Alif the Unseen

By: G. Willow Wilson

Narrated by: Sanjiv Jhaveri

Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

In an unnamed Middle Eastern security state, a young Arab-Indian hacker shields his clients — dissidents, outlaws, Islamists, and other watched groups — from surveillance and tries to stay out of trouble. He goes by Alif — the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, and a convenient handle to hide behind.

The aristocratic woman Alif loves has jilted him for a prince chosen by her parents, and his computer has just been breached by the state’s electronic security force, putting his clients and his own neck on the line. Then it turns out his lover’s new fiancé is the “Hand of God”, as they call the head of state security, and his henchmen come after Alif, driving him underground.

When Alif discovers The Thousand and One Days, the secret book of the jinn, which both he and the Hand suspect may unleash a new level of information technology, the stakes are raised and Alif must struggle for life or death, aided by forces seen and unseen.

©2012 G. Willow Wilson (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

It was ok.

I had to read this book for my world religion class. I struggled reading the first few chapters and gave up so I bought the audio version instead. I enjoyed listening to it way more. It does have a slow start but I enjoyed it.

A real page-turner!

Alif: The Unseen combines computer programming, unrest in an unnamed Middle Eastern state, jinn, and a magic book in one amazing journey. I usually just listen to audiobooks in the car but I found myself stealing chapters and passages while doing chores or cooking dinner.

There are so many twists and turns in this book, I never know where it will end up. While the narrator isn't the best, he certainly does a great job with some of the voices.

Also, I'd read this just for Vikram! He's easily my favorite character. #teamVikram

captivating and original

The only problem with this book is that they haven't made a movie out of it yet. No spoilers, just read/listen to it. Great reading made the audiobook even better. Easy to follow and lots of classic concepts but filled with original ideas and all blended together in a very creative way. Unlike anything else I've ever read. Stop reading my review and start reading the book!

An urban fantasy taking place in the middle east

An urban fantasy taking place in the middle east, which may feel like a different world for western readers. Computer hacker inadvertently get involved with mystics, government censors and involves the Arab spring. At the heart it's a coming of age and romance story. Good introduction into middle eastern culture and themes. If you're use to western fantasy it's worth a read for something different.

What a Disappointment

The premise of the story is good. The execution is not. I listened to this book at 1.5 speed and it still seemed to drag. I kept checking to see how close I was to finishing it. It was a book club pick (not mine) or I would have abandoned the book early on.

Couldn’t finish.

Got bored with this one. I did not get even halfway though and couldn’t get any further.

A disappointment

What disappointed you about Alif the Unseen?

Too much minute description of everything, from walls, to floors, to every creatures, to clothing, while the story drags and drags and drags.

Would you ever listen to anything by G. Willow Wilson again?

Probably not. If this is his typical style, I probably could not get through another book.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Sanjiv Jhaveri?

Don't know...but his attempts to give every character a different voice failed miserably. He was awful.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Can't think of any.

Just not good

What disappointed you about Alif the Unseen?

I was hoping for a rich picture of the middle east, interesting characters, and some fun fantasy. Instead, the characters are barely developed and the creatures are so unimaginatively written (lots of faceless blobs), that I couldn't bring myself to care about them.

The biggest disappointment was the ridiculous idea of a guy writing code so quickly, mindlessly and amazing that it simply melts computers. The explanations of how and why things work are way beyond the normal suspension of disbelief that the reader expects in a fantasy novel.

Lastly, it was more an advertisement for Islam than I expected. I felt like the author's agenda was to show how this religion is so wonderful. I don't mind reading religious fiction, but I want to know about it ahead of time. If you want a good book that includes the Djinn, I would send you elsewhere—The Golem and the Jinni is far more developed and interesting.

Would you ever listen to anything by G. Willow Wilson again?

no

How could the performance have been better?

The reader's exaggerated performance of the supernatural characters was distracting and terribly annoying. He also made the American convert sound like a witless idiot, when her character was plainly not written that way.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I was very disappointed, and more than a little irritated.

A let down

I was absolutely in love with the Bird King, so I thought I’d explore this authors other books. The main reason it was so disappointing is that the main character was unlikeable to me. He was whiny, self-important, and didn’t have to lose anything at all. He got magic, the girl, and self-righteousness. It really just didn’t hit for me at all.

The side characters were very interesting but it explored at all. Overall, the themes about metaphor and story were fairly heavy handed and clumsy. That could’ve been done better by using actual metaphors and multiple meanings instead of saying “Things have lots of meaning! Look at all the meaning!”

The setting was cool, but I thought the “convert” character was a weird soap box for the author and didn’t add anything to the story.