Leading Ledang

by Fadzlishah Johanabas

Mount Ledang, a land of blessings and curses.

Amid its mist-shrouded peaks, Tuah, an elite hacker and operative, leads his retrieval ops team on a mission shrouded in mystery. What begins as a quest for hidden knowledge soon unravels into a journey where ancient legends come to life.

Confronted by the enigmatic Rajni and guardians that defy imagination, Tuah discovers that the fabled tale of Puteri Gunung Ledang is far more than a myth. As betrayal strikes, he must decide how much he's willing to sacrifice to protect those he loves.

In a race against time where loyalties are tested, Tuah must fight to prevent a dystopian future where humanity is at stake.

304 pages, Paperback

First published November 28, 2024

About the author

For breakfast I save lives,
for dinner I tell lies.
My mind is always on the move,
my body is always on the run,
Feeding these inner demons
one story at a time.

Reviews

[Bella Azam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humans and AI integration in a future world may sounds like a myth but in the year 2065, this creation may be possible in the hands of a renowned scientist, Dr Aisyah Kadir. With a powerful inventions as intelligent & superior, Tuah, an elite hacker, bold soldier lead a team of genius hackers & combative personnels as they trekked the challenging Mount Ledang in its mysteriousness and the harsh of the forests in the mistef moutains with secrets. Far from what the team expected, the Mount Ledang or Gunung Ledang had its own folklore of Puteri Gunung Ledang that served both as a clue and also possibly a trap. As they ventured further, they found themselves in danger of the unknowns, betrayal of trust & the questions of loyalty and humanity

As I read this story, I cannot help imagine the whole scenes in my mind like a fast paced action movide with detailed fight sequences, the technology, the ruins of the buildings, the tension surrounding the mountain, the team battling their struggles through the journey and I was both exhilarated with anxiety & overwhelmed emotions reading this that by the end, I want more! Its so incredible how the author's writing is able to pull my hearts towards each of these characters especially to Tuah. I love how Tuah is such an incredible man, both protective to the Gemini twins but loyal even in his misaligned faith to Mahmud Al-Malik in desperation for a recognition as a person. As he struggled internally with his own religious faith when he killed for a reason while also, starting to doubt the whole ethical dilemmas of AI and humans, the scarifices he made to survive in an unforgiven world while grieving for those who truly cared for, I was emotional in those scenes 🥲. Also protect Dexter at all cost cus this man is too precious to be in this whole thing 😭, i love Rajni too an enigmatic character shrouded in mystery.

This was a great speculative fiction with folklore retelling, with dynamic world building, excellent characterization and incredible writing that able to pull your heartstrings. The story also evoke questions of ethical dilemmas of what is acceptable in terms of AI combine with human, is there any limit to what can AI become, to what extent experiments on animal and human integrated AI just to achieve superiority can be justifiable, and these questions are what truly made me feel how the world is starting to change to a path of destruction unless we took a step back and to stop these corrupted desires for a better world but to look back at humanity as it is.

From beginning to end, the story managed to keep my attention and I absolutely love the fast paced plot packed with action and lots of hacking terms which to me even if its foreign and unfamiliar, I like that it gave me something to learn. Such a fantastic story created by the author and one I'm looking forward for more please because that ending!, I sensed a potential in this book and i believe this is on par with international authors and I see great future in it.

For the first English novel debut by Penerbit X, I'm well impressed and I highly recommend for those who love speculative fiction in near dystopian future, you will absolutely love this.


Thank you to Penerbit X for the review copy in exchange for an honest review

[✨ sufina ✨ (thebadassreader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

✫ A Malaysian folklore, Puteri Gunung Ledang but make it dystopian cyberpunk AI-integrated future 🤝

✫ The world building was amazing, I'm still giddy over imagining a slum Petaling Street with flickering neon lights. and that TIKUS MASAK RENDANG 👀 yum yum delish 🤌🏼 also guys TV has became a relic in this world ... sighs we are ancient.

✫ Leading Ledang was action-packed accompanied by very very technical terms, AI, ASI, AGI, neuro-something, spinal-something, i sound dumb here but thankfully there's a glossary at the back. I made full use of that, thank you @fadz_johanabas 🫡

✫ What I think could be better:
💻 the characters - they all had similar voices to me. It would be amazing if each dialogue had more personality, so that readers could instantly identify who says what by just reading the dialogue. That would be PEAK ✨
💻 the length - personally i think scifi/speculative fiction needs a special excuse to be slightly longer bcs of the complexity in its nature. This book wasn't even 300 pages long sadly, WE NEED MORE 😭. I wasn't able to develop any attachments towards the characters. When something bad happened, I don't feel it.

