What do you think?
Rate this book
Djinn City #2
Cyber Mage
Welcome to Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2089. A city notorious for its extreme population density has found an unexpected way to not just survive a global climate apocalypse, but thrive: pump enough biological nanotech into the neighborhood and all of the bodies together form a self-sustaining, and even temperate, microclimate. Of course, this means that millions of humans have to stay put in order to maintain a livable temperature, and people are getting restless. All of the nanotech has also led to some surprises: certain people no longer need food or water while others can live without functioning organs.
So the mercenary Djibrel has to carry a machete wherever he goes. Only a swift beheading can ensure the job gets done anymore. Djibrel navigates the crowded streets, humans teeming with genetic mutations, looking for answers about what happened to the Djinn, a magical super race of genies who seem to have disappeared, or merged, with humans for survival. What Djibrel doesn't know is that his every move is being tracked by the infamous Cyber Mage—better known to his parents as Murzak, a privileged snarky teenager who regularly works for a Russian crime syndicate with a band of elite hackers, like his best friend ReGi, who resides in North Africa's FEZ (Free Economic Zone). Respected and feared online, Murzak is about to embark on one of his biggest challenges: attending high school IRL. But when he discovers a brand new type of AI, operating on a dark web from the abandoned Kingdom of Bahrain that he thought was just an urban myth, Murzak and Djibrel will have to face the unimaginable in an already inconceivable world.
In this laugh-out-loud-funny and totally original new novel, Saad Z. Hossain continues his signature genre mashup of SF and fantasy, challenging and subverting everything previously imagined about our future and climate change. A scathing critique of corporate greed, Hossain shows us how to think beyond the naïve ideas of preening moguls like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.
So the mercenary Djibrel has to carry a machete wherever he goes. Only a swift beheading can ensure the job gets done anymore. Djibrel navigates the crowded streets, humans teeming with genetic mutations, looking for answers about what happened to the Djinn, a magical super race of genies who seem to have disappeared, or merged, with humans for survival. What Djibrel doesn't know is that his every move is being tracked by the infamous Cyber Mage—better known to his parents as Murzak, a privileged snarky teenager who regularly works for a Russian crime syndicate with a band of elite hackers, like his best friend ReGi, who resides in North Africa's FEZ (Free Economic Zone). Respected and feared online, Murzak is about to embark on one of his biggest challenges: attending high school IRL. But when he discovers a brand new type of AI, operating on a dark web from the abandoned Kingdom of Bahrain that he thought was just an urban myth, Murzak and Djibrel will have to face the unimaginable in an already inconceivable world.
In this laugh-out-loud-funny and totally original new novel, Saad Z. Hossain continues his signature genre mashup of SF and fantasy, challenging and subverting everything previously imagined about our future and climate change. A scathing critique of corporate greed, Hossain shows us how to think beyond the naïve ideas of preening moguls like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.
341 pages, Paperback
First published December 7, 2021
81 people are currently reading
4131 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews
Read
November 3, 2023Second read as part of my Djinn series reread. Djinn City is pretty bleak but this one and the next two novellas are both oddly comforting in a 'found family with massive violence' way (see also Murderbot, T Kingfisher, Johannnes Cabal) and I have thoroughly enjoyed my return visit. I hope there will be more books in this world, because Saad Hossain is an offbeat genius.
____
This book took my Omicron reading slump and hurled it into the sun. I recommend it.
I adore this author's world of djinn and nanobots, magic and tech and dystopia. This is the link between Djinn City and The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday, both of which you should read because they're hugely entertaining, but neither of which is necessary for this, they're standalone. Here we meet a supreme tech master/real-life 16yo dweeb, a djinn-nanobotted golem sipahi who collects heads, a brand new godlike AI addicted to Final Fantasy, an airport AI with depression, and much more as strange things happen in Dhaka. It's a completely bonkers ride, with the plot careering round unexpected corners, and absolutely nobody living up to their own hype. I will never tire of the all-powerful, eternal, yet bickering and kinda pathetic djinn.
Absolutely massive fun, intermittently violent, entirely absorbing. Now I have to reread Djinn City while I wait for Kundo Wakes Up
____
This book took my Omicron reading slump and hurled it into the sun. I recommend it.
I adore this author's world of djinn and nanobots, magic and tech and dystopia. This is the link between Djinn City and The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday, both of which you should read because they're hugely entertaining, but neither of which is necessary for this, they're standalone. Here we meet a supreme tech master/real-life 16yo dweeb, a djinn-nanobotted golem sipahi who collects heads, a brand new godlike AI addicted to Final Fantasy, an airport AI with depression, and much more as strange things happen in Dhaka. It's a completely bonkers ride, with the plot careering round unexpected corners, and absolutely nobody living up to their own hype. I will never tire of the all-powerful, eternal, yet bickering and kinda pathetic djinn.
Absolutely massive fun, intermittently violent, entirely absorbing. Now I have to reread Djinn City while I wait for Kundo Wakes Up
August 27, 2021
Cyber Mage is hilarious*, fast-paced, and thoroughly entertaining. It mixes sci-fi and fantasy with mythology, bio-engineering, and climate fiction to create a fresh vision of the future.
Nations around the world have adopted corporate structure and identity. Automated industrial and food production combined with the widespread use of AI have made the traditional working-class obsolete. All useful (wealthy) citizens have shares (voting stock) in the corporations they inhabit. Non-shareholders had to leave the premises and perish or live in ghettos. Only cities survived this change. Countries did not.
Nanotech fills human bodies and keeps them healthy and free of disease. Virtuality became more important than reality; data affects everything - controlling 99% of the world, including climate control systems, food production, and more.
