The Republic of Memory

The Song of the Safina #1

by Mahmud El Sayed

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, 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.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Space Opera, Dystopia, Fantasy, Adult, Audiobook

496 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2026

Reviews

[Chantaal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I AM GOING TO BE ABSOLUTELY FUCKING INSUFFERABLE ABOUT THIS BOOK JUST READ IT!!

Watch me ramble about it on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLBLw...

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

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!

[Alex Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The one thing that really struck me from the beginning was the echoes of other recent big award winners--specifically the focus on translations and language in general. But even more than that, was how this setting (aboard a generation ship) really revolved around the divisions made by language and how embodied this novel felt.

Not easy, mind you, but definitely lived-in. I think I liked that the most.

But I should say I didn't truly vibe with it until much later, when the revolution really got underway--but that's a double edged sword right there, too.

I might be getting rather annoyed with this particular subgenre of generation ships + AI always defaulting with destroying the AIs either immediately or almost right away (across so many authors) and seeing a totally hapless and idiotic crew try to deal with an untenable life afterward.

It just feels like yet another example people always electing to make a horrible situation worse for all of the stupidest reasons and then doubling down when things get so much worse.

Sometimes I just want escapism. Not yet another mirror showing the same thing I see every day. But alas. That's a me problem.

This book is still pretty fascinating and interesting both culturally and thematically. Well worth a read.

[Nikoleta L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

0-25 %
Nice worldbuilding, interesting characters. Love this language-based culture so far. The political and revolutionary bit is great.

25-50 %
This pidgin is awesome!
I don't understand why the GR rating's so low?

52-90 %
Aaah, I see. Maybe it's the sudden proliferation of POVs and nothing interesting happening. Maybe it's the fact that none of the interesting characters are represented...

90 – 100 %
Finished this part just so I can mark is as read. Have no idea what happened and I really don't care.

[Queralt✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[thefourthvine · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

This was truly excellent and only a few steps away from perfection.

It's clear El Sayed is obsessed with language, and this book might be named after memory but it is actually about language as culture, language as identity, language as a barrier and a passport and almost every other human structure you can name. This is where he shines. He really gets language and how people use it, and he's clearly put a ton of thought into it.

I especially found his created criminal/revolutionary/underclass argot fascinating, not the least because I couldn't help comparing it to Clockwork Orange. I remember reading Clockwork Orange as a brain-reorganizing experience; I read the first chapter understanding almost nothing, and then something changed in my brain and I understood the language (and had to go back and reread the first chapter). The argot El Sayed created here was not the same experience at all for me; it's basically instantly understandable and requires basically no effort to read, which is impressive given that entire chapters are written in it and it does have a lot of created words. I can't help wondering if that was El Sayed's intent, and what it says about the book that he wanted us to understand the criminals and revolutionaries.

I also enjoyed his use of point of view, though I think that's likely to be pretty divisive. I enjoyed the fractured, kaleidoscopic view we get of this ship and its many cultures and peoples. We see briefly through the eyes of so many people, and it's a very effective worldbuilding technique. (I did think it was incredibly bold of El Sayed to establish a likeable point of view main character and then knock him out halfway through the book, removing him from the pages until the very end.) One problem I had there was that we spend a lot of time in the point of view of a teenage revolutionary, and I am simply too old for all that. She's very expertly drawn and believable, and that was my problem. I spent a lot of time irritated with her. Also, El Sayed does not shy away from having a sympathetic cop character and exploring what that means; I sympathized with people on all sides, which is a sign of great writing, but made it a bit of a struggle to read some chapters.

Finally, the book changes mode several times; the only real continuity is in the worldbuilding and the establishing of characters. So readers who read for plot might not enjoy this one. (I did, but if you've got good worldbuilding, you've got me. I'm leaving El Sayed's difficulties with science facts to the side for now, and without considering those, the worldbuilding is very good indeed.)

