslim characters and culture. But, while realistic Muslamic fiction has taken the lead, fantasy — especially historical fantasy — has fallen behind. So when S.A. Chakraborty, author of the Daevabad Trilogy, published The Adventures of…
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To Arrakis and Back: Frank Herbert’s Dune in Retrospect
It’s not uncommon to hear Herbert’s name alongside other pioneers in modern genre fiction, the likes of J.R.R Tolkien and C.S Lewis. The book, however, is not lauded on all fronts. It has its critics as well as its fans and even so, much of what people tend to enjoy about the novel has to…
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Faith and Fantasy: Is Islamic Fiction Viable?
A Book Review of The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty. One of the factors that has distinguished the literary tradition in the Muslim world from that of the cultural West for much of the past millennium is the modality adopted by popular literature.