Murzak - a snarky teenager emancipated from his parents - is a brilliant hacker known as Cyber Mage. Online, he is a legend and second to none. Working for the Russian crime syndicate made him wealthy, but did not prepare him for the biggest challenge yet - going to school in real life to get the girl. Things get even more complicated when he discovers a feral AI operating on the Dark Web.
Everything shows he’ll need the help of Djibril - a madman (and a golem forged in dragon fire) who walks the streets of Dhaka chopping off the heads of his enemies. Yep. Djibril does not take prisoners, but he does take their heads (and carries them with him).
Hossain is a skilled storyteller with an excellent imagination and a knack for characterization. We learn a lot about the richly imagined Djinn Universe, but none of it detracts from the main story; it makes it better and gives context to events. Sure, the sheer amount of cool concepts (AIs suffering from insecurities, djinn-human hybrids, pocket universes closed in a jar) packed into a medium-length novel may overwhelm, but Hossain makes them easy to digest.
The story has plenty of action and adventure, but also darkly comic moments that stay in tune with the story. He lets the characters have some fun; dialogues feel as if the author let the conversation off the leash to see what would happen. Since the main protagonist is a sixteen-year-old boy, expect foul language and geeky jokes. The darker sense of humor will not appeal to everyone, but it’s never offensive or mean, rather strongly worded, biting, and sharp. Here is one of the lighter examples, appearing after one of Murzak’s conversations with his parents.
Cyber Mage ties with Hossain’s other books and short stories. It happens in the same world and features some characters known from his other works (like Karma, Indelber, or Matteras) but isn’t a direct sequel to any of them.
I had a blast reading this madcap story and I appreciate both the plot and sharp satire it delivers. I found the humor well-played and the characters interesting. Highly recommended!
* as long as you’re ok with inappropriate humor, that is.
ARC through Edelweiss
Nations around the world have adopted corporate structure and identity. Automated industrial and food production combined with the widespread use of AI have made the traditional working-class obsolete. All useful (wealthy) citizens have shares (voting stock) in the corporations they inhabit. Non-shareholders had to leave the premises and perish or live in ghettos. Only cities survived this change. Countries did not.
Nanotech fills human bodies and keeps them healthy and free of disease. Virtuality became more important than reality; data affects everything - controlling 99% of the world, including climate control systems, food production, and more.
Murzak - a snarky teenager emancipated from his parents - is a brilliant hacker known as Cyber Mage. Online, he is a legend and second to none. Working for the Russian crime syndicate made him wealthy, but did not prepare him for the biggest challenge yet - going to school in real life to get the girl. Things get even more complicated when he discovers a feral AI operating on the Dark Web.
Everything shows he’ll need the help of Djibril - a madman (and a golem forged in dragon fire) who walks the streets of Dhaka chopping off the heads of his enemies. Yep. Djibril does not take prisoners, but he does take their heads (and carries them with him).
Hossain is a skilled storyteller with an excellent imagination and a knack for characterization. We learn a lot about the richly imagined Djinn Universe, but none of it detracts from the main story; it makes it better and gives context to events. Sure, the sheer amount of cool concepts (AIs suffering from insecurities, djinn-human hybrids, pocket universes closed in a jar) packed into a medium-length novel may overwhelm, but Hossain makes them easy to digest.
The story has plenty of action and adventure, but also darkly comic moments that stay in tune with the story. He lets the characters have some fun; dialogues feel as if the author let the conversation off the leash to see what would happen. Since the main protagonist is a sixteen-year-old boy, expect foul language and geeky jokes. The darker sense of humor will not appeal to everyone, but it’s never offensive or mean, rather strongly worded, biting, and sharp. Here is one of the lighter examples, appearing after one of Murzak’s conversations with his parents.
“Oldies always pretended there was useful shit they knew, but did they? What was it then? How to fuck up the ecosphere? How to create rampant nanotech and ruin a perfectly good planet?”
Cyber Mage ties with Hossain’s other books and short stories. It happens in the same world and features some characters known from his other works (like Karma, Indelber, or Matteras) but isn’t a direct sequel to any of them.
I had a blast reading this madcap story and I appreciate both the plot and sharp satire it delivers. I found the humor well-played and the characters interesting. Highly recommended!
* as long as you’re ok with inappropriate humor, that is.
ARC through Edelweiss
April 20, 2022
Really fun overall and just brimming with ideas for this awful futuristic Dhaka, full of djinns and AIs.
March 1, 2023
I've read the first third, a gamer-boy goes to a fortified High School in Dhaka to pursue a crush, and it was pretty good, especially since I'm normally allergic to gamer stuff. Now I'm into the next section -- the structure seems to be linked novellas -- and it's an ultra-violent Climageddon, which I'm liking a lot less. One of the viewpoint characters is a fellow who goes around cutting off people's heads with a really sharp sword. He can keep the heads alive for awhile in a bag .... Ick. So, I think I'll go read something else for awhile, and see if I want to come back to this.
I came back and read another third or so. More gross dystopia stuff set in a deeply-unpleasant future Dhaka. I gave up. 2.5 stars, rounded down since I never finished it. I hope he gets back to humor next time!
A sort-of prequel to The Gurkha and The Lord of Tuesday, and my GR friend Ernest Lilley says "If you liked Saad Z. Hossain’s science fiction/fantasy mashup novella The Gurkha and The Lord of Tuesday (08/2019) as much as I did, you’re going to enjoy his new novel Cyber Mage."
Locus review: https://locusmag.com/2021/11/t-g-shen... Their reviewer liked it too: "Cyber Mage hits the sweet spot of being engaging and making you laugh and think in equal measure."
