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The Song of the Safina #1
The Republic of Memory
A Memory Called Empire meets Children of Time in this Arabfuturist debut set on a generation ship on the brink of revolution as its crew begin to ask why they should toil for a people, and an empire, none of them remember.
The Safina is a city ship halfway through its four-hundred-year voyage from the ruins of Earth to a new colony world. Its crew maintain the ship, generation after generation, while protecting their ancestors in cryostasis so that one day they will be able to enjoy a fresh start under clear blue skies.
But when blackouts start, unrest follows.
The ship can only continue running smoothly with the cooperation of the crew. And the crew has had enough. As coordinated acts of resistance coincide with a much more complex conspiracy, a chain of events is set into motion that will change life on the Safina forever.
Inspired by the real-world events of the Arab Spring, The Republic of Memory is a bold interrogation of empire and an energizing portrait of revolution.
The Safina is a city ship halfway through its four-hundred-year voyage from the ruins of Earth to a new colony world. Its crew maintain the ship, generation after generation, while protecting their ancestors in cryostasis so that one day they will be able to enjoy a fresh start under clear blue skies.
But when blackouts start, unrest follows.
The ship can only continue running smoothly with the cooperation of the crew. And the crew has had enough. As coordinated acts of resistance coincide with a much more complex conspiracy, a chain of events is set into motion that will change life on the Safina forever.
Inspired by the real-world events of the Arab Spring, The Republic of Memory is a bold interrogation of empire and an energizing portrait of revolution.
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First published May 5, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
May 14, 2026
Arabfuturism at its richest, El Sayed's The Republic of Memory is a startlingly believable society shaped by Arabic culture and religion as they evolve across centuries in deep space. Bureaucracy reigns, class systems are encoded into language, faith endures even as everything around it transforms, and everyday life continues in all its mundane humanity.
What makes the world building so extraordinary is how natural it all feels. The generation ship is layered with history from the Earth left behind and the centuries spent aboard this vessel as culture fractures, adapts and rewrites itself. Facets of humanity remain recognisable even as they mutate into something distinctly futuristic.
The linguistic elements are especially phenomenal, used as a mechanism of power, division and resistance. Nupol, the ship’s revolutionary dialect, feels genuinely alive - stitched together from fragments of cultures and eras until it becomes something entirely new. Picking up meanings through context clues until you're reading whole sections like a native is an incredible experience.
Beneath all of this sits a compelling web of political tension. Revolutionaries, bureaucrats, loyalists, dissidents and ordinary people simply trying to survive collide, each with understandable motivations alongside obvious flaws. There are no easy heroes here, only competing visions of survival and control. The moral ambiguity makes the ship feel alive with conflict long before violence erupts as the importance of preserving the past and the status quo is pitted against reformation for the good of the crew.
Midway through the tone shifts to a narrower police procedural. While this preserves the mystery it loses much of what made the earlier sections so enthralling. Pulling away from the revolutionary politics, it leaves you peering through the investigation trying to glimpse the larger story still unfolding elsewhere.
Then it swings back with explosive force as tensions simmering through every corridor, dialect and bureaucratic corner finally ignite. Ambitious and culturally rich, this is a revolution generations in the making - and it's only just beginning.
My thanks to Gollancz for the arc
What makes the world building so extraordinary is how natural it all feels. The generation ship is layered with history from the Earth left behind and the centuries spent aboard this vessel as culture fractures, adapts and rewrites itself. Facets of humanity remain recognisable even as they mutate into something distinctly futuristic.
The linguistic elements are especially phenomenal, used as a mechanism of power, division and resistance. Nupol, the ship’s revolutionary dialect, feels genuinely alive - stitched together from fragments of cultures and eras until it becomes something entirely new. Picking up meanings through context clues until you're reading whole sections like a native is an incredible experience.
Beneath all of this sits a compelling web of political tension. Revolutionaries, bureaucrats, loyalists, dissidents and ordinary people simply trying to survive collide, each with understandable motivations alongside obvious flaws. There are no easy heroes here, only competing visions of survival and control. The moral ambiguity makes the ship feel alive with conflict long before violence erupts as the importance of preserving the past and the status quo is pitted against reformation for the good of the crew.
Midway through the tone shifts to a narrower police procedural. While this preserves the mystery it loses much of what made the earlier sections so enthralling. Pulling away from the revolutionary politics, it leaves you peering through the investigation trying to glimpse the larger story still unfolding elsewhere.
Then it swings back with explosive force as tensions simmering through every corridor, dialect and bureaucratic corner finally ignite. Ambitious and culturally rich, this is a revolution generations in the making - and it's only just beginning.
My thanks to Gollancz for the arc
March 9, 2026
An ambitious debut novel, and I loved it. So rich in culture, political intrigue, fresh concepts of language through time, and REVOLUTION. All in the confines of a generation ship voyaging through space to their new home after technology / war destroyed earth. The precious cargo is the important people/ ancestors who are living centuries in cryostasis/fueg. The crew operating the ship are their descendants working- living on this city ship generations after generations to sustain it.
When you’re stuck on a ship in deep space the world building can be confined, yet, somehow the author did an amazing job with this city ship. & left so much room for the series to progress and for us to learn more about this ship and where it’ll progress towards in book 2.
We follow multiple POV, from different genders, ages, and backgrounds. Characters like Hilal really stuck with me ( not just because she’s queer, and the El Sayed’s embodiment of a powerful women) to see vulnerability and to see how the world is built through these generational gaps is so so special. You see how ageism, racism, and classism still can exist through time, (and space) through a very anthropological scope. Which, I always appreciate. This book is so rich in culture and diversity.
The concepts of language in this book was phenomenal and at some point was also where I had some personal issues with. However, that’s due to my lack of language knowledge. I think that a couple pages dedicated to a glossary could’ve been very helpful (especially with the inventiveness of the slang words)
Thank you Saga Press for this amazing ARC!
When you’re stuck on a ship in deep space the world building can be confined, yet, somehow the author did an amazing job with this city ship. & left so much room for the series to progress and for us to learn more about this ship and where it’ll progress towards in book 2.
We follow multiple POV, from different genders, ages, and backgrounds. Characters like Hilal really stuck with me ( not just because she’s queer, and the El Sayed’s embodiment of a powerful women) to see vulnerability and to see how the world is built through these generational gaps is so so special. You see how ageism, racism, and classism still can exist through time, (and space) through a very anthropological scope. Which, I always appreciate. This book is so rich in culture and diversity.
The concepts of language in this book was phenomenal and at some point was also where I had some personal issues with. However, that’s due to my lack of language knowledge. I think that a couple pages dedicated to a glossary could’ve been very helpful (especially with the inventiveness of the slang words)
Thank you Saga Press for this amazing ARC!
May 11, 2026
Republic of Memory was one of my most anticipated reads for 2026, sadly for me, it didn’t quite reach the lofty heights I wanted it to.
We follow the story of a space city, the Safina, where instead of race, and sexuality, gender, creed or culture, language is the defining characteristic of both inclusive and exclusive marginalised society.
It is an extremely cool idea, and as someone who studied Language a lot of cultural and linguistic choice are really interesting.
There is a portion of the book that is written in a hybrid dialect (using a variety of English, French, German, Arabic, East Asian and other words) and it is *very* hard to understand at first. It completely slows down your ability to immerse and read the story, and though the longer you read it the easier it is to read, it’s an interesting choice.
It was really fun seeing a lot of the cultural references in this, and it made the city spaceship feel like a genuine and real place.
It didn’t ever feel too difficult to imagine the world that was being built.
But I hate how we got so few conclusions. This is well and truly a Part 1. None of the questions I wanted answered about the history of the ship, the future of the ship, were resolved and now I’m going to have to wait for the next instalment to get a semblance of plot completion.
3.0/5.0
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in advance for an honest unbiased review.
We follow the story of a space city, the Safina, where instead of race, and sexuality, gender, creed or culture, language is the defining characteristic of both inclusive and exclusive marginalised society.
It is an extremely cool idea, and as someone who studied Language a lot of cultural and linguistic choice are really interesting.
There is a portion of the book that is written in a hybrid dialect (using a variety of English, French, German, Arabic, East Asian and other words) and it is *very* hard to understand at first. It completely slows down your ability to immerse and read the story, and though the longer you read it the easier it is to read, it’s an interesting choice.
It was really fun seeing a lot of the cultural references in this, and it made the city spaceship feel like a genuine and real place.
It didn’t ever feel too difficult to imagine the world that was being built.
But I hate how we got so few conclusions. This is well and truly a Part 1. None of the questions I wanted answered about the history of the ship, the future of the ship, were resolved and now I’m going to have to wait for the next instalment to get a semblance of plot completion.
3.0/5.0
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in advance for an honest unbiased review.
May 28, 2026
Review originally on JamReads
The Republic of Memory is the first book in the Arabfuturistic duology The Song of the Safina, written by Mahmud el Sayed and published by Gollancz. A refreshing space opera proposal taking place on the Safina, a generation ship, that at its core is a discussion about how future and societies can be shaped, inspired by the own events of the Arab Spring, and also discussing how languages and family can be elements that serve as a nexus between people in what is a choral story.
A story that takes us on board the Safina, where the crew is about to celebrate the annual Launch Day, which coincides with the midway point of their long voyage towards the new planet they are fleeing from Earth's destruction. A tradition that includes visiting the Ancestors, a chosen group of humans from Earth's Network Empire, preserved in cryostasis until the Landing Day, part of the original mission. But the situation is fastly deteriorating across the Safina, where blackouts and problems are becoming more frequent, tension against the Administration is rising as many resources are spent towards preserving the Ancestors; the final spark is a blackout affecting the stasis of many of those Ancestors, forcing some of them to be reanimated and integrated into the Safina's life, a spark that will mark the start a conflict across the ship. A complex and ramified story that will be told in the way of a choral play through many eyes across the Safina.
El Sayed kinda divided this story into two different parts: a first third where we are introduced to the people and the cultures that are part of the Safina, especially those coming from SWANA backgrounds, letting us get accustomed to how the things works while we learn about the problems that have become endemic of the city ship (and with much of the narrative weight focused on the character of Iskander, a translator, who also serves as a way to denote how the division by languages is one of the defining characteristics of this ship). From that point and on, marked also with the return to life of some Ancients and a big blackout incident, the narrative shifts to show how that's the final dropplet on the vase, how all the pieces that were quietly in the background start to move, a revolution from the people against an Administration that has become a caste, but also a movement that could be weaponized by other actors in their own benefit, in a parallel with the own Arab Spring movements.
The worldbuilding plays an important role in creating a cohesive scenario for the play, especially how the ship is divided by language, a concept that reminded me of the Teixcalaan duology; but also it helps to show the vastness of the own Safina population in contrast with those people we will be following across the story, a contrast that runs parallel to how that people can be the engine behind powerful changes.
The pacing is relatively slow at the start, creating a quasi cosy sensation at the start, but we can appreciate how it accelerates together with how the stakes are raised; it is true that the ambition of this novel might end up being confusing for the reader at the start, but just trust the process, as El Sayed excellently manages to pull all the threads together.
The Republic of Memory is a quite unique novel, a memorable story about politics and changes in a generational ship while including excellent ideas about languages, groups and belonging. A debut that only makes me more excited to read the second part of the duology!
The Republic of Memory is the first book in the Arabfuturistic duology The Song of the Safina, written by Mahmud el Sayed and published by Gollancz. A refreshing space opera proposal taking place on the Safina, a generation ship, that at its core is a discussion about how future and societies can be shaped, inspired by the own events of the Arab Spring, and also discussing how languages and family can be elements that serve as a nexus between people in what is a choral story.
A story that takes us on board the Safina, where the crew is about to celebrate the annual Launch Day, which coincides with the midway point of their long voyage towards the new planet they are fleeing from Earth's destruction. A tradition that includes visiting the Ancestors, a chosen group of humans from Earth's Network Empire, preserved in cryostasis until the Landing Day, part of the original mission. But the situation is fastly deteriorating across the Safina, where blackouts and problems are becoming more frequent, tension against the Administration is rising as many resources are spent towards preserving the Ancestors; the final spark is a blackout affecting the stasis of many of those Ancestors, forcing some of them to be reanimated and integrated into the Safina's life, a spark that will mark the start a conflict across the ship. A complex and ramified story that will be told in the way of a choral play through many eyes across the Safina.
