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The Song of the Safina #1
The Republic of Memory
The Safina is a city ship, two hundred years into its voyage from the ruins of Earth towards a new habitable world. Its crew maintain the ship, generation after generation, while protecting their 'ancestors' - the final remnants of Earth's doomed Network Empire - by keeping them alive in cryostasis.
But a lot can change in two hundred years, and people are starting to ask questions. Why should the crew continue to toil for people none of them remember? What exactly gives Administration its authority over everyone else?
And when the blackouts start, they set in motion a chain of events that will change life on the Safina forever. A reckoning is coming. The system is only secure so long as those in power maintain the obedience of those beneath them.
And the crew has had enough.
A science fiction odyssey of breathtaking scope, The Republic of Memory,/i> is a gripping examination of what divides us, and what brings us together. This is a modern and ambitious work of Arabfuturism, and is perfect for fans of The Expanse, A Memory Called Empire or Children of Time.
But a lot can change in two hundred years, and people are starting to ask questions. Why should the crew continue to toil for people none of them remember? What exactly gives Administration its authority over everyone else?
And when the blackouts start, they set in motion a chain of events that will change life on the Safina forever. A reckoning is coming. The system is only secure so long as those in power maintain the obedience of those beneath them.
And the crew has had enough.
A science fiction odyssey of breathtaking scope, The Republic of Memory,/i> is a gripping examination of what divides us, and what brings us together. This is a modern and ambitious work of Arabfuturism, and is perfect for fans of The Expanse, A Memory Called Empire or Children of Time.
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First published May 5, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 152 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
June 3, 2026
I AM GOING TO BE ABSOLUTELY FUCKING INSUFFERABLE ABOUT THIS BOOK JUST READ IT
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.
June 18, 2026
It hurts me to give this 3.5 stars, because it started so strong and the premise is so good, but… yeah 🫠 The Republic of Memory follows some of the crew of the Safina, a generation ship that keeps their ancestors alive in cryostasis while maintaining the ship. A series of blackouts start endangering the people onboard who, incidentally, are mad that they have to struggle under a system that only benefits the frozen ancestors. This is a very interesting Arabfuturist space opera that sort of reminded me of the Belter/Inners tension in The Expanse.
As I mentioned earlier, the book starts off very strong, with a heavy focus on the revolutionary politics and the tensions the crew has with the authorities. As I was reading this, I checked the rating on Goodreads, and I was baffled not to see a million five-star reviews. But when I got halfway through the book, I got it. The book switches focus from the political stuff, and it sort of lost my interest very quickly and didn’t get it back until the very end. I do think many people can enjoy this, but the book ended up feeling long to me because I wasn’t that crazy about the plot anymore.
The highlights of this book are how El Sayed built the city-ship, which is heavily influenced by Arab religion and culture, and the power (and legitimacy) of language. The different POVs are also very diverse, which was fun to read. I will say that worldbuilding and character building, aka getting to know the characters and the city, seemed to be the focus of the writing rather than the plot, which made it sort of slow.
As I mentioned earlier, the book starts off very strong, with a heavy focus on the revolutionary politics and the tensions the crew has with the authorities. As I was reading this, I checked the rating on Goodreads, and I was baffled not to see a million five-star reviews. But when I got halfway through the book, I got it. The book switches focus from the political stuff, and it sort of lost my interest very quickly and didn’t get it back until the very end. I do think many people can enjoy this, but the book ended up feeling long to me because I wasn’t that crazy about the plot anymore.
The highlights of this book are how El Sayed built the city-ship, which is heavily influenced by Arab religion and culture, and the power (and legitimacy) of language. The different POVs are also very diverse, which was fun to read. I will say that worldbuilding and character building, aka getting to know the characters and the city, seemed to be the focus of the writing rather than the plot, which made it sort of slow.
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.
![Profile Image for laurel [the suspected bibliophile].](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/users/1645808644i/7494844._UX200_CR0,6,200,200_.jpg)
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
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.
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 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
--
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
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.
Read
May 21, 2026I CANNOT WAIT TO READ THIS!!!!
June 14, 2026
One of the easiest ways for a science-fiction setting to feel artificial is when every culture ultimately sounds the same. Different clothes, different architecture, different planet names—but everyone thinks, speaks, and views the world through essentially identical lenses. The Republic of Memory does the exact opposite.