Oh well. Maybe you'll like it. Or not: here's from another 2-star review: "Ready Player One with an insufferable protagonist." Heh. I hated that one too!
I came back and read another third or so. More gross dystopia stuff set in a deeply-unpleasant future Dhaka. I gave up. 2.5 stars, rounded down since I never finished it. I hope he gets back to humor next time!
A sort-of prequel to The Gurkha and The Lord of Tuesday, and my GR friend Ernest Lilley says "If you liked Saad Z. Hossain’s science fiction/fantasy mashup novella The Gurkha and The Lord of Tuesday (08/2019) as much as I did, you’re going to enjoy his new novel Cyber Mage."
Locus review: https://locusmag.com/2021/11/t-g-shen... Their reviewer liked it too: "Cyber Mage hits the sweet spot of being engaging and making you laugh and think in equal measure."
Oh well. Maybe you'll like it. Or not: here's from another 2-star review: "Ready Player One with an insufferable protagonist." Heh. I hated that one too!
Read
August 15, 2022Rant time
This book's world is literally INCREDIBLE. Hossain uses current real world technology and socioeconomic situations and warps them into this insanely well detailed sci-fi dystopia, complete with footnotes and everything! He fills pages with this fascinating lore and I could literally just read 300 pages of world building. I want to pick his brain!!
However the actual story is so cringe. Know I'm saying this as a complete loser who spent the entirety of their early adolescence on the computer role playing comic characters and hacking children's websites. The main character is the worst part by far. I hate him. This is the kind of stalkery internet asshole that drove me off the internet when I was 14. His hardships make me laugh. I enjoy him getting his ass kicked by bullies.
But it's not just Murzak that's terrible. This is one of those "the world has all these crazy futurist things but woman are still annoying!" types
here's where I foam at the mouth and gave up on the book
There is a super smart super cool super mysterious hacker that the mercenary Djibrel is looking for. He knows that this hacker is female because!! He gets info from one of her hired guns that she orders feminine products once a month and the guy has to inspect them to make sure they're safe. this bitch so smart she gotta buy pads every month? how much is she bleeding? they don't got multi packs in this badass future? people can survive as just heads but we don't have anything better for periods? we don't have period undies anymore? MFS DON'T HAVE MENSTRUAL CUPS? How many tampons does a woman need for a week? 100? thanks nasa.
obviously this isn't the only flaw in the female characters (stupid mom cries bc her son is the worst, how annoying!) (pretty girl who's said 2 words to him doesn't help Murzak and tend to his wounds? don't worry, she'll learn how amazing he is and kiss him later!) But this Is the factor that kept grating on me until finally I gave up. I wish so badly i could've had the lore without a single word of dialogue.
So thanks, Cyber Mage, for being the book that got me to create a DNF shelf on goodreads
This book's world is literally INCREDIBLE. Hossain uses current real world technology and socioeconomic situations and warps them into this insanely well detailed sci-fi dystopia, complete with footnotes and everything! He fills pages with this fascinating lore and I could literally just read 300 pages of world building. I want to pick his brain!!
However the actual story is so cringe. Know I'm saying this as a complete loser who spent the entirety of their early adolescence on the computer role playing comic characters and hacking children's websites. The main character is the worst part by far. I hate him. This is the kind of stalkery internet asshole that drove me off the internet when I was 14. His hardships make me laugh. I enjoy him getting his ass kicked by bullies.
But it's not just Murzak that's terrible. This is one of those "the world has all these crazy futurist things but woman are still annoying!" types
here's where I foam at the mouth and gave up on the book
There is a super smart super cool super mysterious hacker that the mercenary Djibrel is looking for. He knows that this hacker is female because!! He gets info from one of her hired guns that she orders feminine products once a month and the guy has to inspect them to make sure they're safe. this bitch so smart she gotta buy pads every month? how much is she bleeding? they don't got multi packs in this badass future? people can survive as just heads but we don't have anything better for periods? we don't have period undies anymore? MFS DON'T HAVE MENSTRUAL CUPS? How many tampons does a woman need for a week? 100? thanks nasa.
obviously this isn't the only flaw in the female characters (stupid mom cries bc her son is the worst, how annoying!) (pretty girl who's said 2 words to him doesn't help Murzak and tend to his wounds? don't worry, she'll learn how amazing he is and kiss him later!) But this Is the factor that kept grating on me until finally I gave up. I wish so badly i could've had the lore without a single word of dialogue.
So thanks, Cyber Mage, for being the book that got me to create a DNF shelf on goodreads
November 28, 2021
Set in the same world as Hossain’s "Djinn City", this book has a similar wild, violent, incredibly detailed, grim, horrible, hilarious feel of the other book. The world building is great, and I loved the author's chaos-ridden, post-climate disaster world of inequality, greed, corporatized areas instead of countries and failed public services, rampant nanotechnology infecting everything and everybody, and the population comprised of humans and djinn.
Main character Marzuk, known online as the Cyber Mage, is part of the wealthy Khan Rahman family, but his family is sort of on the lower end of the economic scale compared to the individuals seen in "Djinn City". Marzuk is beyond talented at cracking systems, and spends much of his time online in a massive game where his Cyber Mage/Goblin King persona have dominated most other players. Marzuk also works for Russian criminals. He's also fifteen years old, and has a long running, snark-filled friendship with another game player and hacker, ReGi.