El Sayed kinda divided this story into two different parts: a first third where we are introduced to the people and the cultures that are part of the Safina, especially those coming from SWANA backgrounds, letting us get accustomed to how the things works while we learn about the problems that have become endemic of the city ship (and with much of the narrative weight focused on the character of Iskander, a translator, who also serves as a way to denote how the division by languages is one of the defining characteristics of this ship). From that point and on, marked also with the return to life of some Ancients and a big blackout incident, the narrative shifts to show how that's the final dropplet on the vase, how all the pieces that were quietly in the background start to move, a revolution from the people against an Administration that has become a caste, but also a movement that could be weaponized by other actors in their own benefit, in a parallel with the own Arab Spring movements.
The worldbuilding plays an important role in creating a cohesive scenario for the play, especially how the ship is divided by language, a concept that reminded me of the Teixcalaan duology; but also it helps to show the vastness of the own Safina population in contrast with those people we will be following across the story, a contrast that runs parallel to how that people can be the engine behind powerful changes.
The pacing is relatively slow at the start, creating a quasi cosy sensation at the start, but we can appreciate how it accelerates together with how the stakes are raised; it is true that the ambition of this novel might end up being confusing for the reader at the start, but just trust the process, as El Sayed excellently manages to pull all the threads together.
The Republic of Memory is a quite unique novel, a memorable story about politics and changes in a generational ship while including excellent ideas about languages, groups and belonging. A debut that only makes me more excited to read the second part of the duology!
Want to Read
February 15, 2026I love when science fiction explores the birth of a revolution.
April 24, 2026
4.5 ⭐ rounded up!
A visionary debut that I will be thinking about for a long time! This is an “Arabfuturist” dystopian sci-fi set onboard a mammoth spaceship hundreds of years after the end of human life on Earth; it’s diverse and clever, witty, sad, and often brutal, and it was executed so well.
This must have been a huge undertaking for the author, the layers of world building were immense, each of the several perspectives were fleshed out and each individual voice was distinct and nuanced. The use of language to explore identity was fantastic and El Sayed even created his own creole called Nupol, akin to Nadsat in “A Clockwork Orange”, used as somewhat of a coded language by revolutionaries in the book. I look forward to hearing an audiobook version of it eventually (fingers crossed), because I’m very interested in hearing it spoken!
I cannot wait for the next book, I feel like this was just a taste of what there is to learn about Safina and her people.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Saga Press for the ARC!
A visionary debut that I will be thinking about for a long time! This is an “Arabfuturist” dystopian sci-fi set onboard a mammoth spaceship hundreds of years after the end of human life on Earth; it’s diverse and clever, witty, sad, and often brutal, and it was executed so well.
This must have been a huge undertaking for the author, the layers of world building were immense, each of the several perspectives were fleshed out and each individual voice was distinct and nuanced. The use of language to explore identity was fantastic and El Sayed even created his own creole called Nupol, akin to Nadsat in “A Clockwork Orange”, used as somewhat of a coded language by revolutionaries in the book. I look forward to hearing an audiobook version of it eventually (fingers crossed), because I’m very interested in hearing it spoken!
I cannot wait for the next book, I feel like this was just a taste of what there is to learn about Safina and her people.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Saga Press for the ARC!
May 16, 2026
I placed a hold on this new release a while ago based on the intriguing Arabfuturist generation ship premise. In The Republic of Memory, the city-ship Safina is two hundred years into its voyage to a distant planet, and also two hundred years into its revolt from the cruel Network Empire. Aboard the ship, discontent against the rolling blackouts, the prioritization of the cryo-frozen ancestors in the hold, and the blatantly nepotism-based crew assignments rises—but on a fragile voyage, will the Safina survive a revolution?
El Sayed stated that the events of the book are loosely inspired by the Arab Spring, and it's interesting to see how the constraints of a generation ship affect the calculus of revolution. During the initial uprising, the AI infrastructure meant to operate the ship was destroyed, leaving the Safina perilously balanced with more population than it can hold, prone to electrical outages which cut off oxygen access to whole sections. The administration is prone to throwing dissidents out the airlock, and work assignments are nakedly unfair—but it's difficult to forget that all of the characters are on a fragile tin can hurtling through space which takes increasing amounts of labor to maintain. El Sayed takes an eagle's eye view of the revolution with a large, rotating cast, although the narrative is loosely centered around a young translator and his family.
El Sayed makes the interesting choice of setting almost all of the dialogue for some POV chapters in his invented conlang, which is only mostly legible. For example:
For me, you really have to earn inserting so much of your impenetrable conlang into the narrative, and I'm not sure El Sayed achieves it. I understand the symbolism of rebels choosing to use an invented pidgin rather than the admin-dictated common tongue English in a crew separated by language. However! I do not want to read all of that.
Overall, the plot is gradual, even glacial, taking the time to introduce the reader to the Safina and its inhabitants. As the book closes, the ship is still barely poised on the edge of a revolution. While I like the original setting that El Sayed introduces, I think my opinion ultimately depends on how he pulls off the sequel. In books about revolution, it's the end that makes the story—and we aren't there yet.
El Sayed stated that the events of the book are loosely inspired by the Arab Spring, and it's interesting to see how the constraints of a generation ship affect the calculus of revolution. During the initial uprising, the AI infrastructure meant to operate the ship was destroyed, leaving the Safina perilously balanced with more population than it can hold, prone to electrical outages which cut off oxygen access to whole sections. The administration is prone to throwing dissidents out the airlock, and work assignments are nakedly unfair—but it's difficult to forget that all of the characters are on a fragile tin can hurtling through space which takes increasing amounts of labor to maintain. El Sayed takes an eagle's eye view of the revolution with a large, rotating cast, although the narrative is loosely centered around a young translator and his family.
El Sayed makes the interesting choice of setting almost all of the dialogue for some POV chapters in his invented conlang, which is only mostly legible. For example:
It’s glimout for rouhs still and the sharps are stretched thin. There was null chance that they were catching us. Nish this raz anytao.
For me, you really have to earn inserting so much of your impenetrable conlang into the narrative, and I'm not sure El Sayed achieves it. I understand the symbolism of rebels choosing to use an invented pidgin rather than the admin-dictated common tongue English in a crew separated by language. However! I do not want to read all of that.
Overall, the plot is gradual, even glacial, taking the time to introduce the reader to the Safina and its inhabitants. As the book closes, the ship is still barely poised on the edge of a revolution. While I like the original setting that El Sayed introduces, I think my opinion ultimately depends on how he pulls off the sequel. In books about revolution, it's the end that makes the story—and we aren't there yet.
May 17, 2026
4✨ “Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
The Republic of Memory is vigorously thought-provoking and fascinating - bursting with the intricacies of culture, politics, language, and humanity.
I was simultaneously blown away and left wanting more by this book. It is grand in scale and scope, but maybe a bit too much for its own good. You can tell it is deeply layered with intention and complexity (so much probably went over my head), but I just don’t know if it was pieced together in the most effective way with a slow moving plot, too many POVs, and jarring shifts in focus.
I assumed this was a standalone when I picked it up and not the start of a series, so that is on me. This is very much a set up book, truly showing the beginnings and inner workings of what’s to come. It depicts the coziness of day to day interpersonal conversations and the individuals that make up a community- “the cogs in the machine.” How a typical day can be threaded with a range of corruption, resistance, and ignorance. The exploration of language and how it both divides and connects and the juxtaposition of past and present and future were so powerful. It was approached in such an interesting way and created this really compelling tension throughout.
Iskander was my favorite POV so I was immediately drawn in from the start, but I was shocked when we started to switch between around 12 different POVs through the entirety of the book, some one-offs and some recurring. I became more understanding of that after learning the author is a former journalist and that choice was likely influenced by his background- storytelling through the lens of getting all the different angles and perspectives of what’s unfolding. It just made it really hard for me to connect with any of the characters because we kept switching and I don’t think each one propelled the plot forward in an equally effective way and it felt a bit stagnant at times.
I am overall incredibly impressed and the ambition should be applauded, just also a little disappointed that it didn’t leave as big of an impact on me as I expected.
BUT I can see this changing once the other book(s)? come out since this was truly just the beginning. (It almost feels like the prequel novel you would get to accompany an already finished series)
“A revolutionary can be anyone. Even you.”
Thank you to Saga Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC ✨
(Edit: bumped up to a solid 4 because I’m still thinking about it)
The Republic of Memory is vigorously thought-provoking and fascinating - bursting with the intricacies of culture, politics, language, and humanity.
I was simultaneously blown away and left wanting more by this book. It is grand in scale and scope, but maybe a bit too much for its own good. You can tell it is deeply layered with intention and complexity (so much probably went over my head), but I just don’t know if it was pieced together in the most effective way with a slow moving plot, too many POVs, and jarring shifts in focus.
I assumed this was a standalone when I picked it up and not the start of a series, so that is on me. This is very much a set up book, truly showing the beginnings and inner workings of what’s to come. It depicts the coziness of day to day interpersonal conversations and the individuals that make up a community- “the cogs in the machine.” How a typical day can be threaded with a range of corruption, resistance, and ignorance. The exploration of language and how it both divides and connects and the juxtaposition of past and present and future were so powerful. It was approached in such an interesting way and created this really compelling tension throughout.
Iskander was my favorite POV so I was immediately drawn in from the start, but I was shocked when we started to switch between around 12 different POVs through the entirety of the book, some one-offs and some recurring. I became more understanding of that after learning the author is a former journalist and that choice was likely influenced by his background- storytelling through the lens of getting all the different angles and perspectives of what’s unfolding. It just made it really hard for me to connect with any of the characters because we kept switching and I don’t think each one propelled the plot forward in an equally effective way and it felt a bit stagnant at times.
I am overall incredibly impressed and the ambition should be applauded, just also a little disappointed that it didn’t leave as big of an impact on me as I expected.
BUT I can see this changing once the other book(s)? come out since this was truly just the beginning. (It almost feels like the prequel novel you would get to accompany an already finished series)
“A revolutionary can be anyone. Even you.”
Thank you to Saga Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC ✨
(Edit: bumped up to a solid 4 because I’m still thinking about it)
May 6, 2026
This is probably one of my best readings of 2026. The Republic of Memory, by Mahmud El Sayed, is the first book of The Song of the Safina series. This is a perfect mix of Ancillary Justice and The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, and if you loved these books, you will love this one.
I want to create a full long-form video about this book because the political aspects go beyond politics. El Sayed shows, among other elements, how language is also political. And I think I've never read a quote that made so much sense to me as a person who has English as a second language:
"When you speak a different language, you become another person."
I want to create a full long-form video about this book because the political aspects go beyond politics. El Sayed shows, among other elements, how language is also political. And I think I've never read a quote that made so much sense to me as a person who has English as a second language:
"When you speak a different language, you become another person."
May 18, 2026
Wow, this was such a great read! This book was filled with culture which was one of my favorite parts of it. Languages, religion, food, politics, intriguing characters. It truly had it all!! Most importantly a revolution taking place on a space ship. And can we take a moment for the most beautiful cover.
This is one I’ll definitely have to reread before book two comes out, but I’m excited for that day!
This is one I’ll definitely have to reread before book two comes out, but I’m excited for that day!
Want to Read
May 25, 2026Lisa Tuttle reommended this one at the Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...
Excerpt:
"The multicultural city-ship has two official languages: Inglez and Arabek. Iskander Ezz is a translator between Crew and Administration, aware that “when you speak a different language, you become another person”. Damietta, his younger cousin, finds the unofficial Nupol better for communicating with her fellow protesters. Nupol, an argot made up of many “dead Earth” languages, is used throughout the book by several viewpoint characters, adding a distinctive flavour to a speculative fiction its author calls Arabfuturism. Partly inspired by the historic Arab spring, this is a thoughtful, exciting space opera."
https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...
Excerpt:
"The multicultural city-ship has two official languages: Inglez and Arabek. Iskander Ezz is a translator between Crew and Administration, aware that “when you speak a different language, you become another person”. Damietta, his younger cousin, finds the unofficial Nupol better for communicating with her fellow protesters. Nupol, an argot made up of many “dead Earth” languages, is used throughout the book by several viewpoint characters, adding a distinctive flavour to a speculative fiction its author calls Arabfuturism. Partly inspired by the historic Arab spring, this is a thoughtful, exciting space opera."