Mahmud El Sayed blends cultures, histories, and languages together in a really natural way. Not as decoration, and not as a worldbuilding checklist, but as something deeply embedded into the fabric of the story. The multilingual elements, the cultural references, the different ways characters perceive identity, belonging, history, and memory all feel lived rather than constructed. The setting has a richness that comes from genuine cultural layering rather than simply inventing futuristic terminology.
And honestly, the writing itself is beautiful. There's a confidence to the prose that never calls attention to itself, but consistently creates atmosphere. The novel moves between introspection, politics, memory, migration, and personal relationships with remarkable fluidity. Even quieter scenes carry emotional weight because the writing is attentive to people rather than simply events.
Thematically, memory sits at the center of everything here, but not in the straightforward science-fiction sense that the title might initially suggest. The book is deeply interested in collective memory, cultural memory, inherited memory, and the stories societies choose to preserve or erase. It asks fascinating questions about identity and continuity without turning those questions into abstract philosophical exercises.
The characters are a huge part of why that works. Nobody feels like they're simply there to represent an idea. Their motivations, loyalties, frustrations, and relationships feel grounded in their own lives rather than in the themes of the novel. Even when the story engages with larger political and cultural questions, it remains anchored in people navigating those questions rather than merely discussing them.
I particularly appreciated how much trust the novel places in the reader. There are aspects of the world, the politics, and the history that aren't immediately explained, and El Sayed rarely stops the narrative to deliver lengthy exposition. Instead, understanding develops gradually through observation and context. The result is a setting that feels genuinely inhabited.
What also impressed me was the restraint of the ending. A lot of novels feel compelled to resolve every thread, answer every question, and neatly close every emotional arc. The Republic of Memory doesn't do that, and I think it's stronger because of it. There are uncertainties left behind, unresolved tensions, questions that continue existing beyond the final page. But they feel intentional rather than incomplete.
In fact, the ending left me with the distinct feeling that this world still has more stories to tell. Not because the novel fails to stand on its own, but because the setting, characters, and larger cultural questions feel expansive enough to support further exploration. It very much feels like a door left open rather than a story left unfinished.
Beautifully written, thoughtful without becoming heavy-handed, and filled with characters who feel like they belong to their world rather than simply occupying it. This was a wonderful introduction to a universe I'd happily spend more time in.
Mahmud El Sayed blends cultures, histories, and languages together in a really natural way. Not as decoration, and not as a worldbuilding checklist, but as something deeply embedded into the fabric of the story. The multilingual elements, the cultural references, the different ways characters perceive identity, belonging, history, and memory all feel lived rather than constructed. The setting has a richness that comes from genuine cultural layering rather than simply inventing futuristic terminology.
And honestly, the writing itself is beautiful. There's a confidence to the prose that never calls attention to itself, but consistently creates atmosphere. The novel moves between introspection, politics, memory, migration, and personal relationships with remarkable fluidity. Even quieter scenes carry emotional weight because the writing is attentive to people rather than simply events.
Thematically, memory sits at the center of everything here, but not in the straightforward science-fiction sense that the title might initially suggest. The book is deeply interested in collective memory, cultural memory, inherited memory, and the stories societies choose to preserve or erase. It asks fascinating questions about identity and continuity without turning those questions into abstract philosophical exercises.
The characters are a huge part of why that works. Nobody feels like they're simply there to represent an idea. Their motivations, loyalties, frustrations, and relationships feel grounded in their own lives rather than in the themes of the novel. Even when the story engages with larger political and cultural questions, it remains anchored in people navigating those questions rather than merely discussing them.
I particularly appreciated how much trust the novel places in the reader. There are aspects of the world, the politics, and the history that aren't immediately explained, and El Sayed rarely stops the narrative to deliver lengthy exposition. Instead, understanding develops gradually through observation and context. The result is a setting that feels genuinely inhabited.
What also impressed me was the restraint of the ending. A lot of novels feel compelled to resolve every thread, answer every question, and neatly close every emotional arc. The Republic of Memory doesn't do that, and I think it's stronger because of it. There are uncertainties left behind, unresolved tensions, questions that continue existing beyond the final page. But they feel intentional rather than incomplete.