Things change when Marzuk decides to go to grade nine in a in-person school because he wants to get close to a pretty girl, Amina, whom he's been watching/stalking online. Meanwhile, there's a terrifying individual killing people in Dhaka, cutting off their heads and keeping them in jars. And there's a new, unknown and powerful AI showing up online. Throw all these elements together, and we have a complex, violent, frequently funny story of hormones, violence, humour, bullying, enormously powerful djinn and AI contending for dominance, and a story, at its centre, of a friendship.
I enjoyed this book a lot and found myself laughing out loud frequently as I read. Is it necessary to read "Djinn City"? It introduces some of the djinn conflicts, relationships and power struggles, but reading the previous book is not absolutely necessary to enjoy this fast-paced, frenetic story.
Thank you to Edelweiss and to The Unnamed Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.
Main character Marzuk, known online as the Cyber Mage, is part of the wealthy Khan Rahman family, but his family is sort of on the lower end of the economic scale compared to the individuals seen in "Djinn City". Marzuk is beyond talented at cracking systems, and spends much of his time online in a massive game where his Cyber Mage/Goblin King persona have dominated most other players. Marzuk also works for Russian criminals. He's also fifteen years old, and has a long running, snark-filled friendship with another game player and hacker, ReGi.
Things change when Marzuk decides to go to grade nine in a in-person school because he wants to get close to a pretty girl, Amina, whom he's been watching/stalking online. Meanwhile, there's a terrifying individual killing people in Dhaka, cutting off their heads and keeping them in jars. And there's a new, unknown and powerful AI showing up online. Throw all these elements together, and we have a complex, violent, frequently funny story of hormones, violence, humour, bullying, enormously powerful djinn and AI contending for dominance, and a story, at its centre, of a friendship.
I enjoyed this book a lot and found myself laughing out loud frequently as I read. Is it necessary to read "Djinn City"? It introduces some of the djinn conflicts, relationships and power struggles, but reading the previous book is not absolutely necessary to enjoy this fast-paced, frenetic story.
Thank you to Edelweiss and to The Unnamed Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.
September 24, 2022
3.5 stars
This was a really fun sci fantasy cyberpunk story. As often with the cyberpunk genre, I found the worldbuilding was fantastic, but the plot was a little thin. The banter was great with some witty dialogue. I would definitely read more by this author after reading this smart, funny narrative.
This was a really fun sci fantasy cyberpunk story. As often with the cyberpunk genre, I found the worldbuilding was fantastic, but the plot was a little thin. The banter was great with some witty dialogue. I would definitely read more by this author after reading this smart, funny narrative.
October 21, 2023
I just think...that Saad and I would crack each other up. I thought this was hilarious and smart. Not quite as good as Djinn City, but what it wanted to do it did well. For gamers and techies who worry about AI and like playing games with fate.
CONTENT WARNING:
This is very fun. The only downside I can think of is that the pacing was a bit wonky and some of the violence a little casual.
Otherwise I enjoyed:
-The world. A satirical over-militarized, AI dependent and game-crazy place.
-The lens. Our hero is a teen and a savant, and that leads to a rather funny take on the stakes he's experiencing.
-The action. Funny and fanciful. A great blend of video game ultra violence and "good game" mindsets.
-AI as djinn. Anyone else understand that IRL the internet is a science thing but low key sure it's magic? Well! Great news, this book has a very plausible take on that.
CONTENT WARNING:
This is very fun. The only downside I can think of is that the pacing was a bit wonky and some of the violence a little casual.
Otherwise I enjoyed:
-The world. A satirical over-militarized, AI dependent and game-crazy place.
-The lens. Our hero is a teen and a savant, and that leads to a rather funny take on the stakes he's experiencing.
-The action. Funny and fanciful. A great blend of video game ultra violence and "good game" mindsets.
-AI as djinn. Anyone else understand that IRL the internet is a science thing but low key sure it's magic? Well! Great news, this book has a very plausible take on that.
December 13, 2021
Set in the same world as The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday, but at an earlier time. A similar mix of fantasy, cyberpunk sci-fi, comedy and action, but with more of a focus on action. I didn't enjoy it as much as "... Lord of Tuesday" but I'll be looking for more from this author.
June 30, 2022
..."It's OUR STUPID PLANET, you cretin! It's the only one we've got you blubbering f@%kwit. Do you think if we blow it up, we're just going to skip over to another one?" –Matteras
Cyber Mage drives home for me why I will keep coming back to Hossain's works. He melds the fantastical, computer science, philosophy, even economic studies and trends within his stories that make them more than your average fiction read. I mean there are footnotes!
His dedication to using the rich and vast histories, present, and social information to extrapolate a possible future warped by human action and inaction excites even as you dread what results.
The dry wit and dark humour that runs throughout is on point and enjoyable, as long as you are willing to laugh at the shitshow that has become our interaction with our planet.
Hossain explores bullying, friendships, first infatuation, and identity with characters who are relatably compelling and intriguing. He melds futuristic elements and the supernatural, making it so realistic and unsettling. Even in the midst of recovering from our greed and hubris, capitalism still undercuts this new world.
Lore and technological advancements such as sentient AI, become one in this story and the blend is seamless.
**Nobody melds science fiction and fantasy quite like Hossain, using dark humour and wit to comment on the impending climate disaster and societal leanings towards AI that is fast approaching.**
Cyber Mage drives home for me why I will keep coming back to Hossain's works. He melds the fantastical, computer science, philosophy, even economic studies and trends within his stories that make them more than your average fiction read. I mean there are footnotes!
His dedication to using the rich and vast histories, present, and social information to extrapolate a possible future warped by human action and inaction excites even as you dread what results.
The dry wit and dark humour that runs throughout is on point and enjoyable, as long as you are willing to laugh at the shitshow that has become our interaction with our planet.