May 17, 2026
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I received a copy of the book from Gollancz in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence/gun violence, police brutality, injury, mention of suicide, murder, death, drug use, alcohol, medical content, sexual content, classism
--
The Republic of Memory is a space opera that is refreshingly new, truly delivering on the promised Arabfuturist vibes but is also sprinkled with the familiar as at its heart it is all about people making a stand for a better future against inequality and injustice.
Taking place on board the generation city ship Safina, the crew are about to celebrate the annual Launch Day which coincides with the midway point of their 4 century long journey to Hurriya, the new planet they are travelling to since the destruction of Earth. Launch Day chiefly involves everyone paying a visit to the Ancestors on the statis deck – a chosen group of leading individuals from Earth’s Network Empire who are being preserved in cryostatis until Landing Day as part of the ships original mission. However, not everyone is happy for so much power and resources to be put towards sleeping ancestors whilst the general crew toil away under the biased authority of Administration, especially with the ever increasing number of blackouts occurring ship wide..
I went in expecting something a little bit more action packed and loud in space opera terms from the synopsis but was pleasantly surprised to find a much more character centred string of interweaving storylines, where each perspective gets you close and personal with the daily happenings on the ship whilst also driving forward a narrative based around revolution.
I definitely felt hints of The Expanse and Teixcalaan duology but having finished the Imperial Radch books earlier this year I find that there are parallels in themes and narrative style to that series much more so if you’re a fan of Ann Leckie’s work then definitely check this one out.
The first chunk of the book is more or less about acquainting us with and enveloping us in the tapestry of factions and Earth cultures, predominantly from SWANA territories, that make up the communities on the Safina. The worldbuilding and how expansive it is here is truly phenomenal. You generally feel so immersed into the setting as though you are living and breathing besides these characters and also slowly start to discover some of the history of the ship and also what happened back on Earth along the way too.
About a third of the way through there is a very evident switch up in tone where a mystery plotline becomes the main focus and the distribution of chapters between leading characters changes up too which was a little bit jarring at first. However, each and every pov has its part to play. We follow characters spending time with loved ones, while they are working their different watches aboard the ship and even segments following characters with ties to the underground groups pushing for an uprising. At times there is a cosy feel to the story but all the tensions that are simmering away in the background are also evident.
The use of language in this book is really interesting as rather than the different berths on the ship being segregated by race, religion, gender or culture, on the Safina the crew are allocated by the language they speak. Inglez and Arabek are dominant however, there are a handful of other languages spoken too including Nupol – a creole made up of a mishmash of old Earth languages mainly used by revolutionaries. There are often long conversations taking place in Nupol between characters which wasn’t always straightforward to understand but nonetheless this added another fascinating layer to the exploration on communication, social structures, identity and control across the book.
Despite the more gradual pace to things there was still some great moments of action and while I do wish we could have spent more time with certain characters who were on the inside of the revolution I couldn’t put the book down. This first book doesn’t come with tidy answers and ends with many more questions and I can’t wait to get my hands on book 2 to see how it all continues!
Final Rating – 4.25/5 Stars
**I received a copy of the book from Gollancz in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence/gun violence, police brutality, injury, mention of suicide, murder, death, drug use, alcohol, medical content, sexual content, classism
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The Republic of Memory is a space opera that is refreshingly new, truly delivering on the promised Arabfuturist vibes but is also sprinkled with the familiar as at its heart it is all about people making a stand for a better future against inequality and injustice.
Taking place on board the generation city ship Safina, the crew are about to celebrate the annual Launch Day which coincides with the midway point of their 4 century long journey to Hurriya, the new planet they are travelling to since the destruction of Earth. Launch Day chiefly involves everyone paying a visit to the Ancestors on the statis deck – a chosen group of leading individuals from Earth’s Network Empire who are being preserved in cryostatis until Landing Day as part of the ships original mission. However, not everyone is happy for so much power and resources to be put towards sleeping ancestors whilst the general crew toil away under the biased authority of Administration, especially with the ever increasing number of blackouts occurring ship wide..
I went in expecting something a little bit more action packed and loud in space opera terms from the synopsis but was pleasantly surprised to find a much more character centred string of interweaving storylines, where each perspective gets you close and personal with the daily happenings on the ship whilst also driving forward a narrative based around revolution.
I definitely felt hints of The Expanse and Teixcalaan duology but having finished the Imperial Radch books earlier this year I find that there are parallels in themes and narrative style to that series much more so if you’re a fan of Ann Leckie’s work then definitely check this one out.
The first chunk of the book is more or less about acquainting us with and enveloping us in the tapestry of factions and Earth cultures, predominantly from SWANA territories, that make up the communities on the Safina. The worldbuilding and how expansive it is here is truly phenomenal. You generally feel so immersed into the setting as though you are living and breathing besides these characters and also slowly start to discover some of the history of the ship and also what happened back on Earth along the way too.
About a third of the way through there is a very evident switch up in tone where a mystery plotline becomes the main focus and the distribution of chapters between leading characters changes up too which was a little bit jarring at first. However, each and every pov has its part to play. We follow characters spending time with loved ones, while they are working their different watches aboard the ship and even segments following characters with ties to the underground groups pushing for an uprising. At times there is a cosy feel to the story but all the tensions that are simmering away in the background are also evident.
The use of language in this book is really interesting as rather than the different berths on the ship being segregated by race, religion, gender or culture, on the Safina the crew are allocated by the language they speak. Inglez and Arabek are dominant however, there are a handful of other languages spoken too including Nupol – a creole made up of a mishmash of old Earth languages mainly used by revolutionaries. There are often long conversations taking place in Nupol between characters which wasn’t always straightforward to understand but nonetheless this added another fascinating layer to the exploration on communication, social structures, identity and control across the book.
Despite the more gradual pace to things there was still some great moments of action and while I do wish we could have spent more time with certain characters who were on the inside of the revolution I couldn’t put the book down. This first book doesn’t come with tidy answers and ends with many more questions and I can’t wait to get my hands on book 2 to see how it all continues!
Final Rating – 4.25/5 Stars
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May 25, 2026
I love generation ship stories, and I really enjoyed this one. Arabfuturism, yeah!
Following various crew of the Safina as it hits its two hundredth year of flight and the halfway point of its journey...and the various factions threatening to prevent it from reaching its destination.
While I wanted more resolutions, I had to be content that there just were none. Not really a single resolution. The book is messy, bouncing from the humble ambitions of a translator to the grandiose ambitions of his artist sister to the rank and file frustrations of those around them and then pivoting to a film noir-style set piece police procedural and then straight up into revolution. And I should have been annoyed, but I was so damn intrigued.
The world-building is spectacular, and a touch all over the place, cobbled together like the Safina. The ship is divided by language instead of religion or ethnicity, a fascinating concept that really worked for me. The majority of the book takes place in the Arabek section of the ship, and El Sayed also creates a really fascinating ship's cant for the ship's vast underground network.
Anywho, if you like generation ship stories and the politics of keeping everyone alive (or not), check this one out. And then be prepared to wait for more answers in book two, which HOPEFULLY will be happening (staring down Saga Press).
I received an ARC from the publisher
Following various crew of the Safina as it hits its two hundredth year of flight and the halfway point of its journey...and the various factions threatening to prevent it from reaching its destination.
While I wanted more resolutions, I had to be content that there just were none. Not really a single resolution. The book is messy, bouncing from the humble ambitions of a translator to the grandiose ambitions of his artist sister to the rank and file frustrations of those around them and then pivoting to a film noir-style set piece police procedural and then straight up into revolution. And I should have been annoyed, but I was so damn intrigued.
The world-building is spectacular, and a touch all over the place, cobbled together like the Safina. The ship is divided by language instead of religion or ethnicity, a fascinating concept that really worked for me. The majority of the book takes place in the Arabek section of the ship, and El Sayed also creates a really fascinating ship's cant for the ship's vast underground network.
Anywho, if you like generation ship stories and the politics of keeping everyone alive (or not), check this one out. And then be prepared to wait for more answers in book two, which HOPEFULLY will be happening (staring down Saga Press).
I received an ARC from the publisher
Read
May 21, 2026I CANNOT WAIT TO READ THIS!!!!
May 25, 2026
There is a lot to unpack about The Republic of Memory. I will start with the premise, which is one that I like: a generation ship halfway through its journey ends up in dire straights (by happenstance or design, that is a pressing question throughout), and plenty of folks on the ship have had enough of spending their entire lives protecting cryo passengers who will get to live their lives on a new planet, lives whose way will be paved by the toil of those who'll never see its benefit. I'd be mad too, frankly.
The ship's divisions (sort of like neighborhoods in my mind) are based on language, which is a really interesting choice. I'd read that the chapters in other dialects could be hard to understand, but I really didn't have any problem, especially after the first chapter or so. In fact, I found the whole construction of the language really fascinating, and if you have any basic understanding of Latin-based languages, you shouldn't have too much of a problem.
Honestly, the whole concept is very intriguing, and I liked the characters, though I felt more like I was perhaps watching a movie about them than really feeling them. I did connect to them by the end, though, and will definitely be needing to read the next book. I also had a little bit of trouble with pacing at some points, especially in the middle, and thought that maybe it could have been a bit tighter, but these are minor complaints in an otherwise very good book.
Bottom Line: Such a complex world fueled by political turmoil and great characters.
You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
The ship's divisions (sort of like neighborhoods in my mind) are based on language, which is a really interesting choice. I'd read that the chapters in other dialects could be hard to understand, but I really didn't have any problem, especially after the first chapter or so. In fact, I found the whole construction of the language really fascinating, and if you have any basic understanding of Latin-based languages, you shouldn't have too much of a problem.
Honestly, the whole concept is very intriguing, and I liked the characters, though I felt more like I was perhaps watching a movie about them than really feeling them. I did connect to them by the end, though, and will definitely be needing to read the next book. I also had a little bit of trouble with pacing at some points, especially in the middle, and thought that maybe it could have been a bit tighter, but these are minor complaints in an otherwise very good book.
Bottom Line: Such a complex world fueled by political turmoil and great characters.
You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
200 years ago, the Network Empire commissioned a fleet of generation ships to carry their best and brightest to a new world. Ten years into that journey they receive an emergency communication from Earth calling them back; when the ship AI insists, the crew respond by forming the Compact, decommissioning the AI, removing their augments and restructuring the berths to be segregated by language. Now, at the halfway point of their journey, amidst resource and power issues, dissatisfaction with Admin is rising, fuelled by nepotism in watch appointments and restrictive bureaucracy. A catastrophic event serves as the catalyst that may challenge the ship’s purpose and ignite the growing revolutionary movement. The book utilises multiple third-person point-of-view characters top show a range of perspectives.
I really liked the interrelationships between berths and the sub-cultures mentioned. I think I caught around 15 different berths and about 7 different languages – Arabek-speaking Fustat being the seat of most of the action, followed by Miyako (Nihon), Damask (also Arabek), Ziyou (I think both Manda and Canto), Linda Cidade (Porta) Novy Oblast (Russian) Koutobia (also also Arabek), Birshahr (Torkodil), Sehrimiz (also Torkodil) and Malacca (Malay). I found the selection of cultures surviving in this incredibly refreshing. I would love some more supportive content, like maps or summaries of berths and/or watches, just to help catch things; a lot of these are mentioned in passing, and I found it a little difficult to figure out the scale of things.
Probably worth raising early: the book employs ‘Nupol’, a Nadsat-esque creole or argot used by revolutionaries and other anti-Admin groups. There is one early chapter from a one-off PoV character written entirely in this, and it’s relatively prominent throughout the book in dialogue and in the internal monologue of more recurring characters. Nupol is an odd meld of old-time English thieves cant and a melange of predominantly European languages, including a strong Russian influence (hence the Nadsat comparison), but also German, French, Spanish and Italian/Latin, as far as I could easily place. I love the idea of this but the execution didn’t particularly land for me, especially given the contrast with the prominent cultures on the ship. The predominance of (explicitly ‘dead’) European languages feels a little odd given the relative lack of significance Europe has on the ship; additionally, while Inglez is the ‘neutral’ language of the ship, it’s also very loaded because it’s associated with Admin as the organisation users of Nupol are opposing. Ultimately, because so much of the story involves and is told in Nupol, it ended up eclipsing a lot of the cultural focus I expected from ‘Arabfuturism’, and the melange of cultures throughout the ship.