Nonetheless, it was still a great great book by our very own Malaysian author. I'm so happy seeing a locally published English speculative fiction novel with amazing cover and edges making its way to readers. It's about dang time ‼️💗

My rating: 3.5⭐️

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
Thank you so much to @penerbitx for sending me this book for a review.

#PReadsbeyondreality #readsbeyondreality #leadingledang

[Ainun Agustine Budiyawan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a surprisingly short yet impactful read. A retelling of Malaysian folklore myth : Puteri Gunung Ledang, this story sets in a cyberpunk world of Kuala Lumpur, where acid rains dominates and AI implants, artificial meats are normal occurrence for the city's citizens.


The world building is very interesting as I never imagine Kuala Lumpur to be a cyberpunk city, but the author manages to set up the scenes very well without spending too much time explaining the world building. Pacing of the story is mid and the writing style is good as it allows me to get invested in the characters especially Tuah, Cassie and Dexter. The plot is interesting and keeps me hooked to the story until the end. The cyberpunk setting feels eerily relatable, especially on how it explores how much further the boundaries of AI technology humans are willing to expand. The plot twist was unexpected but well-executed, with cleverly placed clues.

My only feedback is eventhough its marketed to be a retelling of Puteri Gunung Ledang, i did not see the connection until the author explained it during badassbc meetup and I soon realise the retelling is much more subtle and woven intricately throughout the story.


Overall I had a good time reading this and it was an enjoyable story so 4 stars.

[Nadiah Zakaria · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an editor for this book, I can say that it's one of the most enjoyable editing processes for me. I couldn't believe that this is the author's debut novel because the writing style, the plot itself, and the complexity of the characters really stand out.

Not to mention that the intricacies of the story itself really made me think. Whether you're into sci-fi/dystopian books or not, this book has gripping moments and well thought out twists that make you question the characters and their decisions.

All in all, I'm excited for the wave of new writers in the Malaysian publishing scene. With voices such as this, I'm sure we'll be able to delve into fictional worlds that pierce through the skyscrapers of international level stories.

[Eyqa Zaque (The Hundred Pages) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Themes: Speculative Fiction, Dystopian, Ai Lead

Honestly, the writing is a bit unique to me, and I found I'm taking my own sweet time to adapt to it. The book caught my attention at the sight of local cuisine, such as nasi lemak, paired with you-will-discover-soon meat 🤭. When the world-building slowly unfolded, it featured a simple and relatable plot.

Set in a dystopian Malaysia, Tuah, known for his merciless combat style, was assigned to hunt Dr. Aisyah Kadir of Ledang Technology by his employee, Mahmud al-Malik. Bringing two of his loyal, like-family hackers and some specialists, the six-person team embarks on a journey only to discover a deeper and darker secret that forces Tuah's loyalty to the edge.

I am a fan of dystopian settings, and I believe this book justifies the fundamental things it needs to assist world-building, which in this case (usually) is humanity itself. The world talks aloud in silence, and this is the journey we, as readers, experience by reading Tuah's perspectives. The author smartly blends the story with local folklore, which spices up their obstacles, making it more uniquely Malaysiana. The plot is predictable but also vogue, just the fuel to keep us reading.

I also like this story's straightforwardness, with a decent twist highlighting the proper question of doing what is right. In a world where everyone seems to take your skills for granted, you always wish that at least it is a fight worth fighting for. It's a perfect read for a speculative fiction newbie like me and a well-written debut novel from the author.

[Breanna Teintze · Rating 5 out of 5]

This thrilling cyberpunk tale is what readers have come to expect from Johanabas, who may have come to their attention before with his award-winning short stories that blend faith, tech, and ethical dilemmas.

This story begins with a bang in a grimy future version of Kuala Lumpur, and follows Tuah, who works as an operative for a powerful and wealthy man. But despite his attempt to be ruthlessly practical and cynical, Tuah can't eliminate the spark of questioning in his heart--even before the mysterious events that propel him and his team into the jungle, where the tech is just as likely to kill them as it is to empower them.

It's difficult to summarize more without spoilers, so I'll just say this book combines heart stopping action with a surprising amount of introspection and moral pondering. Is it ethical to alter humans? Is it ethical to make use of others? What is the value of loyalty? Is family only blood, or constructed? This cyberpunk tale will have you pondering all that, in a setting so vivid you can smell the acid rain and the jungle humidity.

[Sara Ikmal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had promise, but fell short for me. I was intrigued by the concept of a sci-fi novel built on the story of Puteri Gunung Ledang - I'm personally a big fan of fairytale/folktale retellings! While the overall story kept me interested too much of the book felt like a generic action movie.