Hossain explores bullying, friendships, first infatuation, and identity with characters who are relatably compelling and intriguing. He melds futuristic elements and the supernatural, making it so realistic and unsettling. Even in the midst of recovering from our greed and hubris, capitalism still undercuts this new world.
Lore and technological advancements such as sentient AI, become one in this story and the blend is seamless.
**Nobody melds science fiction and fantasy quite like Hossain, using dark humour and wit to comment on the impending climate disaster and societal leanings towards AI that is fast approaching.**
January 17, 2022
I don't recommend it unless you already found this world immersive. This one is more violent (the action scenes are skimmable). Male is default, women and girls are still introduced by their bodies and/or sexist insults. The title character is practically an incel, and a Mary Sue,
Detracting, representative lines:
Detracting, representative lines:
The Cyber Mage only played games he could win.
She had that vaguely tearful voice signaling the hormonal imbalance that triggered the urge to nurture.Frustrating but not DNFable.
December 4, 2021
Thank you Edelweiss for an advanced copy. This is by far the weirdest book I have ever read. A few times I was lost and tempted to abandon the book, but I’m glad I finished. The author accomplished combining futuristic sci fi, fantasy, AI, gaming and so much more into one action packed novel. There is a lot to discuss with governments, wealth, and social status. Gamers would LOVE this novel (if they could put down gaming devices long enough to read this book). I enjoyed the book being set in Bangladesh, and the characters were vaguely Muslim. Some Southeast Asian cultural influences are present. Sadly, due to the profanity I cannot recommend this for our school library. However, I will recommend this to students who I think will enjoy the genre.
December 17, 2021
Originally published at Reading Reality
I wanted to read this book because I absolutely loved The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday and hoped there would be more like that. Which, as it turns out, there are – and more than I originally thought. Which is definitely good news!
In fact, having read Gurkha, this and Kundo Wakes Up (to be reviewed closer to its March pub. date), after looking at the blurbs for the author’s other work, I’m starting to think that they are all set in the same dystopian, post-apocalyptic future. And what a fascinating world it is.
This is a future where the world has descended into dystopia as a result of an ecological rather than an economic catastrophe. This particular view of this future is also a bit of a twist on Ready Player One – but it’s a twist where Wade Watts is one of the privileged few instead of the disadvantaged many, pursuing a quest fueled by artificial intelligence and unearned privilege instead of desperation. In a world where the Virtuality is run on greed instead of nostalgia.
And this is also a coming of age story, because the Cyber Mage who is both admired and feared as one of the greatest hackers ever in the Virtuality is a spoiled, overprivileged, lovesick teenage boy who has decided to leave his ergonomically designed and engineered chair in his parents’ apartment in order to chase after the girl of his dreams. The girl he’s been cyberstalking like, well, a lovesick teenage boy.
He’s going to enroll himself in high school – even though he’s a genius who has already passed all the classes – in order to meet his dreamgirl in person and impress her. Even if he honestly doesn’t know what to do after that.
It turns out that what he’s going to do after that is defend the entire school from an invasion. And grow up.
Escape Rating A: There are a couple of things about this story, and the other books I’ve read by this author, that have absolutely made me fall in love with his work. One is the extremely high snark quotient. It seems like most of his characters are possessed of a very smart mouth. In Cyber Mage, the only ones who don’t are the parents of Murzak, the Cyber Mage himself. I’m not entirely sure that their refusal to acknowledge so many of his ultimatums isn’t actually a form of passive-aggressive snark.
The other thing, and the bigger one over the course of this story and his other work so far, are the constant and continuing reversals of both expectation and fortune.
Murzak himself is a prime example. He is, probably, as smart as he thinks he is. But it’s all book-smart. His ability to apply all those smarts to real life is a bit lacking. Putting it another way, he’s simply naïve, not a surprise as he’s still of an age to attend high school. Fitting in is another matter entirely. But he doesn’t have the knowledge of the way the world – and the people in it – really work to keep his mouth from writing checks that the rest of him can’t really cash because he doesn’t yet understand what he’s working towards. He only thinks he does.
If Murzak were an adult with his attitude, he’d be insufferable. As a teenager, he’s a bit of an accident and an attitude waiting to happen. That he’s lying all around – to himself, to his fellow students, to the extremely dangerous people who employ him – that accident is definitely barreling towards him at breakneck speed.
So a huge part of this story is him stepping up to the plate, getting involved in how the world really works, and discovering that adulting is no fun at all but that it’s a job that has to be done. And that he’s the best man to do at least some of it.
But the other part of this story that runs counter to expectations – at least unless one has read some of the author’s previous work – is the way that the effects of the ecological disaster have been handled.
A lot of post-apocalyptic stories show desolate, deadly landscapes where the remaining human population ekes out a marginal existence on a world that is killing them, whether slowly or quickly.
This post-apocalypse, utilizing a still heavily populated Southeast Asian setting, turns the large population into a climate-recovery asset, implanted with nanobots that monitor their every move and inject life-giving climate repair and pollution cleanup with every breath. All controlled by huge, advanced artificial intelligences which keep the cities mostly balanced while still privileging the wealthy and keeping the majority of the population on a universal basic income that keeps them alive, disaffected, and bored. Which doesn’t matter, as long as their nanobots help clean the air and keep them entertained enough to go on living.
But the balance is so complex that the A.I.s are the ones really running everything. And they have minds of their own. Literally. Which puts an entirely new player on the board who has more oversight and control than even the most paranoid doomsayers ever imagined.