There’s definitely other interesting use of language throughout. One memorable thing for me was the very neat use of different styles language in and out of PoV chapters for a specific character (Hilal). In other PoVs her speech is a little archaic, but the language in her own PoV is casual with almost-modern slang – a tiny little detail I adored!
I like the variety of characters on display. I’m not usually a big fan of multiple point of view narrations, but it was used very effectively, using both one-off and recurring narrators to pop in across a wide range of perspectives, both in their background and their experience of ongoing events. It is incredibly refreshing to see a widely diverse cast that manages to avoid being US / Western Europe centred. The ship is very much multicultural, and the predominant culture conveyed is largely the revolutionary community, which is of all berths and thus effectively of none. It’s also very interesting that the most prominent recurring characters of Fustat origin are effectively divorced from their community in one way or another – Iskander clearly values his family and culture but is made an outsider by his profession as a translator and its need for neutrality, Hilal is likewise and moreso both by her joining security and the nature of who she is, while Damietta actively abrogates the culture she’s born into in favour of the revolutionary movement. I will say that I would have been interested to see more of Admin overall; while nepotism and corruption are very evident throughout the novel, Admin’s exact contribution to things felt fairly opaque to me.
Props for queer rep. For those seeking, there are multiple sapphic characters, and though their relationships are not of overly major plot relevance, they are significantly prominent.
The greatest weakness here for me personally was in characters, specifically in Damietta. I would love to see a well-executed teen revolutionary character; however, Damietta reads as the very media stereotype of a rebellious teen rather than as a serious and independent character, in the sort of way that always feels profoundly unfair to actual teens. As seen elsewhere, there could have been something interesting done between PoVs, switching from an ‘unreasonable’ outer portrayal to an internalised view that dealt sensitively with the emotions and needs she felt. It missed the mark for me, however – Damietta is even more bratty inside her own head than she appears in other character’s views, and she never seems entirely cognizant of the people around her and why they may be doing the things they’re doing.
The idea of the generation ship is always a big appeal to me, because it fascinates me how that environment – the limited resources, the need for everyone to contribute, the pressure on everyone and everything – shapes the characters within it. For me, Republic of Memory didn’t quite hit the mark on that, but this is likely more of a mismatched expectations kind of thing. The Safiya works excellently instead as a massive space-borne city-nation, bringing together a mass of different cultures and how they grapple with the legacies of the past and the threats of the present.
Also, advanced warning – this is not a standalone. I did not know this going in, and as such the ending put a bit of a damper on things for me. Without spoilers, there is very little resolution to either the driving mystery of most of the book, or to the revolutionary storyline; there’s also an obvious thread of something that I was hoping to see come to fruition teased throughout that only comes up as setup for the next book.
Overall it was an enjoyable read and the concepts for the language-based segregation and cultural influence were fascinating. I would have loved to delve deeper into more of the details of the ship, its history and its culture outside the revolutionary set.
I really liked the interrelationships between berths and the sub-cultures mentioned. I think I caught around 15 different berths and about 7 different languages – Arabek-speaking Fustat being the seat of most of the action, followed by Miyako (Nihon), Damask (also Arabek), Ziyou (I think both Manda and Canto), Linda Cidade (Porta) Novy Oblast (Russian) Koutobia (also also Arabek), Birshahr (Torkodil), Sehrimiz (also Torkodil) and Malacca (Malay). I found the selection of cultures surviving in this incredibly refreshing. I would love some more supportive content, like maps or summaries of berths and/or watches, just to help catch things; a lot of these are mentioned in passing, and I found it a little difficult to figure out the scale of things.
Probably worth raising early: the book employs ‘Nupol’, a Nadsat-esque creole or argot used by revolutionaries and other anti-Admin groups. There is one early chapter from a one-off PoV character written entirely in this, and it’s relatively prominent throughout the book in dialogue and in the internal monologue of more recurring characters. Nupol is an odd meld of old-time English thieves cant and a melange of predominantly European languages, including a strong Russian influence (hence the Nadsat comparison), but also German, French, Spanish and Italian/Latin, as far as I could easily place. I love the idea of this but the execution didn’t particularly land for me, especially given the contrast with the prominent cultures on the ship. The predominance of (explicitly ‘dead’) European languages feels a little odd given the relative lack of significance Europe has on the ship; additionally, while Inglez is the ‘neutral’ language of the ship, it’s also very loaded because it’s associated with Admin as the organisation users of Nupol are opposing. Ultimately, because so much of the story involves and is told in Nupol, it ended up eclipsing a lot of the cultural focus I expected from ‘Arabfuturism’, and the melange of cultures throughout the ship.
There’s definitely other interesting use of language throughout. One memorable thing for me was the very neat use of different styles language in and out of PoV chapters for a specific character (Hilal). In other PoVs her speech is a little archaic, but the language in her own PoV is casual with almost-modern slang – a tiny little detail I adored!
I like the variety of characters on display. I’m not usually a big fan of multiple point of view narrations, but it was used very effectively, using both one-off and recurring narrators to pop in across a wide range of perspectives, both in their background and their experience of ongoing events. It is incredibly refreshing to see a widely diverse cast that manages to avoid being US / Western Europe centred. The ship is very much multicultural, and the predominant culture conveyed is largely the revolutionary community, which is of all berths and thus effectively of none. It’s also very interesting that the most prominent recurring characters of Fustat origin are effectively divorced from their community in one way or another – Iskander clearly values his family and culture but is made an outsider by his profession as a translator and its need for neutrality, Hilal is likewise and moreso both by her joining security and the nature of who she is, while Damietta actively abrogates the culture she’s born into in favour of the revolutionary movement. I will say that I would have been interested to see more of Admin overall; while nepotism and corruption are very evident throughout the novel, Admin’s exact contribution to things felt fairly opaque to me.
Props for queer rep. For those seeking, there are multiple sapphic characters, and though their relationships are not of overly major plot relevance, they are significantly prominent.
The greatest weakness here for me personally was in characters, specifically in Damietta. I would love to see a well-executed teen revolutionary character; however, Damietta reads as the very media stereotype of a rebellious teen rather than as a serious and independent character, in the sort of way that always feels profoundly unfair to actual teens. As seen elsewhere, there could have been something interesting done between PoVs, switching from an ‘unreasonable’ outer portrayal to an internalised view that dealt sensitively with the emotions and needs she felt. It missed the mark for me, however – Damietta is even more bratty inside her own head than she appears in other character’s views, and she never seems entirely cognizant of the people around her and why they may be doing the things they’re doing.
The idea of the generation ship is always a big appeal to me, because it fascinates me how that environment – the limited resources, the need for everyone to contribute, the pressure on everyone and everything – shapes the characters within it. For me, Republic of Memory didn’t quite hit the mark on that, but this is likely more of a mismatched expectations kind of thing. The Safiya works excellently instead as a massive space-borne city-nation, bringing together a mass of different cultures and how they grapple with the legacies of the past and the threats of the present.
Also, advanced warning – this is not a standalone. I did not know this going in, and as such the ending put a bit of a damper on things for me. Without spoilers, there is very little resolution to either the driving mystery of most of the book, or to the revolutionary storyline; there’s also an obvious thread of something that I was hoping to see come to fruition teased throughout that only comes up as setup for the next book.
Overall it was an enjoyable read and the concepts for the language-based segregation and cultural influence were fascinating. I would have loved to delve deeper into more of the details of the ship, its history and its culture outside the revolutionary set.
May 20, 2026
The Republic of Memory opens a sci-fi series—I’ve seen it called a duology, but not by either author or publisher, so I cannot be sure about the length—set on a generation ship and pitched in short as “Arab Spring in space.” The ship was sent out by an Islamic empire that had conquered nearly everything outside of North America. Its hold sheltered cryogenically frozen experts from across the empire whose skills would be vital to building a society on a new world. And on the journey itself, the ship was to be run by family members of these experts. But when they heard a distress call from Earth, and the ship’s AI insisted on turning back to provide belated aid to a world on the brink of nuclear annihilation, the crew rose up to overthrow the AI and build a new society of themselves and their descendants, culturally sorted by language rather than politics or religion, and organized around the jobs necessary to keep the ship functioning for the duration of its journey. Fast-forward a couple centuries, and the best jobs are being hoarded by the same families that had had them years before, the administration provides empty platitudes in response to increasingly worrisome electrical issues, and revolution is in the air. And The Republic of Memory details the beginnings of that revolution, from the perspectives of well-meaning administrative workers, youthful agitators, subversive political leaders, and more.
Perhaps the most initially striking element of The Republic of Memory is its use of language. It’s something I rarely see explored in generation ship tales, which most of the time have a common tongue. But this ship is full of linguistic enclaves that struggle to communicate without the aid of Translators, who function almost like lawyers in the way they prepare paperwork and smooth administrative barriers for negotiations of various sorts between people from different linguistic backgrounds. There’s also a ship-born creole popular among the young and the marginalized. It’s clearly inspired by the slang in A Clockwork Orange, but it dispenses with the assumption that English and Russian would dominate culture, resulting in a tongue heavily influenced by English, Russian, Portuguese, Arabic, and a handful of others. Dubbed “Nupol,” it’s sprinkled into the sections from the perspective of those who speak it, with two of the 32 chapters written almost entirely in Nupol. As an English-reader, those segments made for slightly slower reading, but they remain comprehensible even while highlighting the shipboard cultural diversity.
That development of such a rich, diverse shipboard culture is the greatest triumph of The Republic of Memory. Yes, there is a revolutionary plot, and it’s an interesting one. But the way the ship culture and its constituent smaller cultures are brought to life is the true stunner. The world feels deeply lived-in, and characters come to life right along with it. There’s no stark divide between the elite and the revolutionaries. Instead, there are administrative members with deep misgivings about the political state of the ship and desires to remedy the problems by working within the system. And among the disaffected, there are sects seeking Arabic-language supremacy, others seeking the freedom to build churches, others striving for a proletariat uprising and seizing the means of production, and still more working for overthrow of the administration and waking the cryosleepers. Not only does the diversity of viewpoints both within the administration and outside of it make for a world that feels real, it also makes for a situation that’s much more intricate and politically sensitive than one often finds in revolutionary stories.
The first half of the novel plants the seeds of the overarching plot, introduces several compelling characters, and brings to life a stunning world that sets The Republic of Memory on track to become a potential book of the year. Then, in an audacious move, the second half of the novel drastically shifts the mix of perspective characters, introducing new angles and plot threads even as the revolutionaries continue to work for radical change. While this makes for a second half that’s a bit plottier and less-focused on the overall world, that plot remains interesting, and the newly central characters bring plenty to the table.
Unfortunately, The Republic of Memory is incomplete. Of course, some of that comes with being the first in a series—I grew up on epic fantasy, I’m no stranger to long-running plot arcs. But the best epics close a major arc in the first book, even while opening bigger ones, and The Republic of Memory falls a bit short in that regard. Yes, there’s enough development of the revolutionary plotline to justify the book’s existence as a story and not merely a prologue, but some of the biggest first-book questions never get real answers in the near-term. We knew in advance that there would be plenty left for the sequel, but there’s a balance between the already and the not yet, and that balance wobbles too far in the latter direction.
The result is a book that remains a stunningly impressive debut novel that’s easy to recommend, but also one that lacks closure and is unsatisfying without the sequel. As a series-starter, it’s good enough to make the sequel one of my most-anticipated books of whatever year it comes out. But an ending that leaves too much for that sequel keeps it from fulfilling its lofty potential as an annual favorite.