Tuah came across like your typical cookie-cutter hero, a prodigy, oh so perfect and noble. And yet there were parts where I felt his characterisation would change just to suit the plot. Entire lines of dialogue came across repetitive and trope-y, and most disappointingly, every character sounded the same. There was too much telling in the story and not enough showing - I would have loved to delve deeper into the characters, understand their motivations better, but not in a way where it has to be explained to me on every page.

This was more of a 2.5 for me but I'm rounding it up to 3 as it was still a page-turner that kept me curious for the ending. It does feel like the beginning of something though I'm not sure if I will read the next one.

[NUR ADRYNA · Rating 5 out of 5]

A retelling of Puteri Gunung Ledang with futuristic cyberpunk Malaysia and AI. Mainly focus on Kuala Lumpur and Gunung Ledang. Tuah (aka the Hang Tuah), who blindly follows the instruction of Mahmud Al-Malik (aka the Sultan) until a certain event happened that made him disobey.

I love the story development, full of action, and it keeps me on my toes on every single page. The storytelling is easy to read, and there's a lot of technical terms, but can easily refer to the glossary at the end of the pages. Love the relationship between each character, especially Tuah and the Gemini Twins. The Human-AI Integration makes you question the ethics of it. Also, love the touch of religion and faith as shown by Tuah.

Definitely recommended to anyone who likes Planet of Apes, Terminator or any sci-fi movies, and it is also good for sci-fi beginners.

[lysareading · Rating 4 out of 5]

First impression: beyond my imagination!
———

When the retelling of Puteri Gunung Ledang (PGL) is infused with Artificial Intelligence, we get the twisted dark of the tech that could give so much luxury and power to human beings. So what if, we could be human & AI at the same time? Do we lose control and sacrifice everything to adapt to it? That's much curiosity banging when I go deep into this book.

We go through Tuah as the leading character. Signature himself as 'Fortune' in the cybernetic world, once a smartass 17-year-old kid who hacked into the national database & surfed the security like it was just a piece of cake. Got caught (he purposely did that) and there, he met with the titan of the tech industry, Mahmud Al-Malik. Long story short, Tuah got recruited as an elite hacker and he requested to bring along the Gemini Twins (two figures on the cover) as part of the package deal. A few years later, they're set on a mission to retrace research about AI nanotechnology at Mount Ledang that fable with PGL tales, and his loyalties begin to crumble.

When I started reading this book, ngl, my brain heavily digested with the world-building. I felt roasted however I love the way it was beautifully crafted with advanced technology, scientific biological thingy that is not my expertise, and a dystopian world.

I get that why the author said we should protect Dexter at all costs 😆 My interest was on Cassie although she ruined the trust but I don't care, I think she was so cool with her mood-reactive hair implants. Plus, Ahmad! I was devastated and sad when the truth was uncovered.

Can we talk about the action scenes? Jaw-dropping! I could fully visualize although the writing was a bit complex. I could sense the author tried to simplify the plot to make sure it was within our capabilities to fully absorb the story.

I wasn't a fan of the ending however the epilogue gives me hope for Cassie. Tuah is being Tuah. I wish to know in depth about him and see his development in terms of showing his emotion. It's not a bad thing to open up right, Tuah? Overall, I love Fadz's writing so pls, do write more ✨

[Brown Guy Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think describing the reading experience as a "roller coaster ride" feels absolutely spot-on for this novel—it was a thrilling journey of emotions and surprises. Let's dive into the world-building: instead of inventing an entirely new world with fictional cities and places, the author brilliantly reimagined our current world as it might look in the future. The result was a vivid and creative setting, brought to life with an impressive level of detail.

The depiction of technological advancements was meticulous yet approachable and never overwhelming.
The characters, too, were incredibly well-written, with depth that made them relatable and memorable throughout the story. While I was hoping for a more elaborate ending, I understand the author's decision to keep it concise and impactful.Overall, it’s a fantastic read. If you’re in the mood for a fast-paced, action-packed novel filled with emotion, this is the book for you.

Kudos to everyone at Penerbit X who brought this project to life—you all nailed it! and to the talented author @fadz_johanabas —great job, bro! shout-out to @nadiahzkr and @persephtiyareads for being part of this amazing journey too ✨ Huge thanks to @penerbitx for sending me this stunning review copy—it’s much appreciated! ❤️❤️

[Aleeqa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the story. The writing is good. Since it is set here in Malaysia, I can imagine the world and be fully immersed in the story. The characters have personality, so they feel real.

One thing that I can't really grasp is the attempt to incorporate the Puteri Gunung Ledang Tale into the story. Maybe I'm too dense to understand it.

Overall, it is still a freaking great story. It seems like there's potential for a sequel.

[Sofea Zainal · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐️ no doubt! review on tiktok! https://vt.tiktok.com/ZS6FVmmRX/

[lea in pages · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75🌟