And in the midst of all this technology, there really are djinn, and they really do have an agenda of their own. An agenda – and agents to carry it out – that neither the privileged humans or the pampering A.I.s ever put into their calculations of who – or what – is truly in control.
I wanted to read this book because I absolutely loved The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday and hoped there would be more like that. Which, as it turns out, there are – and more than I originally thought. Which is definitely good news!
In fact, having read Gurkha, this and Kundo Wakes Up (to be reviewed closer to its March pub. date), after looking at the blurbs for the author’s other work, I’m starting to think that they are all set in the same dystopian, post-apocalyptic future. And what a fascinating world it is.
This is a future where the world has descended into dystopia as a result of an ecological rather than an economic catastrophe. This particular view of this future is also a bit of a twist on Ready Player One – but it’s a twist where Wade Watts is one of the privileged few instead of the disadvantaged many, pursuing a quest fueled by artificial intelligence and unearned privilege instead of desperation. In a world where the Virtuality is run on greed instead of nostalgia.
And this is also a coming of age story, because the Cyber Mage who is both admired and feared as one of the greatest hackers ever in the Virtuality is a spoiled, overprivileged, lovesick teenage boy who has decided to leave his ergonomically designed and engineered chair in his parents’ apartment in order to chase after the girl of his dreams. The girl he’s been cyberstalking like, well, a lovesick teenage boy.
He’s going to enroll himself in high school – even though he’s a genius who has already passed all the classes – in order to meet his dreamgirl in person and impress her. Even if he honestly doesn’t know what to do after that.
It turns out that what he’s going to do after that is defend the entire school from an invasion. And grow up.
Escape Rating A: There are a couple of things about this story, and the other books I’ve read by this author, that have absolutely made me fall in love with his work. One is the extremely high snark quotient. It seems like most of his characters are possessed of a very smart mouth. In Cyber Mage, the only ones who don’t are the parents of Murzak, the Cyber Mage himself. I’m not entirely sure that their refusal to acknowledge so many of his ultimatums isn’t actually a form of passive-aggressive snark.
The other thing, and the bigger one over the course of this story and his other work so far, are the constant and continuing reversals of both expectation and fortune.
Murzak himself is a prime example. He is, probably, as smart as he thinks he is. But it’s all book-smart. His ability to apply all those smarts to real life is a bit lacking. Putting it another way, he’s simply naïve, not a surprise as he’s still of an age to attend high school. Fitting in is another matter entirely. But he doesn’t have the knowledge of the way the world – and the people in it – really work to keep his mouth from writing checks that the rest of him can’t really cash because he doesn’t yet understand what he’s working towards. He only thinks he does.
If Murzak were an adult with his attitude, he’d be insufferable. As a teenager, he’s a bit of an accident and an attitude waiting to happen. That he’s lying all around – to himself, to his fellow students, to the extremely dangerous people who employ him – that accident is definitely barreling towards him at breakneck speed.
So a huge part of this story is him stepping up to the plate, getting involved in how the world really works, and discovering that adulting is no fun at all but that it’s a job that has to be done. And that he’s the best man to do at least some of it.
But the other part of this story that runs counter to expectations – at least unless one has read some of the author’s previous work – is the way that the effects of the ecological disaster have been handled.
A lot of post-apocalyptic stories show desolate, deadly landscapes where the remaining human population ekes out a marginal existence on a world that is killing them, whether slowly or quickly.
This post-apocalypse, utilizing a still heavily populated Southeast Asian setting, turns the large population into a climate-recovery asset, implanted with nanobots that monitor their every move and inject life-giving climate repair and pollution cleanup with every breath. All controlled by huge, advanced artificial intelligences which keep the cities mostly balanced while still privileging the wealthy and keeping the majority of the population on a universal basic income that keeps them alive, disaffected, and bored. Which doesn’t matter, as long as their nanobots help clean the air and keep them entertained enough to go on living.
But the balance is so complex that the A.I.s are the ones really running everything. And they have minds of their own. Literally. Which puts an entirely new player on the board who has more oversight and control than even the most paranoid doomsayers ever imagined.
And in the midst of all this technology, there really are djinn, and they really do have an agenda of their own. An agenda – and agents to carry it out – that neither the privileged humans or the pampering A.I.s ever put into their calculations of who – or what – is truly in control.
April 7, 2022
I can't say that I followed all the action and subplots. The tech stuff and the computer gaming stuff seemed alien and/or bizarre at times. The djinn and golem stuff, in contrast, were more accessible.
The book is fast-paced and action-filled. It is intricately and smartly plotted. The twists and connections are satisfying once revealed or discovered.
(As an aside, to my ears, his writing sounds so American. And this occurs in the jibes between the characters especially.)
I so enjoyed that this is set in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The references to Russians were eerie and at times, accurate (this is written during the 4th week of IRL Russia attacking Ukraine and committing genocide).
Hossain is immeasurably clever and imaginative. I've read 2 of his other titles, and I will read more from him!
The book is fast-paced and action-filled. It is intricately and smartly plotted. The twists and connections are satisfying once revealed or discovered.
(As an aside, to my ears, his writing sounds so American. And this occurs in the jibes between the characters especially.)
I so enjoyed that this is set in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The references to Russians were eerie and at times, accurate (this is written during the 4th week of IRL Russia attacking Ukraine and committing genocide).
Hossain is immeasurably clever and imaginative. I've read 2 of his other titles, and I will read more from him!