17/20
Perhaps the most initially striking element of The Republic of Memory is its use of language. It’s something I rarely see explored in generation ship tales, which most of the time have a common tongue. But this ship is full of linguistic enclaves that struggle to communicate without the aid of Translators, who function almost like lawyers in the way they prepare paperwork and smooth administrative barriers for negotiations of various sorts between people from different linguistic backgrounds. There’s also a ship-born creole popular among the young and the marginalized. It’s clearly inspired by the slang in A Clockwork Orange, but it dispenses with the assumption that English and Russian would dominate culture, resulting in a tongue heavily influenced by English, Russian, Portuguese, Arabic, and a handful of others. Dubbed “Nupol,” it’s sprinkled into the sections from the perspective of those who speak it, with two of the 32 chapters written almost entirely in Nupol. As an English-reader, those segments made for slightly slower reading, but they remain comprehensible even while highlighting the shipboard cultural diversity.
That development of such a rich, diverse shipboard culture is the greatest triumph of The Republic of Memory. Yes, there is a revolutionary plot, and it’s an interesting one. But the way the ship culture and its constituent smaller cultures are brought to life is the true stunner. The world feels deeply lived-in, and characters come to life right along with it. There’s no stark divide between the elite and the revolutionaries. Instead, there are administrative members with deep misgivings about the political state of the ship and desires to remedy the problems by working within the system. And among the disaffected, there are sects seeking Arabic-language supremacy, others seeking the freedom to build churches, others striving for a proletariat uprising and seizing the means of production, and still more working for overthrow of the administration and waking the cryosleepers. Not only does the diversity of viewpoints both within the administration and outside of it make for a world that feels real, it also makes for a situation that’s much more intricate and politically sensitive than one often finds in revolutionary stories.
The first half of the novel plants the seeds of the overarching plot, introduces several compelling characters, and brings to life a stunning world that sets The Republic of Memory on track to become a potential book of the year. Then, in an audacious move, the second half of the novel drastically shifts the mix of perspective characters, introducing new angles and plot threads even as the revolutionaries continue to work for radical change. While this makes for a second half that’s a bit plottier and less-focused on the overall world, that plot remains interesting, and the newly central characters bring plenty to the table.
Unfortunately, The Republic of Memory is incomplete. Of course, some of that comes with being the first in a series—I grew up on epic fantasy, I’m no stranger to long-running plot arcs. But the best epics close a major arc in the first book, even while opening bigger ones, and The Republic of Memory falls a bit short in that regard. Yes, there’s enough development of the revolutionary plotline to justify the book’s existence as a story and not merely a prologue, but some of the biggest first-book questions never get real answers in the near-term. We knew in advance that there would be plenty left for the sequel, but there’s a balance between the already and the not yet, and that balance wobbles too far in the latter direction.
The result is a book that remains a stunningly impressive debut novel that’s easy to recommend, but also one that lacks closure and is unsatisfying without the sequel. As a series-starter, it’s good enough to make the sequel one of my most-anticipated books of whatever year it comes out. But an ending that leaves too much for that sequel keeps it from fulfilling its lofty potential as an annual favorite.
17/20
May 2, 2026
It was definitely an unexpected read, for many reasons. It felt very slow moving overall, which was not the pace I was waiting for based on the synopsis. The plot itself was also not what I was expecting; I thought it was going to focus on the revolution and its consequences, but it actually focused on the build-up leading to the revolution which took place later in the book. Therefore it felt quite incomplete, which I’ll get back to later in my review.
It had a rich and unique worldbuilding but in a sense not much more than that; the absence of most of the plot I had in mind before starting the book and the characters did not make up for that feeling of emptiness I had many times throughout my reading experience. The whole focus on the importance of languages and translations led to some very interesting moments though, they were some of the strongest of the book. But the cast of characters was unfortunately quite unengaging and the abundance of points of view was maybe a reason why. Also, some scenes (of sexual nature) felt so random and completely unnecessary; they added nothing to the plot and I’m questioning their presence in this book.
As I said earlier, the plot felt quite incomplete. After I finished the book I found out it was the first book in a series and it disappointed me a little… I believe the story would have been so much more impactful if it was more intense and based on the actual revolution I was so interested in. What we had of it was very intriguing and I wished we just got straight into it. This book felt like a long prologue, in some ways. I just wished I knew that before starting the book. I would still recommend it though.
Thank you to Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for a honest review.
It had a rich and unique worldbuilding but in a sense not much more than that; the absence of most of the plot I had in mind before starting the book and the characters did not make up for that feeling of emptiness I had many times throughout my reading experience. The whole focus on the importance of languages and translations led to some very interesting moments though, they were some of the strongest of the book. But the cast of characters was unfortunately quite unengaging and the abundance of points of view was maybe a reason why. Also, some scenes (of sexual nature) felt so random and completely unnecessary; they added nothing to the plot and I’m questioning their presence in this book.
As I said earlier, the plot felt quite incomplete. After I finished the book I found out it was the first book in a series and it disappointed me a little… I believe the story would have been so much more impactful if it was more intense and based on the actual revolution I was so interested in. What we had of it was very intriguing and I wished we just got straight into it. This book felt like a long prologue, in some ways. I just wished I knew that before starting the book. I would still recommend it though.
Thank you to Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for a honest review.
May 10, 2026
4.5 stars.
Oh my gosh! This was absolutely incredible.
First and foremost, I was captivated by the unique and well-crafted use of languages throughout the story. The diverse characters and world on the Safina were incredibly well-developed, and I couldn’t help but be drawn into their intricate details.
The Safina is a colossal ship that has embarked on a 200-year journey to a habitable planet, 100 years into its voyage, after Earth’s demise. It functions as its own self-contained world, with distinct segments dedicated to various roles, cultures, and their respective languages. El Sayed masterfully establishes the stark contrast between power and lesser roles, even within the confines of this perfect space ship, through the use of segregation and control. However, where control reigns, revolution inevitably follows.
The book’s use of various languages made for an intriguing reading experience. I’m glad I had an e-arc to read, as an audiobook alone would have left me wondering. I genuinely enjoyed how language was woven into the story to highlight the diverse cultural backgrounds on the ship. It’s like Noah’s Ark, but with Earth’s diaspora of cultures.
I highly recommend this book to all readers. Be forewarned that there is a chapter early on using a language unfamiliar to me (so I can’t share that with you) that was difficult to follow, but nonetheless did not dissuade me from reading because I was just having a blast the whole time.
Oh my gosh! This was absolutely incredible.
First and foremost, I was captivated by the unique and well-crafted use of languages throughout the story. The diverse characters and world on the Safina were incredibly well-developed, and I couldn’t help but be drawn into their intricate details.
The Safina is a colossal ship that has embarked on a 200-year journey to a habitable planet, 100 years into its voyage, after Earth’s demise. It functions as its own self-contained world, with distinct segments dedicated to various roles, cultures, and their respective languages. El Sayed masterfully establishes the stark contrast between power and lesser roles, even within the confines of this perfect space ship, through the use of segregation and control. However, where control reigns, revolution inevitably follows.
The book’s use of various languages made for an intriguing reading experience. I’m glad I had an e-arc to read, as an audiobook alone would have left me wondering. I genuinely enjoyed how language was woven into the story to highlight the diverse cultural backgrounds on the ship. It’s like Noah’s Ark, but with Earth’s diaspora of cultures.
I highly recommend this book to all readers. Be forewarned that there is a chapter early on using a language unfamiliar to me (so I can’t share that with you) that was difficult to follow, but nonetheless did not dissuade me from reading because I was just having a blast the whole time.
May 11, 2026
(Note: I received an advanced reader copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley)
This is quite the daring debut by Mahmed El Sayed. The Republic of Memory takes place entirely aboard a generation ship that’s already traveling for two hundred years with two hundred years more to go before it reaches its destination of a far-off, earth-like planet for colonization. It’s essentially a city flying through space, with its own deep history - a history that already has included one revolution, and now the remnants of humanity seem to be on the verge of yet another one.
The world building here is wonderfully rich and detailed, especially the culture of the ship and the heavy role that language plays into it. It was basically like catnip to me, as I personally love getting deep into the minutiae of fictional societies. On top of this, the book’s plot was a juicy one that made me feel a surprising amount of tension as I witnessed the ship’s populace teeter on the brink.
The only stumbling block was the pidgin used by one group of characters - a mix of multiple languages that carried a kind of Clockwork Orange-like flair that always slowed down my flow a bit. Still, good on the author for taking the risk and being able to develop it in the first place.
Lots of big swings were taken here in a book that overall consistently had its hooks in me. I look forward to when the next in the series appears.
This is quite the daring debut by Mahmed El Sayed. The Republic of Memory takes place entirely aboard a generation ship that’s already traveling for two hundred years with two hundred years more to go before it reaches its destination of a far-off, earth-like planet for colonization. It’s essentially a city flying through space, with its own deep history - a history that already has included one revolution, and now the remnants of humanity seem to be on the verge of yet another one.
The world building here is wonderfully rich and detailed, especially the culture of the ship and the heavy role that language plays into it. It was basically like catnip to me, as I personally love getting deep into the minutiae of fictional societies. On top of this, the book’s plot was a juicy one that made me feel a surprising amount of tension as I witnessed the ship’s populace teeter on the brink.
The only stumbling block was the pidgin used by one group of characters - a mix of multiple languages that carried a kind of Clockwork Orange-like flair that always slowed down my flow a bit. Still, good on the author for taking the risk and being able to develop it in the first place.
Lots of big swings were taken here in a book that overall consistently had its hooks in me. I look forward to when the next in the series appears.
May 15, 2026
Deeply immersive, multi-POV generation ship story, exploring language and culture in a closed system, hundreds of years after leaving Earth.
Which I really enjoyed, but also left some uncertainties. The ship's people speak many languages, including a new slang, Nupol, which works a little like Nadset from A Clockwork Orange, largely for the young and cool. Which is fun until there's are whole conversations in it, and then working out what's being said becomes a bit of a homework task for the reader.
The way language influences the societies about the ship is fascinating and to me quite novel, and it's very understandable that one of our earliest POVs is a translator, whose job is to navigate between languages and administration to 'get things done' -- marriage licences, work permits, etc. So plot thread 1 is around administrative politics. Plot thread 2 has a coming-of-age rebellion, thread 3 a sabotage investigation by a very unusual investigator, thread 4 is the wider politics around the power structure of the ship, and then there are some other threads here and there.
And that's why this didn't land a straight 5 stars from me. There are so many plots and sub-plots and characters, and they're all in play by the end. So this doesn't feel like a book of its own, as much as the first installment of a larger whole. Not quite cliffhanger, but it's very hard to judge how this works without the rest of the story in hand.
Regardless, I absolutely will be reading on, and recommend this to anyone with a love of language, and/or duty vs. free will discussions, and/or just who thinks a big, predominantly (but not solely) Arab-based culture in space sounds very cool. It is! I just can't tell how cool, yet.
Rating: 15/20
This review is based upon a complimentary advance reading copy provided by the publisher.
Which I really enjoyed, but also left some uncertainties. The ship's people speak many languages, including a new slang, Nupol, which works a little like Nadset from A Clockwork Orange, largely for the young and cool. Which is fun until there's are whole conversations in it, and then working out what's being said becomes a bit of a homework task for the reader.
The way language influences the societies about the ship is fascinating and to me quite novel, and it's very understandable that one of our earliest POVs is a translator, whose job is to navigate between languages and administration to 'get things done' -- marriage licences, work permits, etc. So plot thread 1 is around administrative politics. Plot thread 2 has a coming-of-age rebellion, thread 3 a sabotage investigation by a very unusual investigator, thread 4 is the wider politics around the power structure of the ship, and then there are some other threads here and there.
And that's why this didn't land a straight 5 stars from me. There are so many plots and sub-plots and characters, and they're all in play by the end. So this doesn't feel like a book of its own, as much as the first installment of a larger whole. Not quite cliffhanger, but it's very hard to judge how this works without the rest of the story in hand.
Regardless, I absolutely will be reading on, and recommend this to anyone with a love of language, and/or duty vs. free will discussions, and/or just who thinks a big, predominantly (but not solely) Arab-based culture in space sounds very cool. It is! I just can't tell how cool, yet.
Rating: 15/20
This review is based upon a complimentary advance reading copy provided by the publisher.
May 18, 2026
Thank you to Gollancz and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Safina is a huge spaceship on a centuries long journey from a ruined Earth, carrying with it ancestors who are in cryo-sleep, and crewed by a wide range of people, some of whom are becoming disaffected.
This book is very influenced by Egyptian culture, and the author describes it as Arabfuturism, with a lot of the crew practising Muslims. I feel like these are people we don't see a lot in sci-fi, and really appreciated this inclusion.
