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Mirage by Somaiya Daud [Blog Tour]
(Last Updated On: June 25, 2019)
This is a powerful own-voices Moroccan inspired SFF tale of culture, family, oppression, and rebellion with a diverse cast of complex characters that you cannot help but adore.
In a star system dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have adventure, and travel beyond her isolated moon.
But when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects: she is kidnapped by the regime and taken in secret to the royal palace, where she discovers that she is nearly identical to the cruel half-Vathek Princess Maram. The princess is so hated by her conquered people that she requires a body double, someone to appear in public as Maram, ready to die in her place.
As Amani is forced into her new role, she can’t help but enjoy the palace’s beauty—and her time with the princess’ fiancé, Idris. But the glitter of the royal court belies a world of violence and fear. If Amani ever wishes to see her family again, she must play the princess to perfection…because one wrong move could lead to her death.
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Friends,Mirage is such a beautifully written debut novel from Somaiya Daud and I cannot wait for the rest of you to experience it! Poetically written and instantly captivating, this book draws you into a new world so vivid you feel as if you could walk the streets. This is a powerful own-voices Moroccan inspired SFF tale of culture, family, oppression, and rebellion with a diverse cast of complex characters that you cannot help but adore.
Through the perspective of eighteen-year-old Amani, we are brought into the world of a star system that has been conquered by an alien race known as the Vath after they destroyed their own home, Vaxor. All Amani has known in her life is the oppression of the Vath and their slow erasure of the indigenous cultures, especially the Kushaila poetry that has been used as a rallying cry for rebellion. But for her older siblings and the older generations, they remember what it used to be like, which in my opinion is way worse.
“The occupation is cruel. Its heirs crueler still.”
“[T]he Vath seemed determined to beat our language out of all of us, and the Kushaila in particular, no matter the cost.”
The novel begins with Amani’s coming of age celebration with her family and friends in the village, where she was given her long-awaited daan – the traditional face markings depicting her lineage as well as her parents hope for her in life – and transitioning to adulthood. She has been waiting for this day, but unfortunately, Vathek droids descend upon the ceremony. Amari is kidnapped and brought to the Ziyaana where she learns why she was taken from her family and village on Cadiz: she is nearly identical to Princess Maram. Due to Maram’s unpopularity and rebel activity, it has become necessary to have a stand-in at public activities… and Amani must learn to perfectly mirror Maram to survive (and perhaps see her family again).
“The crown of Dihya had been stripped from me, my face changed, my body broken. But I was not a slave and I was not a spare. I was my mother’s daughter, and I would survive and endure. I would find my way back home.”
Mirage is at its core a character-driven story and I found the various friendships – especially female friendships – to be powerful and captivating. Each of the characters are complex with rich backstories that shape who they are as we get to know them, and I loved the way that Daud exposes them bit by bit as they get to know one another.
➡️ Amani is our main character, and I absolutely love her to pieces. She is strong and compassionate with an intense love for Massinia and the ancient poetry of her culture. her trusting and poetry-loving. “You do not kneel or bend, I told myself. To anyone. You continue.”
➡️ Maram is our main antagonist, but she is much more complex than a simple villain and quite possibly is my favorite character in the book. I love villains that are more than just evil and are given a backstory. Maram is the heir apparent for the Vath empire as outlined in the peace treaty, but her position is all but secure. As the daughter of the cruel emperor Mathis and the former Andalaan queen, she is between regimes and cultures and hated by both sides for her heritage. To the Andalaans she is a symbol of the oppressors and to the Vath she is impure. She doesn’t remember the before, and her life has lead her to be hard and mistrusting. “Fear and hatred are good deterrents against murderers.”
➡️ Idris is Maram’s fiance, as was decreed as part of the peace treaty that gave Mathis control of the planet. He is from the former aristocracy, and was 10 during the war, old enough to remember what it was like before but young enough to have lost the bits of his culture in the after. While we learn a lot about the backstory of Idris’ family, there is a lot about him that is still cloaked in mystery. “His heritage [is] bound up in blood and misery.”
Everyone seems to be a pawn for something in this world or an instrument of someone else’s will and a running theme is whether or not the characters are responsible for the actions of their parents. Are they able to forge their own destinies? Or are they doomed on the path set for them without their input?
“My life had been a series of events happening to me, and I wanted so desperately to be able to exert the control Massinia managed on my own life.”
The story is crafted so well and depicts the measures that occupying groups employ to exert and maintain control over their conquered land. What I found bizarre though was the treaty itself. I just don’t see Mathis accepting a peace treaty, let alone agreeing to its terms after those who signed it was dead. I was the only person that found this odd in my buddy read though, so I won’t hold this odd character reversal against him (although Maram does seem to agree with me)!
“It is not the Vathek way to let those conquered rule themselves, and with my Andalaan fiance – people say…things”
The descriptive language that I adored during the first 20% of the book I, unfortunately, came to find overwhelming and borderline excessive in parts, to the point of detracting from the plot progression. There were chunks of the book that I felt all I was reading was beautifully written descriptions and nothing else. There is so little dialogue in parts and I think that is why I struggled at times: it is lyrically written but the narrative drags for me when all it does is describe. I was craving more interaction and is the reason that I rated this 4 instead of 5 stars, but I know that not everyone will feel the same way.