In fact, the ending left me with the distinct feeling that this world still has more stories to tell. Not because the novel fails to stand on its own, but because the setting, characters, and larger cultural questions feel expansive enough to support further exploration. It very much feels like a door left open rather than a story left unfinished.
Beautifully written, thoughtful without becoming heavy-handed, and filled with characters who feel like they belong to their world rather than simply occupying it. This was a wonderful introduction to a universe I'd happily spend more time in.
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.
June 8, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
This was great! I think it was sort of a lot to take in at the beginning, especially with the chapters in the language Nupol. Despite being tad hard to read, I think the author used language in such a cool way to denote class and political leanings, especially on a ship where language divides the citizens from each other and from Administration. However, I think this suffered just a little from the Sci-Fi & Fantasy curse of too many POVs, but maybe I'm just upset about what happened to Iskander halfway through the book. Hilal was definitely the strongest POV as she got the most backstory and clearest objective within the story, whereas I wasn't quite sure where everyone else's perspectives were leading to. I would say if you're a fan of sci-fi like A Memory Called Empire, or a huge AI hater (which everyone should be!), this is definitely the book for you! I can't wait to see where the series goes. And that epilogue was so exciting and a great set up for what will hopefully be a riveting series.
This was great! I think it was sort of a lot to take in at the beginning, especially with the chapters in the language Nupol. Despite being tad hard to read, I think the author used language in such a cool way to denote class and political leanings, especially on a ship where language divides the citizens from each other and from Administration. However, I think this suffered just a little from the Sci-Fi & Fantasy curse of too many POVs, but maybe I'm just upset about what happened to Iskander halfway through the book. Hilal was definitely the strongest POV as she got the most backstory and clearest objective within the story, whereas I wasn't quite sure where everyone else's perspectives were leading to. I would say if you're a fan of sci-fi like A Memory Called Empire, or a huge AI hater (which everyone should be!), this is definitely the book for you! I can't wait to see where the series goes. And that epilogue was so exciting and a great set up for what will hopefully be a riveting series.
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 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.
June 22, 2026
I had zero expectations going into this book besides knowing the author is Palestinian and it’s an arabfuturist post-apocalyptic sci-fi book? Having read this now, it’s a very fitting description. I don’t read sci-fi much, but after reading Murderbot last year, I decided to give this one a shot.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book. It’s different than anything I’ve read, but it hooks you in immediately. There’s quite a bit of background and info dumping as you learn about the Safina and the crew and how they came to be here, but it didn’t feel too jarring from the rest of the story. There were some repetitive moments where I feel like the author forgot he had talked about something before and then reiterated it (like when introducing a character that’s been previously introduced), but I honestly didn’t mind much considering the cast of this book is huge.
Which also happens to be a small complaint for me. I did feel like I was starting to mix up and forget characters after the midway point. The POVs we get before and after the Shutdown changed and we got to read from some new character perspectives and it was a lot keeping track of who is who and what berth they live in and what they do. But I also did take forever to read this so it’s kind of my own fault for that. I think a cast of characters would be a nice addition to the book, which maybe the finished edition has.
The one thing that majorly impressed me and I think honestly deserves some kind of an award is the language that the author created called Nupol, which is really a conglomerate of a bunch of different languages. You don’t get a glossary or any explanation. You just get thrown into it. The first full chapter in Nupol took me a while to read, but I was honestly impressed with how much I understood what the characters were saying. It’s a linguistics dream probably. The focus on translation in this book was especially interesting, and I really liked Iskander’s character.
The plot and setting overall is just as fascinating. We get to see different political factions and religious groups, something that stays the same no matter if you’re on earth or in space lol. But what was interesting was seeing how a revolution is born from the ground up. This book has action, but at its heart, this book is about people and power and what happens when power goes too far and what lengths people are willing to go to for change. It’s an analysis on the human condition, and I think Mahmud did a fantastic job of capturing the reality of what it’s like.
Like I’m thoroughly impressed. This book went places I wasn’t expecting, and in other ways that I predicted. I did enjoy reading from so many different characters; I think it was nice to see different perspectives, especially from different political factions. Hilal’s character was especially fun to read; she made me LOL so many times for being such a serious, focused character. The main povs really stood out, but every pov felt unique.