The world-building here is great, with the different areas and peoples of the ship well fleshed-out. There were a few different POVs, with some just being added in for a chapter or two, which I'm not entirely sure worked for me. It was also a shame to lose a POV halfway through the book of a character I'd grown attracted to, although I understand the reasons for this.
This was a very solid start to a new sci-fi series, and I will be picking up the sequel when it arrives.
The Safina is a huge spaceship on a centuries long journey from a ruined Earth, carrying with it ancestors who are in cryo-sleep, and crewed by a wide range of people, some of whom are becoming disaffected.
This book is very influenced by Egyptian culture, and the author describes it as Arabfuturism, with a lot of the crew practising Muslims. I feel like these are people we don't see a lot in sci-fi, and really appreciated this inclusion.
The world-building here is great, with the different areas and peoples of the ship well fleshed-out. There were a few different POVs, with some just being added in for a chapter or two, which I'm not entirely sure worked for me. It was also a shame to lose a POV halfway through the book of a character I'd grown attracted to, although I understand the reasons for this.
This was a very solid start to a new sci-fi series, and I will be picking up the sequel when it arrives.
May 11, 2026
Thank you Saga Press for the ARC!
This felt like Babel meets the Gridlock episode of Doctor Who--which is EXACTLY what I wanted it to be!
While it technically is science fiction, I do feel like the sci-fi elements take a big of a back seat for the exploration of language, why words matter, and the importance of knowledge. I felt a similar way with Babel and the fantasy elements, so it didn't really bother me, but if you're looking for something sci-fi heavy, you'd probably be a little disappointed.
This was a fantastic story that sets up for an interesting series--we get a lot of different POVs (and therefore see the brewing of unrest from different perspectives), which is both a hindrance and help to the story as an opening book. I definitely understand why it's told in this way, and I do think it's the correct (and an effective way) to tell the story. But it DOES mean that the story drags a bit in parts because the plot takes a while to actually progress.
If you love languages and dystopian literature that is not shy about the critique it's making, you'll LOVE this! I'm very excited to see where the story heads next.
This felt like Babel meets the Gridlock episode of Doctor Who--which is EXACTLY what I wanted it to be!
While it technically is science fiction, I do feel like the sci-fi elements take a big of a back seat for the exploration of language, why words matter, and the importance of knowledge. I felt a similar way with Babel and the fantasy elements, so it didn't really bother me, but if you're looking for something sci-fi heavy, you'd probably be a little disappointed.
This was a fantastic story that sets up for an interesting series--we get a lot of different POVs (and therefore see the brewing of unrest from different perspectives), which is both a hindrance and help to the story as an opening book. I definitely understand why it's told in this way, and I do think it's the correct (and an effective way) to tell the story. But it DOES mean that the story drags a bit in parts because the plot takes a while to actually progress.
If you love languages and dystopian literature that is not shy about the critique it's making, you'll LOVE this! I'm very excited to see where the story heads next.
May 18, 2026
4.75
What a phenomenal debut. An anthropological, linguistic, political, and philosophic dissertation of humans and the systems and cataclysmic events we can’t seem to stop cycling through. We have humans onboard a HUGE city ship on their way to Hurriya (freedom), a new world, after leaving Earth behind hoping for a fresh start and second chance to do things right.
We have agesim, elitism, racism, authoritarianism, and other problems being shown through MULTIPLE POVs, characters from very different backgrounds (age, gender, sexuality, privilege, religions, etc).
Cannot wait for the next installment.
What a phenomenal debut. An anthropological, linguistic, political, and philosophic dissertation of humans and the systems and cataclysmic events we can’t seem to stop cycling through. We have humans onboard a HUGE city ship on their way to Hurriya (freedom), a new world, after leaving Earth behind hoping for a fresh start and second chance to do things right.
We have agesim, elitism, racism, authoritarianism, and other problems being shown through MULTIPLE POVs, characters from very different backgrounds (age, gender, sexuality, privilege, religions, etc).
Cannot wait for the next installment.
May 18, 2026
Forgot to update here when I finished--review coming. In the meantime I'll say: brilliant. Highly recommend if you love a good generation ship story, multiple POVs and linguistic nerdom.
May 24, 2026
A massive generation ship progresses through space on its way to find a new home for humanity. Its population are divided into semi-rigid districts based on a common language, though with some crossover allowed, it needs to be moderated by interpreters and all run by an elite administration that has grown used to its power. And while generations are born and die on the ship, a large population of Ancestors exists, sleeping away the centuries until the ships arrival where they're expecting to return to their place at the top tier of society. Not everyone is happy with this status quo, though, and as technical problems mount on the ship the discontent starts to grow and a revolution is brewing that may threaten the ancestors... or force some of them to wake early. And an aging ship, alone in the vast void, is a fragile spot, where revolution, even if necessary, may still threaten everything.
I received an electronic review copy of this book through Netgalley. I don't think it significantly affected my review, but disclaimer is owed anyway.
Overall I liked the story and found it a compelling generation ship tale that I'd like to read more of, however there are some things that may either make the book more attractive to some readers and less to others.
First of all, this is one of those books that's told with alternating points of views. Some come up repeatedly, others are only given one small section before their part of the story is seemingly done. And, in fact, there are a couple surprises there, with one character you think might be a main character getting sidelined for most of the book and another that hadn't been featured before takes the narrative's center stage. As much as I liked that first sidelined character's POV the book actually improves when this happens. But the very format itself can lead to some distance and lack of momentum. There were some sections I just couldn't wait to get through because I just didn't care about that character, others which felt a little self-indulgent (and some that both were the case)... but on the other hand, often it was fun to see some other sides of the society for a short time. Most of the characters we followed, I was interested in following or finding more about or seeing how they'd react to some upcoming development or sudden disaster.
I enjoyed the worldbuilding, broadly. The books press describes it as Arabfuturist, and indeed, a lot of the little cultural bits do reflect a culture that I'm only familiar with as an outsider, but I enjoyed learning more about it and seeing the ways in which the generation ship setting interacts with all that. (There are also, it should be noted, other cultures on board, and we see them, it's just the story's main focus is on characters from the Arabic-speaking portion of the ship). We see different strata of society and both some of their daily concerns and their perspective on the broader issues.
There is one aspect I had issue with, in that there's a notable slang language used by criminals and rebels, a pidgin that takes bits and pieces from many different languages, much like (and I believe in some parts directly inspired by) Nadsat in A Clockwork Orange. This turned out to be my biggest annoyance of the book. It's one thing to pepper dialogue with things like this and give the reader some fun in piecing it together from context. It's quite another to write a whole section's narration in that slang. These sections were, granted, few and not lasting long, but they just frustrated me more than anything else in the book. I liked A Clockwork Orange which was pretty much entirely written in that kind of slang, but that was part of the point of that novel, to be thrown in the deep end and gradually figure out what's being said... and I was much younger when I read that book. And if you're going to be doing that trick, you'd better be writing a hell of a good story to justify it. Here... I don't really care to learn a whole set of new words just to figure out what's happening in a few sections. Particularly when the book itself takes place in a part of society where English isn't spoken anyway, and thus what characters are saying and thinking is already being 'translated' for me, the reader... just do the same for the pidgin slang! It's okay! The 'narrated in slang' sections of the book even soured me on the use of the slang-in-dialogue for the rest of my reading time. Because every time I saw "glizzed" or any other use of those words from then on it wrenched me from the flow of the story because I stopped and had to take a few seconds to calm myself down from wanting to scream "JUST SAY 'WATCHED'" (this particular example of the slang is invented by me, as I write this review, I can't remember the actual vocabulary anymore, which makes me dread even more if it comes back in a sequel). And characters that I would have enjoyed a lot for their story ended up being points of views I wasn't as interested in because I knew it would be more of that.
I mentioned 'sequel' so I should probably also point out... the book's not really a standalone. Certainly, a lot of dramatic things happen, even big changes for the society that might be considered an 'satisfying ending' to some people but we don't really see a lot of the aftermath that make it do the job for me, and in particular some major story elements that get set up right at the beginning and dangled as an important part of the A-plot, by the end, are just starting getting the plot developments of their 'Act One' - the rest is left for future books, I imagine. But I did like it enough that I'd probably read those other books, or at least the next one to see if it keeps up the overall quality. Just please, cut back on the slang.
I'd probably rate it 3.5 stars, were I able to cut it that finally. 3 stars for me is a standard like, while 4 is 'like a lot.' So it does good. But I often have to decide which way to round, and, in this case, the slang parts of the book make me settle firmly to rounding down.
I received an electronic review copy of this book through Netgalley. I don't think it significantly affected my review, but disclaimer is owed anyway.
Overall I liked the story and found it a compelling generation ship tale that I'd like to read more of, however there are some things that may either make the book more attractive to some readers and less to others.
First of all, this is one of those books that's told with alternating points of views. Some come up repeatedly, others are only given one small section before their part of the story is seemingly done. And, in fact, there are a couple surprises there, with one character you think might be a main character getting sidelined for most of the book and another that hadn't been featured before takes the narrative's center stage. As much as I liked that first sidelined character's POV the book actually improves when this happens. But the very format itself can lead to some distance and lack of momentum. There were some sections I just couldn't wait to get through because I just didn't care about that character, others which felt a little self-indulgent (and some that both were the case)... but on the other hand, often it was fun to see some other sides of the society for a short time. Most of the characters we followed, I was interested in following or finding more about or seeing how they'd react to some upcoming development or sudden disaster.
I enjoyed the worldbuilding, broadly. The books press describes it as Arabfuturist, and indeed, a lot of the little cultural bits do reflect a culture that I'm only familiar with as an outsider, but I enjoyed learning more about it and seeing the ways in which the generation ship setting interacts with all that. (There are also, it should be noted, other cultures on board, and we see them, it's just the story's main focus is on characters from the Arabic-speaking portion of the ship). We see different strata of society and both some of their daily concerns and their perspective on the broader issues.
There is one aspect I had issue with, in that there's a notable slang language used by criminals and rebels, a pidgin that takes bits and pieces from many different languages, much like (and I believe in some parts directly inspired by) Nadsat in A Clockwork Orange. This turned out to be my biggest annoyance of the book. It's one thing to pepper dialogue with things like this and give the reader some fun in piecing it together from context. It's quite another to write a whole section's narration in that slang. These sections were, granted, few and not lasting long, but they just frustrated me more than anything else in the book. I liked A Clockwork Orange which was pretty much entirely written in that kind of slang, but that was part of the point of that novel, to be thrown in the deep end and gradually figure out what's being said... and I was much younger when I read that book. And if you're going to be doing that trick, you'd better be writing a hell of a good story to justify it. Here... I don't really care to learn a whole set of new words just to figure out what's happening in a few sections. Particularly when the book itself takes place in a part of society where English isn't spoken anyway, and thus what characters are saying and thinking is already being 'translated' for me, the reader... just do the same for the pidgin slang! It's okay! The 'narrated in slang' sections of the book even soured me on the use of the slang-in-dialogue for the rest of my reading time. Because every time I saw "glizzed" or any other use of those words from then on it wrenched me from the flow of the story because I stopped and had to take a few seconds to calm myself down from wanting to scream "JUST SAY 'WATCHED'" (this particular example of the slang is invented by me, as I write this review, I can't remember the actual vocabulary anymore, which makes me dread even more if it comes back in a sequel). And characters that I would have enjoyed a lot for their story ended up being points of views I wasn't as interested in because I knew it would be more of that.
I mentioned 'sequel' so I should probably also point out... the book's not really a standalone. Certainly, a lot of dramatic things happen, even big changes for the society that might be considered an 'satisfying ending' to some people but we don't really see a lot of the aftermath that make it do the job for me, and in particular some major story elements that get set up right at the beginning and dangled as an important part of the A-plot, by the end, are just starting getting the plot developments of their 'Act One' - the rest is left for future books, I imagine. But I did like it enough that I'd probably read those other books, or at least the next one to see if it keeps up the overall quality. Just please, cut back on the slang.
I'd probably rate it 3.5 stars, were I able to cut it that finally. 3 stars for me is a standard like, while 4 is 'like a lot.' So it does good. But I often have to decide which way to round, and, in this case, the slang parts of the book make me settle firmly to rounding down.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
4.5 stars
(Thank you to Saga Press for the ARC. All opinions are my own.)
