The Blind Girl's Sword: volume zero, The Blind Girl's War

by Kimberly Coleman

Haqqi Ibais wasn't born a terrorist. His father was a mining executive, his twin a social reformer with Dikallah Province's Government. But a single act by a powerful official dramatically alters a friend's life and his own, setting him on a path to destroy his country. Although 'The Blind Girl's Sword' is essentially a prequel for 'The Blind Girl's War' Series, for maximum impact, the recommended reading order is after Volume One, 'Before The Sun Goes Down'. Even though many of the same characters populate the entire series, the volumes may also be read as standalones. Brief footnotes and references are included in each book so no prior knowledge, other than that these unfortunates exist within a dystopic, politically twisted and violent land where there is somehow always hope for peace. Tazakul is a polluted country where dreams are pursued out of habit since no one can even remember how the war began between their two main provinces. Draka and Dikallah citizens remain trapped for the 13th year, their lives reduced to trying to survive car bombs, censorship, refugee camps, sex slavery, chemical weapons, vengeful Witches, and a race of cannibals who travels when it rains... 'The Blind Girl's War' tells the stories of those caught in the shop keepers, mechanics, trash pickers, shepherds, and ordinary people like Qais, an abused, overweight teen who dreams of becoming a soldier; Baradei, a widowed book seller who lives to protect his young daughter from the Minister of Electricity's disturbed son; Zaid, a bitter, unemployed accountant encumbered with his elderly blind father; Kiyala, a brilliant engineering student whose family is targeted by suicide bombers... All will be changed by The Blind Girl's War.

166 pages, Paperback

Published February 18, 2016

Reviews

[Eric Lahti · Rating 5 out of 5]

The world of The Blind Girl’s Sword is, for lack of a better word, a mess. It’s set in a kind of Middle East where two factions have been fighting for longer than anyone can remember and for reasons no one cares to recall. Coleman fills this world with characters who are basically just trying to survive by whatever means necessary. The sheer insanity of the world at large is undercut by the citizenry of a city that goes about its business mechanically: opening shops, selling banned books, stealing from the leadership, that sort of thing. It’s a richly detailed miasma with hints of the paranormal echoing around the fringes.

Now, as I said earlier, every story has a beginning. This is the lead-in to a much larger (and still in process) work. The Blind Girl’s Sword shows the precipitating events that lead to the events of the rest of the rest of the series. In essence, this shows how intended acts of kindness can lead to monsters and one, random and senseless act can have unintended consequences.

All in all, a masterfully detailed story with rich characters that leaves you wondering where the rest of the series is going to go.