July 28, 2023
3.5*
While sadly not as fun as the two tordotcom novellas of Saad Z. Hussain that I previously read, this is still an interesting and unique book. Taking place 2089 in Dhaka, in cyber punk world filled with nano technology but also frequently visited by djinn, this is a story like no other. Sadly, I didn't really vibe with the protagonist, who, while funny, was often also quite insufferable. The story goes in some weird direction, which I liked, but lacks a little bit of direction and coherence. The book could easily have been a little shorter (and coming from me, that critique really says a lot), cutting out some meandering parts. Still, it was an experience, and reading at least one of the author's stories is something I would recommend to every reader seeking to broaden their speculative horizon.
While sadly not as fun as the two tordotcom novellas of Saad Z. Hussain that I previously read, this is still an interesting and unique book. Taking place 2089 in Dhaka, in cyber punk world filled with nano technology but also frequently visited by djinn, this is a story like no other. Sadly, I didn't really vibe with the protagonist, who, while funny, was often also quite insufferable. The story goes in some weird direction, which I liked, but lacks a little bit of direction and coherence. The book could easily have been a little shorter (and coming from me, that critique really says a lot), cutting out some meandering parts. Still, it was an experience, and reading at least one of the author's stories is something I would recommend to every reader seeking to broaden their speculative horizon.
July 19, 2024
Rec. by: The Bellingham and Multnomah County Public Libraries
Rec. for: Cyber dudes—that is, precocious teenage hacker types
One of the things my wife and I like to do when we visit a place that's new to us is go to the public library—we're just cool like that, and you can really learn a lot about a town from the way it treats its books (and the people who read them). So when we were recently in Bellingham, Washington, I was scanning the shelves at the Bellingham Public Library and ran across Saad Z. Hossain's 2021 novel Cyber Mage. I couldn't check it out from there, of course, but a quick flip through its pages convinced me that this book had to go on my to-read list. And so when a copy practically threw itself at me just a few weeks later at my own local branch library, winking at me seductively from the shelf, I just had to check it out...
Besides, I'd been wanting to return to speculative fiction, after a couple of rewarding excursions into other areas of literature.
Saad Z. Hossain's style reminded me of Norman Spinrad's, if that's a touchstone for you. Cyber Mage is very playful SF, featuring a high-volume firehose of ideas-per-page, but it's also, maybe, a little too didactic, a little too boyish, too given to the infodumps—and even footnotes!
There's a lot of setup to get through, and it wasn't until the first chapter of Book 2 that I really laughed out loud... but things really picked up after that.
Marzuk is a fifteen-year-old boy living with (though legally emancipated from) his parents in one of the better parts of Dhaka, Bangladesh (which is, by an odd coincidence, where Saad Z. Hossain himself resides). The year is 2089, though, and biological nanotech keeps some areas of the climate-ravaged region pretty livable.
Marzuk is fearsomely bright, but not much respected in so-called "real life" (by his parents, or his schoolmates, for example)... Online, though, Marzuk is the Cyber Mage, a legendary hacker who can call down fire from the heavens (literally, in at least one case) upon his enemies.
But... he's still a teenaged boy, and what we currently call an "incel" (which my wife pronounced "insole" the other day, and now I want to make that the official pronunciation). His obsession over the beauteous Amina is both annoying and entirely believable.
In brief, and you may want to consider this a warning, Cyber Mage contains pretty much all of the flaws (as well as all the fun) of an old-school cyberpunk novel from the 1980s.
Plus, djinn!
The closest comparison to something else I've read, I think, would be to G.Willow Wilson's Alif the Unseen, which also combines computers and djinn to highly entertaining effect.
Apparently, I've done it again—Cyber Mage is actually the second novel set in Hossain's madcap future (the first was something called Djinn City, which I of course haven't read). But this book does stand on its own, it does get better as it goes along, and ultimately I was very glad I'd encountered Saad Z. Hossain's work, even if I did so out of order. I'll be looking out for his name, if I survive that far into the cyberpunk future...
Rec. for: Cyber dudes—that is, precocious teenage hacker types
One of the things my wife and I like to do when we visit a place that's new to us is go to the public library—we're just cool like that, and you can really learn a lot about a town from the way it treats its books (and the people who read them). So when we were recently in Bellingham, Washington, I was scanning the shelves at the Bellingham Public Library and ran across Saad Z. Hossain's 2021 novel Cyber Mage. I couldn't check it out from there, of course, but a quick flip through its pages convinced me that this book had to go on my to-read list. And so when a copy practically threw itself at me just a few weeks later at my own local branch library, winking at me seductively from the shelf, I just had to check it out...
Besides, I'd been wanting to return to speculative fiction, after a couple of rewarding excursions into other areas of literature.
Saad Z. Hossain's style reminded me of Norman Spinrad's, if that's a touchstone for you. Cyber Mage is very playful SF, featuring a high-volume firehose of ideas-per-page, but it's also, maybe, a little too didactic, a little too boyish, too given to the infodumps—and even footnotes!
There's a lot of setup to get through, and it wasn't until the first chapter of Book 2 that I really laughed out loud... but things really picked up after that.
Marzuk is a fifteen-year-old boy living with (though legally emancipated from) his parents in one of the better parts of Dhaka, Bangladesh (which is, by an odd coincidence, where Saad Z. Hossain himself resides). The year is 2089, though, and biological nanotech keeps some areas of the climate-ravaged region pretty livable.
Marzuk is fearsomely bright, but not much respected in so-called "real life" (by his parents, or his schoolmates, for example)... Online, though, Marzuk is the Cyber Mage, a legendary hacker who can call down fire from the heavens (literally, in at least one case) upon his enemies.
But... he's still a teenaged boy, and what we currently call an "incel" (which my wife pronounced "insole" the other day, and now I want to make that the official pronunciation). His obsession over the beauteous Amina is both annoying and entirely believable.