I don’t read Science Fiction all that often, but whenever I do, I always curse myself that I don’t read it more, because when I do pick up a Sci-Fi book, I almost inevitably find I’ve chosen something great. The Republic of Memory is no exception to this rule, being an excellent debut that deals thoughtfully with ideas of revolution, and themes of language.
We find ourselves on the generation city ship Safina, which is halfway through its 400-year journey to the new colony world of Hurriya. On board are thousands of new colonists in cryostatis, along with thousands more crewmembers, descendants of the original crew tasked with keeping the Safina running, but who know they will die (as will their own descendants) long before the ship reaches its destination.
All members of the crew are required to take up a role in one of the ‘watches’ once they come of age - whether that be engineering, environmental, stasis management, admin, etc., and when it comes to living arrangements, the ship is divided up into ‘berths’, with crew required to live in the appropriate berth. Except that rather than the berths being divided along the lines of nationality, race or culture, they are dividied along the lines of language, i.e. everyone who speaks the same language inhabits the same berth - the reasoning behind that being that that if someone wants to switch berth, it is more feasible to learn a new language than to change your race or nationality (technically true, although I think the story positions this as being a bit too ‘easy’, when it definitely isn’t, and also perhaps slightly overlooks the fact that often, language is inherectly tied to your nationality or race, so the distinction isn’t really all that clear).
The thematic use of language in the book is very interesting, however; positioned as something that both unites and divides people, and as something that is at least indirectly providing fuel for the revolutionary feelings that are brewing among certain parts of the crew. One of our main characters is a translator - someone who works for the Admin watch, who are at the top of the pile when it comes to running the ship, and therefore also one of the key antagonists in the eyes of the revolutionaries. In their eyes, translators are agents of the enemy, and the necessity to have one present at every administrative interaction is just another way of keeping everyone in line (for example, if a crewmember wishes to marry someone from another berth, Admin has to approve it, and each party is required to have a translator present at the relevant meetings, almost like a lawyer).
The revolutionaries also use a completely separate constructed language (in the same way that Esperanto is a constructed language in the real world), created by their various factions over the years to allow them to communicate with each other in a way that almost functions like a code, and is a sign of a fellow sympathiser. This language is very cleverly done by the author, and is an impressive element of the book, although I will say that I was quite glad it didn’t feature quite as heavily as it was at one point appearing it might, as I found it quite difficult to parse when reading. I generally picked up the general gist of what the characters were talking about, but never felt that I had a complete grasp on the specifics of what they were saying.
This is very much character-driven Sci-Fi - so if you’re a fan of space operas, full of space battles, aliens, and new planets, this may not be for you. But I found the character-centric approach very compelling to read, mainly because I found the characters to be mostly very interesting, and the approach to the character perspectives to be surprisingly effective.
There are essentially two main POV characters - Iskander Ezz, the aforementioned translator, and Heba Hilal, a detective. But rather than alternating between these two characters all the way through the book, there’s almost something of a handoff around halfway through the story, when Iskander takes a backseat, and Hilal comes to the forefront (for reasons that I won’t mention explicitly, because they’re spoilers). We do also have other POVs - one of whom constitutes a third ‘main’ perspective, which is that of Damietta, Iskander’s sister and burgeoning revolutionary. I will say that she was probably my least favourite character, as I found her to be a bit naive and hot-headed, in that typical teenaged unfiltered way. And then there are also multiple other perspectives, most of whom appear for a chapter and then disappear again, never to be seen again. Normally, this method of including POVs annoys me, as it feels like slightly lazy writing, but in this instance it worked well to show the reader how the Safina functions as a community, and how that community is feeling about, and reacting to, developments.
I will say I was a bit surprised that the impact of AI didn’t feature more in the story, given that the Safina was originally run by an AI, and was sent off on its journey to Hurriya (along with several more sister ships) by the Network Empire, an Earth-based empire run by AIs. We’re told early on that the original crew of the ship overthrew the AI and removed all their technological connections to it, and while the concept does reappear to a certain extent later in the book, it never really becomes the focus of anything - although my sense is that this might be more the case in the second installment.
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from this book, and said yes to the ARC as a bit of a punt, more than anything. But I’m very glad I did, as it has most certainly continued my trend of picking up excellent Science Fiction. I already can’t wait for the second book.
(Thank you to Saga Press for the ARC. All opinions are my own.)
I don’t read Science Fiction all that often, but whenever I do, I always curse myself that I don’t read it more, because when I do pick up a Sci-Fi book, I almost inevitably find I’ve chosen something great. The Republic of Memory is no exception to this rule, being an excellent debut that deals thoughtfully with ideas of revolution, and themes of language.
We find ourselves on the generation city ship Safina, which is halfway through its 400-year journey to the new colony world of Hurriya. On board are thousands of new colonists in cryostatis, along with thousands more crewmembers, descendants of the original crew tasked with keeping the Safina running, but who know they will die (as will their own descendants) long before the ship reaches its destination.
All members of the crew are required to take up a role in one of the ‘watches’ once they come of age - whether that be engineering, environmental, stasis management, admin, etc., and when it comes to living arrangements, the ship is divided up into ‘berths’, with crew required to live in the appropriate berth. Except that rather than the berths being divided along the lines of nationality, race or culture, they are dividied along the lines of language, i.e. everyone who speaks the same language inhabits the same berth - the reasoning behind that being that that if someone wants to switch berth, it is more feasible to learn a new language than to change your race or nationality (technically true, although I think the story positions this as being a bit too ‘easy’, when it definitely isn’t, and also perhaps slightly overlooks the fact that often, language is inherectly tied to your nationality or race, so the distinction isn’t really all that clear).
The thematic use of language in the book is very interesting, however; positioned as something that both unites and divides people, and as something that is at least indirectly providing fuel for the revolutionary feelings that are brewing among certain parts of the crew. One of our main characters is a translator - someone who works for the Admin watch, who are at the top of the pile when it comes to running the ship, and therefore also one of the key antagonists in the eyes of the revolutionaries. In their eyes, translators are agents of the enemy, and the necessity to have one present at every administrative interaction is just another way of keeping everyone in line (for example, if a crewmember wishes to marry someone from another berth, Admin has to approve it, and each party is required to have a translator present at the relevant meetings, almost like a lawyer).
The revolutionaries also use a completely separate constructed language (in the same way that Esperanto is a constructed language in the real world), created by their various factions over the years to allow them to communicate with each other in a way that almost functions like a code, and is a sign of a fellow sympathiser. This language is very cleverly done by the author, and is an impressive element of the book, although I will say that I was quite glad it didn’t feature quite as heavily as it was at one point appearing it might, as I found it quite difficult to parse when reading. I generally picked up the general gist of what the characters were talking about, but never felt that I had a complete grasp on the specifics of what they were saying.
This is very much character-driven Sci-Fi - so if you’re a fan of space operas, full of space battles, aliens, and new planets, this may not be for you. But I found the character-centric approach very compelling to read, mainly because I found the characters to be mostly very interesting, and the approach to the character perspectives to be surprisingly effective.
There are essentially two main POV characters - Iskander Ezz, the aforementioned translator, and Heba Hilal, a detective. But rather than alternating between these two characters all the way through the book, there’s almost something of a handoff around halfway through the story, when Iskander takes a backseat, and Hilal comes to the forefront (for reasons that I won’t mention explicitly, because they’re spoilers). We do also have other POVs - one of whom constitutes a third ‘main’ perspective, which is that of Damietta, Iskander’s sister and burgeoning revolutionary. I will say that she was probably my least favourite character, as I found her to be a bit naive and hot-headed, in that typical teenaged unfiltered way. And then there are also multiple other perspectives, most of whom appear for a chapter and then disappear again, never to be seen again. Normally, this method of including POVs annoys me, as it feels like slightly lazy writing, but in this instance it worked well to show the reader how the Safina functions as a community, and how that community is feeling about, and reacting to, developments.
I will say I was a bit surprised that the impact of AI didn’t feature more in the story, given that the Safina was originally run by an AI, and was sent off on its journey to Hurriya (along with several more sister ships) by the Network Empire, an Earth-based empire run by AIs. We’re told early on that the original crew of the ship overthrew the AI and removed all their technological connections to it, and while the concept does reappear to a certain extent later in the book, it never really becomes the focus of anything - although my sense is that this might be more the case in the second installment.
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from this book, and said yes to the ARC as a bit of a punt, more than anything. But I’m very glad I did, as it has most certainly continued my trend of picking up excellent Science Fiction. I already can’t wait for the second book.
May 5, 2026
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Republic of Memory is the first in a new series that deserves a place in the canon of great modern Sci-Fi series like The Imperial Radch, The Expanse and Teixcalaan. I strongly recommend this if you like rich, immersive worlds or tense plots involving multiple factions. If you want something to theorise over, then this is for you.
The book is set on the generation ship Safina, sent from Earth to establish an outpost of the Network Empire, an Islamic theocracy governed by advanced AIs, in the stars. Under the rule of the Network Empire, Earth has descended into all out war, as people rebel against the tyranny of the AIs and 10 years into the Safina’s journey, they receive news that the war has resulted in the extinction of humanity on Earth. The AI running the Safina wants to turn round and head back, but the crew rebel, tearing the AI out of the ship and ushering in an age of democracy for the last bastion of humanity.
The story takes place 200 years into the Safina’s journey, as they are preparing to celebrate the halfway point of their four century long journey. The first third of the book is spent getting to know the setting, largely through the eyes of two members of the Ezz family – Iskander, a translator who hopes to make his way into politics, and Damietta, a teenager just finishing education and a member of an underground political faction. After the first third, we get a big event that triggers the main plot of the book into motion. Once it gets going, it progresses at quite a pace and manages to keep you engaged the entire way through. It’s an interesting choice for the book to do this slow introduction – another way to introduce us to the setting would be for us to learn about it alongside one of the POVs introduced during the course of the book, but this way makes the setting and plot feel bigger than this one person.
Language is a big factor in the book. The Network Empire was predominantly Arab-influenced, but like most large empires, there’s a lot of cultural blending. The importance of language is enforced by how the Safina’s crew is divided – the rebellion against the AI decided to separate communities based on language rather than any creed or class, making translators an important part of any administrative process, but also making multiple lingua francas that allow communication between denizens of different berths. The most common of these are ‘Inglezz’, a form of English that has undergone 200 years of evolution whilst being spoken entirely by people who don’t have it as a first language, and ‘Nupol’, a dialect of Inglezz that uses loan words from a variety of languages. Nupol is very important to the story – it’s predominantly used among the young and by the various underground political factions in the book and we get multiple points of view that belong to both of those groups. There’s long passages of dialogue (and even interior thought) written entirely in Nupol, and it’s fascinating how quickly you pick it up as a reader.
The other major factor in the book is politics. After nearly 200 years of stagnation after the rebellion against the AI, the Administration has become corrupt and tyrannical. Nepotism is rife, with family members of admin personnel often being parachuted into cushy admin jobs whilst the rest of the crew do gruelling work keeping the ship running. As such, there are a number of underground political factions that seek to change the current state of the Administration – from factions familiar to us in the real world such as various communist groups and Islamic fundamentalists, to ones that have developed due to the unique situation of being on a generation ship. The most important of these is The Haraka. It was formed by a visionary revolutionary, Selin Devrim, a few decades before the events of the book. One of the main differences between Devrim’s political faction and the rest regards the question of the Ancestors – thousands of people in cryosleep that are intended to be useful (scientists, engineers and the like, but also police and the like) when the ship reaches its destination. Most of the crew hold them in high regard, including in a religious fashion, but the Harakaists want to wake them all up gradually and make them adapt to the new way of life. The existence of the ancestors poses a great moral question – they are an ultra-conservative faction politically, and as people they have technology proscribed by the revolution embedded into their bodies and are generally taller and stronger than the people who’ve grown up in the confines of a space ship, so waking a large number of them up at once would have strong ramifications both culturally and politically. Selin Devrim led a revolt against the administration, but was undone by the diversity of the anti-administration political factions involved, with some betraying the cause to make deals. The Haraka is now led by Badreddine, the only remaining member of Devrim’s inner circle, who has spent the intervening years as, among other things, a general in inter-gang warfare, contract killer and smuggler. The main plot of the book follows how these political factions, principally the Haraka, try and use the main triggering plot event to their advantage.
