From the Bookshelf of Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge…

Alif the Unseen

G. Willow Wilson

Why we're reading this: For the "Set in the Middle East " category.... this is great!…more
[close] For the "Set in the Middle East " category.... this is great!

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What Members Thought

Sep 21, 2015 Chessa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sf-f-challenge, read_harder_2016

Some books just come along and smack you upside the head with surprises, the sense of being new. I feel like I am tough to surprise, but Alif the Unseen definitely did the trick. Part ancient fairy tale of djinn, part present-day cyberpunk in an unnamed Middle Eastern security state, this book is packed with adventure, philosophical discussions, some universal New Adult struggles, fantasy and really amazing characters. I'm sad that it's over. ...more

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Feb 27, 2013 pianogal rated it it was ok

Shelves: audio, ntfinish

Sorry, I can handle no more of this forever. :( I made it thru disk 6 and was so bored I had to stop. I don't know if it's the Middle Eastern mythology that I care nothing for, or if the book is just really slow paced. The reader was decent, so I can't blame him. I would find myself thinking about other things while listening and then when I realized it, I didn't care enough to go back and find out what I missed.

Kinda sad, b/c I was really looking forward to reading this one...pooh... ...more

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Jan 19, 2015 Roman Colombo rated it really liked it · review of another edition

For the most part, I rally enjoyed it, but it had a few issues. One, though I don't mind a long, I do mind when it could be shorter. There was a bit that could be cut and the pacing was awkward because of it. Wilson's style was fine, but the story moved slowly. Secondly, Alif was not that interesting a character, and all the characters around him were a lot more interesting. It was hard to root for him. But it was those other characters that made the book so enjoyable, and enough to make me want ...more

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