Overall I found Mirage to be an absolute treasure. In my opinion, this is the best feminist SFF book that I have read so far in 2018, and I cherish the characters and world. This was a great start to what I am sure will be an amazing series, and I cannot wait to see what is next for Amani, Idris, and Maram! I highly recommend this book and cannot wait to see it out in the world!
Many thanks to the publisher for providing me an electronic advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Quotations in this review were taken from an uncorrected proof and are subject to be changed upon publication.
About the Author Somaiya Daud was born in a Midwestern city, and spent a large part of her childhood and adolescence moving around. Like most writers, she started when she was young and never really stopped. Her love of all things books propelled her to get a degree in English literature (specializing in the medieval and early modern), and while she worked on her Master’s degree she doubled as a bookseller at Politics and Prose in their children’s department. Determined to remain in school for as long as possible, she packed her bags in 2014 and moved the west coast to pursue a doctoral degree in English literature. Now she’s preparing to write a dissertation on Victorians, rocks, race, and the environment.
I’m ALMOST done with this one (my review is scheduled for Thurs) and I love it so far but it has been a lot of work for me. I clearly don’t read a lot of SF because I’m struggling through those aspects of it. But this is a great review 😀
Thank you Becky, and I can’t wait to read your review! I can definitely see how someone who doesn’t read a lot of SF would struggle a bit but I am glad you enjoyed it as well!
I’m really stoked about this one! And I usually love books with flowery language, so I’m curious to see how I feel about this one. And complex female friendships? HECK YES. Thank you for the thoughtful review! <3
Gorgeous review, Kaleena! You listed so many of the reasons why I love this book too, and I love the bit you wrote about the recurring theme of whether or not the characters are responsible for their parents’ actions. I had such a lovely time buddy reading this one with you, doll! ❤️
Thanks so much for participating in the tour, Kaleena! ♥ I agree so much about Maram. Her character had an intriguing backstory, and she was a wonderfully complex character. Definitely need more of her in the sequel!
I love Maram so much and need more of her in my life. Honestly I read the book and wrote my review like a month ago and re-reading it has me so excited again about this book and I kind of want to re-read it.
Beutiful review!
Dunno how you do this, but you made me really curious. It’s really not my sort of book, but i kinda feel like i should totally try it 😀
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[…] 🌑 Mirage by Somaiya Daud was such a magical read for me and I was so fortunate to be on the blog tour for this book! This is a powerful own-voices Moroccan inspired SFF tale of culture, family, oppression, and rebellion with a diverse cast of complex characters that I absolutely adored reading. I feel like this book straddled the fantasy and science fiction line well – it’s science fiction for fantasy lovers that is easily accessible. This was my first buddy read with Destiny, Kelly, and Danielle and I had such a wonderful time reading this book with them. | 📖 Read my full review […]
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Excellent review!!
Thank you, Paul!
Beautiful review, Kaleena!!! Love this book!!
Thank you so much! This book was truly magical.
Very well written review Kaleena! I have heard very good things about it!
Thank you so much, Kayla! This book is beautiful and I hope it lives up to the hype for everyone who decides to pick it up!
I’m waiting for my library to pick it up so I can read it!
I’m ALMOST done with this one (my review is scheduled for Thurs) and I love it so far but it has been a lot of work for me. I clearly don’t read a lot of SF because I’m struggling through those aspects of it. But this is a great review 😀
Thank you Becky, and I can’t wait to read your review! I can definitely see how someone who doesn’t read a lot of SF would struggle a bit but I am glad you enjoyed it as well!
I’m really stoked about this one! And I usually love books with flowery language, so I’m curious to see how I feel about this one. And complex female friendships? HECK YES. Thank you for the thoughtful review! <3
Kathy this book is an honest treasure! Thank you so much and I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did.
This sounds amazing!! Great review, book bestie! Love a solid feminist read.
Thank you Christine and it is such a wonderful book!
Amazing review! I had so much fun buddy reading this one with you ladies! ♥
Thank you Destiny, and it was such a great buddy read!
Gorgeous review, Kaleena! You listed so many of the reasons why I love this book too, and I love the bit you wrote about the recurring theme of whether or not the characters are responsible for their parents’ actions. I had such a lovely time buddy reading this one with you, doll! ❤️
Thank you so much, Kelly! This book is such a treasure and I am so honored to have been able to buddy read with you ladies!
Thanks so much for participating in the tour, Kaleena! ♥ I agree so much about Maram. Her character had an intriguing backstory, and she was a wonderfully complex character. Definitely need more of her in the sequel!
I love Maram so much and need more of her in my life. Honestly I read the book and wrote my review like a month ago and re-reading it has me so excited again about this book and I kind of want to re-read it.
Beutiful review!
Dunno how you do this, but you made me really curious. It’s really not my sort of book, but i kinda feel like i should totally try it 😀
Oh my gosh, Norrie – this is the most wonderful comment/compliment! If you do pick it up I would love to hear your thoughts!