It's hard to evaluate this book, though, because it's the start of a series, and it ends without resolving a single thing. So I'll have to wait and see if El Sayed can actually survive the middle and stick the landing on this one.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[Fanna]

I love when science fiction explores the birth of a revolution.

[Jamedi · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Republic of Memory by Mahmud El Sayed is a science fiction novel set on a generation ship and heavily focused on the politics within the ship. Described as a novel of Arabfuturism, the story includes Arabic characters and culture. This is a fast paced story with several point-of-view characters with a range of perspectives and motivations. It is an ambitious story filled with a diverse cast of political groups, characters, and language. It is a story about revolution and conflict. The impressive world building and history of the ship displays the meticulous talent Mahmud El Sayed has as an author. This is the first book in a duology, with the sequel set to publish next year.

On board the generation ship, the Safina, the crew and admin are separated by a distinction of duties. The crew maintain the ship, and the admin governs. The Safina left Earth two hundred years before and quickly underwent a revolution, with the crew stripping away the power of the AI run Network Empire and the Sultans, who left Earth beset by war and ruin. The crew and admin compromised to enact the Compact and implement democracy. The zones, or berths, of the giant ship are designated based on language rather than race or religion. For a crew member who wants to change berths, all that is necessary is to learn a new language. However, after two hundred years factions of the crew are growing tired of looking after the ancestors in cryostasis, along with increasing admin bureaucracy and blackouts occurring throughout the Safina, discontent is brewing.

The Republic of Memory encompasses religion, language, and culture into an incredible world onboard the Safina. The author incorporates language and linguistics in a fascinating way throughout the story, including having one of the main characters act as a translator between admin and crew, a sort of mediator or lawyer that can navigate the bureaucracy and large array of languages on the ship.

The first part of the book does introduce a new dialect that is a mix of slang from different languages, and this can take a bit to get used to. Some readers may struggle with those sections of the story, but it is a limited number of chapters. This is very much a political scifi story overall, and shows very little of the hard science aspects of the generation ship. It is not the kind of novel that explores the intricacies of space travel. It is about conflict, bureaucracy, discontent with a government, and exploring the characters' lives in the midst of it all.

In the second half of the book, a new character is introduced and acts as a detective, so the plot becomes somewhat of a criminal investigation type of story, which was very engaging and compelling.

If you’re looking for a fresh take on the generation ship trope in scifi, and are interested in an Arabfuturism focus, a concept rarely seen in science fiction, if at all, I would recommend The Republic of Memory. This was an excellent book overall, and sure to be one of my top reads of the year.

[laurel [the suspected bibliophile] · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

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:

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.

[Pearla · Rating 4.75 out of 5]

4.75

What a phenomenal debut. An anthropological, linguistic, political, and philosophic dissertation of humans and the systems and cataclysmic events we can’t seem to stop cycling through. We have humans onboard a HUGE city ship on their way to Hurriya (freedom), a new world, after leaving Earth behind hoping for a fresh start and second chance to do things right.

We have agesim, elitism, racism, authoritarianism, and other problems being shown through MULTIPLE POVs, characters from very different backgrounds (age, gender, sexuality, privilege, religions, etc).

Cannot wait for the next installment.

[kait · Rating 4 out of 5]

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)

[Thaís · Rating 5 out of 5]

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."

[Vivianne (vivianneslibrary) · Rating 4 out of 5]

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!

[Aubree Lanman · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️ Such a solid sci fi, full of politics and centered on resistance and revolution. I look forward to seeing where this series goes!

[Peter Tillman]

Lisa 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."

[kassbookreviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not asking, I’m begging you to read this book

[Azrah · Rating 4 out of 5]

[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

[mo • lesmotsdemo · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Bee · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

What a refreshing book. The cultural juxtapositions were really great. A very Muslim centered ship with some smatterings of other cultures. I really enjoyed the language play, the cultures intermixing. I loved the fact that there wasn't a White Guy Hero TM to be found anywhere in the whole story. A solid generation ship drama with tons of political unrest and human drama. I was very sad half way through when i realized this was 1 of 2 and 2 hasn't been published yet. I'll be waiting for it.

