Alif The Unseen - Softcover

Alif the Unseen is a kinetic, China Mieville-style splicing of science fantasy, Sufi mysticism and political dystopia... A dazzling novel * Metro * Improbably charming... A bookload of wizardry and glee * New York Times * Marvelous... Intoxicating... Hugely entertaining. It doesn't take magical powers to predict it will be one of the year's best-loved books. * Washington Post * charming and original * Sunday Telegraph * ...an exhilarating techno-thriller... it's increasingly rare these days to find fantasy that isn't grounded in the familiar western myths, but Wilson refreshingly, and without condescension, uses Islamic folklore to tell a story of state oppression, resistance and hope. * Guardian * ...brilliant... a first novel that is witty, imaginative and unorthodox in all senses * Observer * ...fast-paced, imaginative... a book that defies easy categorisation. For those who view American fiction as provincial, or dominated by competent but safe work, Wilson's novel offers a resounding, heterodox alternative. * The Scotsman *

'I will tell you a story, but it comes with a warning; when you hear it, you will become someone else.'He calls himself Alif - few people know his real name - a young man born in a Middle Eastern city that straddles the ancient and modern worlds. When Alif meets the aristocratic Intisar, he believes he has found love. But their relationship has no future - Intisar is promised to another man and her family's honour must be satisfied. As a remembrance, Intisar sends the heartbroken Alif a mysterious book. Entitled The Thousand and One Days, Alif discovers that this parting gift is a door to another world - a world from a very different time, when old magic was in the ascendant and the djinn walked amongst us...