Highly recommend this book to my friends who like sci-fi and even if you don’t, I think it’s worth the read. It’ll surprise you, I can promise that. 4.25/5 stars
As an aside that I’m going to spoiler, but isn’t a spoiler for the book, just a comparison to another book. The Muslims in this book however are divided into “Muslims by culture” so they drink, have sex, don’t pray etc., versus the super hardcore wahabis. For the most part anyway. There’s a few exceptions though, but for my Muslim readers going in with expectations, just be aware.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book. It’s different than anything I’ve read, but it hooks you in immediately. There’s quite a bit of background and info dumping as you learn about the Safina and the crew and how they came to be here, but it didn’t feel too jarring from the rest of the story. There were some repetitive moments where I feel like the author forgot he had talked about something before and then reiterated it (like when introducing a character that’s been previously introduced), but I honestly didn’t mind much considering the cast of this book is huge.
Which also happens to be a small complaint for me. I did feel like I was starting to mix up and forget characters after the midway point. The POVs we get before and after the Shutdown changed and we got to read from some new character perspectives and it was a lot keeping track of who is who and what berth they live in and what they do. But I also did take forever to read this so it’s kind of my own fault for that. I think a cast of characters would be a nice addition to the book, which maybe the finished edition has.
The one thing that majorly impressed me and I think honestly deserves some kind of an award is the language that the author created called Nupol, which is really a conglomerate of a bunch of different languages. You don’t get a glossary or any explanation. You just get thrown into it. The first full chapter in Nupol took me a while to read, but I was honestly impressed with how much I understood what the characters were saying. It’s a linguistics dream probably. The focus on translation in this book was especially interesting, and I really liked Iskander’s character.
The plot and setting overall is just as fascinating. We get to see different political factions and religious groups, something that stays the same no matter if you’re on earth or in space lol. But what was interesting was seeing how a revolution is born from the ground up. This book has action, but at its heart, this book is about people and power and what happens when power goes too far and what lengths people are willing to go to for change. It’s an analysis on the human condition, and I think Mahmud did a fantastic job of capturing the reality of what it’s like.
Like I’m thoroughly impressed. This book went places I wasn’t expecting, and in other ways that I predicted. I did enjoy reading from so many different characters; I think it was nice to see different perspectives, especially from different political factions. Hilal’s character was especially fun to read; she made me LOL so many times for being such a serious, focused character. The main povs really stood out, but every pov felt unique.
Highly recommend this book to my friends who like sci-fi and even if you don’t, I think it’s worth the read. It’ll surprise you, I can promise that. 4.25/5 stars
As an aside that I’m going to spoiler, but isn’t a spoiler for the book, just a comparison to another book. The Muslims in this book however are divided into “Muslims by culture” so they drink, have sex, don’t pray etc., versus the super hardcore wahabis. For the most part anyway. There’s a few exceptions though, but for my Muslim readers going in with expectations, just be aware.
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.
Did Not Finish
May 30, 2026DNF @37%
This was such a unique, ambitious, and interesting story. Arabfuturism is a concept I was so looking forward to diving into with this book. Unfortunately, it struggled to hold my attention. The world-building was super cool to me and I loved the emphasis on language and how the author used it to propel the story forward. Unfortunately, that’s where the story lost me. Although I loved the concept of a completely new hybrid language, I feel like it didn’t work on page. I found the created language/ dialect very confusing and it took me too far out of the story to keep me interested.
This book had a lot of potential but the execution didn’t really work for me.
I think sci-fi lovers, who are up for the challenge, may really enjoy this.
Thank you so much NetGalley and the publishers for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.
This was such a unique, ambitious, and interesting story. Arabfuturism is a concept I was so looking forward to diving into with this book. Unfortunately, it struggled to hold my attention. The world-building was super cool to me and I loved the emphasis on language and how the author used it to propel the story forward. Unfortunately, that’s where the story lost me. Although I loved the concept of a completely new hybrid language, I feel like it didn’t work on page. I found the created language/ dialect very confusing and it took me too far out of the story to keep me interested.
This book had a lot of potential but the execution didn’t really work for me.
I think sci-fi lovers, who are up for the challenge, may really enjoy this.
Thank you so much NetGalley and the publishers for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.
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