{ A Washington Post story from way back in July led to my buying a few titles it mentioned–fantasy/sci fi by female Muslim authors. As always with such, it’s a bit of a crap shoot as to quality. }
Ausma Zehanat Khan‘s The Bloodprint (2017) is most interesting when read as a fantasy allegory. The tag line on the cover claims the only defense against the ignorance of men is the brilliance of powerful women.
In this light, the book becomes as much a narrative about authoritarian regimes and strategies of resistance as a fantasy epic with a romantic overlay. And, as such, it remains intriguing and compelling, even as the more traditional genre elements remain a bit underdeveloped. The Bloodprint is set in an alternate Middle East, perhaps around the 11th century CE, and the title refers to a scrap of writing, which functions symbolically to represent all education and literate knowledge.
Access to reading and writing is tightly controlled and, indeed, reading holy scripture is by its very nature a powerful, magical act with great consequences. There are various patriarchal and regional forces arrayed on one side, each with a different take on how to control that knowledge, and there is the protagonist, a powerful magician, on the other.
Throw in some love interests and some dedicated companions for the protagonist, and give her an unfolding quest that forces her to question who her true allies are, and you have a pleasant enough diversion.
Mostly recommended if the phrase Muslim feminist swords & sorcery makes you go yes, I want to go to there.
#WhatIWishICouldDo
Use actual history/geography as a setting. It’s really appealing, both because of the historical research it would require, and the deep grounding it could give. Thinking …