All in all, the author does an incredible job at making the world feel alive through the language, the food and the politics. When the plot starts moving, this build up allows us to feel the ramifications of certain events alongside the characters and react alongside them. I can’t wait to see where this series goes next.
The Republic of Memory is the first in a new series that deserves a place in the canon of great modern Sci-Fi series like The Imperial Radch, The Expanse and Teixcalaan. I strongly recommend this if you like rich, immersive worlds or tense plots involving multiple factions. If you want something to theorise over, then this is for you.
The book is set on the generation ship Safina, sent from Earth to establish an outpost of the Network Empire, an Islamic theocracy governed by advanced AIs, in the stars. Under the rule of the Network Empire, Earth has descended into all out war, as people rebel against the tyranny of the AIs and 10 years into the Safina’s journey, they receive news that the war has resulted in the extinction of humanity on Earth. The AI running the Safina wants to turn round and head back, but the crew rebel, tearing the AI out of the ship and ushering in an age of democracy for the last bastion of humanity.
The story takes place 200 years into the Safina’s journey, as they are preparing to celebrate the halfway point of their four century long journey. The first third of the book is spent getting to know the setting, largely through the eyes of two members of the Ezz family – Iskander, a translator who hopes to make his way into politics, and Damietta, a teenager just finishing education and a member of an underground political faction. After the first third, we get a big event that triggers the main plot of the book into motion. Once it gets going, it progresses at quite a pace and manages to keep you engaged the entire way through. It’s an interesting choice for the book to do this slow introduction – another way to introduce us to the setting would be for us to learn about it alongside one of the POVs introduced during the course of the book, but this way makes the setting and plot feel bigger than this one person.
Language is a big factor in the book. The Network Empire was predominantly Arab-influenced, but like most large empires, there’s a lot of cultural blending. The importance of language is enforced by how the Safina’s crew is divided – the rebellion against the AI decided to separate communities based on language rather than any creed or class, making translators an important part of any administrative process, but also making multiple lingua francas that allow communication between denizens of different berths. The most common of these are ‘Inglezz’, a form of English that has undergone 200 years of evolution whilst being spoken entirely by people who don’t have it as a first language, and ‘Nupol’, a dialect of Inglezz that uses loan words from a variety of languages. Nupol is very important to the story – it’s predominantly used among the young and by the various underground political factions in the book and we get multiple points of view that belong to both of those groups. There’s long passages of dialogue (and even interior thought) written entirely in Nupol, and it’s fascinating how quickly you pick it up as a reader.
The other major factor in the book is politics. After nearly 200 years of stagnation after the rebellion against the AI, the Administration has become corrupt and tyrannical. Nepotism is rife, with family members of admin personnel often being parachuted into cushy admin jobs whilst the rest of the crew do gruelling work keeping the ship running. As such, there are a number of underground political factions that seek to change the current state of the Administration – from factions familiar to us in the real world such as various communist groups and Islamic fundamentalists, to ones that have developed due to the unique situation of being on a generation ship. The most important of these is The Haraka. It was formed by a visionary revolutionary, Selin Devrim, a few decades before the events of the book. One of the main differences between Devrim’s political faction and the rest regards the question of the Ancestors – thousands of people in cryosleep that are intended to be useful (scientists, engineers and the like, but also police and the like) when the ship reaches its destination. Most of the crew hold them in high regard, including in a religious fashion, but the Harakaists want to wake them all up gradually and make them adapt to the new way of life. The existence of the ancestors poses a great moral question – they are an ultra-conservative faction politically, and as people they have technology proscribed by the revolution embedded into their bodies and are generally taller and stronger than the people who’ve grown up in the confines of a space ship, so waking a large number of them up at once would have strong ramifications both culturally and politically. Selin Devrim led a revolt against the administration, but was undone by the diversity of the anti-administration political factions involved, with some betraying the cause to make deals. The Haraka is now led by Badreddine, the only remaining member of Devrim’s inner circle, who has spent the intervening years as, among other things, a general in inter-gang warfare, contract killer and smuggler. The main plot of the book follows how these political factions, principally the Haraka, try and use the main triggering plot event to their advantage.
All in all, the author does an incredible job at making the world feel alive through the language, the food and the politics. When the plot starts moving, this build up allows us to feel the ramifications of certain events alongside the characters and react alongside them. I can’t wait to see where this series goes next.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This book is everything I hoped for and more - if you're excited by what it says on the tin, guess what it's EVEN BETTER than that! I was hooked from the first page and by the time I got to the last ~40-50 pages my heart rate monitor started screaming at me to chill out (I have screenshots to prove it). Thank you so much to Sage Press for gifting me a copy of this book!
TL; DR: Best book of the year! Brilliant prose, brilliant political commentary, brilliant playing with language, brilliant characters...okay now read the whole thing (or go read the book and come back to finish then tell me your thoughts in the comments!)!!!
~
The Republic of Memory is political sci-fi at its best - the conflict(s) are multifaceted with no real good guy, but certainly a clear bad guy (bad guys? only time will tell o_o). El Sayed plays in the politics of antisystemic movements, and his creation is nuanced and thoughtfully executed. Our PoV characters come from different factions and different levels of engagement in the struggle; from Iskander, our well-meaning little bureaucrat dreaming of reform in his silly hat to his younger sister Damietta and her direct engagement with the anarchist faction; from Kalila, Taki, and Lebanon, each a different facet of the average person getting drawn into revolutionary activity to Hilal, Britva, and Badrieddine, political agents with explicit goals driving them.
El Sayed's use of language is marvelous. Nupol is brain-bendingly cool (I have recordings of me reading some of my favorite bits to friends; Damietta refers to it as music and you really need to hear it spoken to truly appreciate just how rad it is). This "prattle of the disenfranchised" (p. 33) on a ship with Inglez as the Administrative tongue in a society separated based on native language reorients racism and colonialism along linguistic lines (but it's not racism because "anyone could learn a new language" [p.53] and Inglez isn't anybody's first language so like, nobody is on top! Nice try First Crew 😬). Also, from a world-building level it does not erase or flatten cultural differences - the precariat or underclasses might have to unify purely for survival in a way that is expressed linguistically, but the proletariat or "official" society would, realistically, maintain some degree of separation along cultural lines. This isn't sci-fi where "it's the future!" and culture has all become the same (a legacy of western colonialism and American Manifest Destiny). El Sayed's future is just as messy and differentiated and oppositional as humans are in real life - like Iskander says, "old divisions only gave rise to new ones" (p. 53) - and cultural expectations evolve along with new circumstances.
One of my favorite parts of this book is the biting and overt critique of capitalism. I mean...Iskander could not be more explicit:
Under capitalism the worker already exists for production of commodities and re-production of workers, and on the Safina it takes on such a starkly literal tone and everybody knows it, whether they treat it as an honor or as an unjust sacrifice of their lives and the lives of their descendants as grist in the mill for the Sleepers' future. The fact that they exist for the sole purpose of getting the Sleepers to their destination cannot be hidden by ideology (instead, ideology justifies it). They are always referred to as crew, never residents or citizens, while the Sleepers are treated as revered ancestors - a built in future for a ruling class.
There is so much beautiful prose and my copy is full of highlights and annotations. El Sayed has crafted something full of passion, full of life, full of questions without answers that force us to look at the world as it is and consider this exploration of a not-unrealistic future. The characters feel real, the conflict feels real, nothing feels forced or contrived. The symbolism is lovely - like the uniform for Navigators is crew grey with a black and white kaffiyeh, a nod to the Palestinian diaspora!!! I loved watching Damietta's growth over the course of the book. Seeing some PoVs pop up occasionally when they become relevant but an overall focus on some core characters was an excellent choice to give the story space to breathe and expand context while also keeping the plot focused and always moving. There are Moments that stand out so clearly which is again a perfect call to the kind of Moments that occur within revolutionary movements, and reading those parts filled me with the same emotions as watching the Arab Spring unfold on the other side of the world (and on social media, which OOF! I cannot wait to see how interfacing mirrors that!).
Truly, this book is a triumph, and I'm so excited to see what comes next! Because
~
Original Review 4/23/26
FULL REVIEW TO COME BUT OHHHH MAH GAAAAAAAAAHHDDDDD Mahmud El Sayed you brilliant brilliant man. A thousand blessings upon you.
TL; DR: Best book of the year! Brilliant prose, brilliant political commentary, brilliant playing with language, brilliant characters...okay now read the whole thing (or go read the book and come back to finish then tell me your thoughts in the comments!)!!!
~
The Republic of Memory is political sci-fi at its best - the conflict(s) are multifaceted with no real good guy, but certainly a clear bad guy (bad guys? only time will tell o_o). El Sayed plays in the politics of antisystemic movements, and his creation is nuanced and thoughtfully executed. Our PoV characters come from different factions and different levels of engagement in the struggle; from Iskander, our well-meaning little bureaucrat dreaming of reform in his silly hat to his younger sister Damietta and her direct engagement with the anarchist faction; from Kalila, Taki, and Lebanon, each a different facet of the average person getting drawn into revolutionary activity to Hilal, Britva, and Badrieddine, political agents with explicit goals driving them.
El Sayed's use of language is marvelous. Nupol is brain-bendingly cool (I have recordings of me reading some of my favorite bits to friends; Damietta refers to it as music and you really need to hear it spoken to truly appreciate just how rad it is). This "prattle of the disenfranchised" (p. 33) on a ship with Inglez as the Administrative tongue in a society separated based on native language reorients racism and colonialism along linguistic lines (but it's not racism because "anyone could learn a new language" [p.53] and Inglez isn't anybody's first language so like, nobody is on top! Nice try First Crew 😬). Also, from a world-building level it does not erase or flatten cultural differences - the precariat or underclasses might have to unify purely for survival in a way that is expressed linguistically, but the proletariat or "official" society would, realistically, maintain some degree of separation along cultural lines. This isn't sci-fi where "it's the future!" and culture has all become the same (a legacy of western colonialism and American Manifest Destiny). El Sayed's future is just as messy and differentiated and oppositional as humans are in real life - like Iskander says, "old divisions only gave rise to new ones" (p. 53) - and cultural expectations evolve along with new circumstances.
One of my favorite parts of this book is the biting and overt critique of capitalism. I mean...Iskander could not be more explicit:
"It's what they were bred and trained for, generation after generation. The crew was nothing more than a living, breathing repair system for the ship" (p. 155)!
Under capitalism the worker already exists for production of commodities and re-production of workers, and on the Safina it takes on such a starkly literal tone and everybody knows it, whether they treat it as an honor or as an unjust sacrifice of their lives and the lives of their descendants as grist in the mill for the Sleepers' future. The fact that they exist for the sole purpose of getting the Sleepers to their destination cannot be hidden by ideology (instead, ideology justifies it). They are always referred to as crew, never residents or citizens, while the Sleepers are treated as revered ancestors - a built in future for a ruling class.
There is so much beautiful prose and my copy is full of highlights and annotations. El Sayed has crafted something full of passion, full of life, full of questions without answers that force us to look at the world as it is and consider this exploration of a not-unrealistic future. The characters feel real, the conflict feels real, nothing feels forced or contrived. The symbolism is lovely - like the uniform for Navigators is crew grey with a black and white kaffiyeh, a nod to the Palestinian diaspora!!! I loved watching Damietta's growth over the course of the book. Seeing some PoVs pop up occasionally when they become relevant but an overall focus on some core characters was an excellent choice to give the story space to breathe and expand context while also keeping the plot focused and always moving. There are Moments that stand out so clearly which is again a perfect call to the kind of Moments that occur within revolutionary movements, and reading those parts filled me with the same emotions as watching the Arab Spring unfold on the other side of the world (and on social media, which OOF! I cannot wait to see how interfacing mirrors that!).
Truly, this book is a triumph, and I'm so excited to see what comes next! Because
~
Original Review 4/23/26
FULL REVIEW TO COME BUT OHHHH MAH GAAAAAAAAAHHDDDDD Mahmud El Sayed you brilliant brilliant man. A thousand blessings upon you.
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