[e m robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm awestruck. This is one of the most thorough, carefully crafted, rich scifi novels i have ever read. obviously i'd say that, since A Memory Called Empire is specifically alluded to as a comparison to this book. of course i think it's fantastic. but seriously

i love learning a conlang to assist my understanding of the plot. i love the rich worldbuilding that has a point, which constantly strengthens the narrative. i love the variety of characters, messy and multi-dimensional and complicated, showcasing a multitude of responses to an impossible situation.

read this book! i will be reading the next installment of this series the nanosecond it comes out!!

[Martin Gaede · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Whitney (SecretSauceofStorycraft) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A generation ship tale that has a broad focus on exploring heirarchies and govt in context of a bottled civilization of humans.

More soon

[T Davidovsky · Rating 3.25 out of 5]

The Safina is a generationship crewed by people whose sole purpose to guide their ancestors (who are cryostatically sleeping) to a new planet. They all disagree on how loyal they should be to the ancestors and how committed they should be to this purpose. In answering these questions, the novel explores duty and family. It also explores religion and what it has to say about interacting with the past. The main characters all come from a Muslim family, and other religions and cultural norms are also present in the book. Some of them have clear analogues from Earth in the modern day. Some of them are a weird mix of familiar things. Others are norms that can only really exist on a generationship.

I loved the way the book explores a diverse array of approaches to change, politics, and society in general. From the very first chapter, it's clear that the ship is kind of falling apart, though no one in charge wants to admit it. Most people have figured out that there's a problem. Nobody can really agree on what to do about it. One translator wants to run for office to change the system from the inside. His sister wants to do a more comprehensive overhaul. There are communist, loyalists, pacifists, tradionalists, imperialists, unionists, reformists, revolutionaries, and a whole host of other factions that all clash (and sometimes uneasily unite) over how to deal with an array of obstacles on the ship.

As the story progresses, too many characters keep getting introduced, and the novel kind of loses its focus. I can see what the author's trying to do, but it doesn't really land. In the end, it's only mediocre as a space opera, but it's excellent as a family drama about idealists and ideologues. Mahmud El Sayed clearly knows how to tell a compelling story about inequality, injustice, and revolution with real moral clarity.

~Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a Digital ARC. All opinions are my own.~

[Shannon Miz · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Siavahda]

Love the premise, love the worldbuilding, love the characters, but the prose got choppier and choppier as the book went on. I made it to 40% and couldn't take it any more.

To be clear, it's not *bad* prose. But the writing rhythm - which I know most people can't hear, and wow am I jealous - is very jerky, staccato in a way that I don't think is being done for effect, and it's constantly knocking me out of immersion. Lots of sentences that start with a comma after the very first word, 'But,' or 'Yet,' or 'Still,' and so on. Phrasing can be awkward - something being done 'quicker than quick', minds pulsing with rage, 'a warning feeling gathering in her shoulder blades'. Dialogue tags are occasionally ridiculous - 'dissembled' just sounds awful to me when used as a dialogue tag.

There is a lot of telling-not-showing. A lot. We have events summarised for us instead of getting to see them happen; we don't absorb context as we go, we get info-dumped. I'm not someone who things you're never allowed tell instead of show, but when the Huge Big Event around the 35% mark - something life-changing for everyone onboard the ship - was really only told to us, and in fast-forward at that... There's a character who's just had her life destroyed, and instead of seeing the fall-out, we're literally told that she went through all the stages of grief in a week.

During her first week. Hilal had been through all the stages--denial, shock, anger, depression. She cried. She raged. She drank. She smashed her one good fist into a bloody pulp against the wall and after the docs healed her, she did it again.

And that's...it. We just gloss over the devastation. That's not the way to make me feel what the characters are feeling.

If you're not ridiculously over-sensitive to prose/writing rhythm, and telling-not-showing, then this is pretty excellent. I'm not shocked that so many readers love it. I wish I did, because I think it deserves to be loved. Alas.