In brief, and you may want to consider this a warning, Cyber Mage contains pretty much all of the flaws (as well as all the fun) of an old-school cyberpunk novel from the 1980s.
Plus, djinn!
"What the hell are djinn?"
"Spirits, sir. Like fairies, but more litigious. Allegedly."
—p.251
The closest comparison to something else I've read, I think, would be to G.Willow Wilson's Alif the Unseen, which also combines computers and djinn to highly entertaining effect.
Apparently, I've done it again—Cyber Mage is actually the second novel set in Hossain's madcap future (the first was something called Djinn City, which I of course haven't read). But this book does stand on its own, it does get better as it goes along, and ultimately I was very glad I'd encountered Saad Z. Hossain's work, even if I did so out of order. I'll be looking out for his name, if I survive that far into the cyberpunk future...
April 3, 2025
We're a couple of generations deep into the video game era. As games have morphed (especially MMORPG) there have been a number of books about gamers and gaming. Notably, Cline's 'Ready Player One', but also Neal Stephenson's 'Fall, or Dodge in Hell', Matt Ruff's '88 Names' and Carrie Vaughn's 'Questland'.
Saad Hossain starts this book with the dedication “This one is for my gamers”. Notice the possessive; he's a gamer, and has written a book about a young (15-year-old) gamer who is a master hacker and gamer (of course) but has no social life outside the game. Until he sees a girl he's attracted to, and has to enroll in school to pursue her. And there his troubles begin...
This is, however, a fantasy, with djinn playing a major role, and a golem who is charged with cutting off heads with a sword forged in dragonfire. In the real world, not in the game.
The point of view mainly bounces between Marzuk the gamer and the golem. Things come together in both the game (Final Fantasy 9000, of course) and the real world, and threats and violence grow in both environments.
The action in the real world feels exaggerated as it is in a game. In fact, I think one of Hossain's purposes is to replicate the milieu of the game in the real world, with real djinn and Russian mafia oligarchs, as well as extreme hardware (in a place called the Black Line).
Your enjoyment of this will depend on how much you enjoy the dramatic action of a game translated into the real world, and whether you find it a bit of a stretch. It's sort of a teenager's view of life: all extremes, high and low, love and violence. It's faithful to Marzuk's worldview, but it also causes grave consequences (his house burning down and his parents kidnapped; whole neighborhoods of Dhaka are carpet bombed). The collateral damage is mainly brushed off the way it would be in a game (those are just NPCs, after all), so we don't even see his parents' anguish when they're kidnapped or their trauma after release.
This cavalier attitude to damage and death, while faithful to gaming, did not sit well with me when transferred to the (albeit fictional) real world in the book. At a time when mass shooters sometimes livestream their massacres just like a game, and on the day when an army is invading Ukraine on a pretext of an alternate reality, it left me a little cold about the book. It's a shame, because Hossain is a good writer and has some quite funny dialogue.
Saad Hossain starts this book with the dedication “This one is for my gamers”. Notice the possessive; he's a gamer, and has written a book about a young (15-year-old) gamer who is a master hacker and gamer (of course) but has no social life outside the game. Until he sees a girl he's attracted to, and has to enroll in school to pursue her. And there his troubles begin...
This is, however, a fantasy, with djinn playing a major role, and a golem who is charged with cutting off heads with a sword forged in dragonfire. In the real world, not in the game.
The point of view mainly bounces between Marzuk the gamer and the golem. Things come together in both the game (Final Fantasy 9000, of course) and the real world, and threats and violence grow in both environments.
The action in the real world feels exaggerated as it is in a game. In fact, I think one of Hossain's purposes is to replicate the milieu of the game in the real world, with real djinn and Russian mafia oligarchs, as well as extreme hardware (in a place called the Black Line).
Your enjoyment of this will depend on how much you enjoy the dramatic action of a game translated into the real world, and whether you find it a bit of a stretch. It's sort of a teenager's view of life: all extremes, high and low, love and violence. It's faithful to Marzuk's worldview, but it also causes grave consequences (his house burning down and his parents kidnapped; whole neighborhoods of Dhaka are carpet bombed). The collateral damage is mainly brushed off the way it would be in a game (those are just NPCs, after all), so we don't even see his parents' anguish when they're kidnapped or their trauma after release.
This cavalier attitude to damage and death, while faithful to gaming, did not sit well with me when transferred to the (albeit fictional) real world in the book. At a time when mass shooters sometimes livestream their massacres just like a game, and on the day when an army is invading Ukraine on a pretext of an alternate reality, it left me a little cold about the book. It's a shame, because Hossain is a good writer and has some quite funny dialogue.
July 16, 2022
Strength: many good ideas; Weakness: maybe too many.
Hossain dedicates this book to gamers, and in the end it becomes a little too gamey.
OK, I'm not the target audience.
The gaming shows in frequent scenes of slaughter, which wouldn't hold up in a real world, except maybe for one country.
The world situation is cleverly thought out, and just credible enough.
Marzuk is a sexist jerk, but why can't he be? The POV character doesn't have to be the nice person. His thing with Amina is credible FOR HIM. The bully plot goes on too long, and I never cared for them; and in the end it isn't very much resolved.
I liked the way the djinn and AIs are at the same time quite human and totally not-human; that was well balanced. And in the end they are all playing the hands they've been dealt as best they can.
The final resolution of the Big Game was well done too.
Worth reading even if you don't love all the parts of it.
Hossain dedicates this book to gamers, and in the end it becomes a little too gamey.
OK, I'm not the target audience.
The gaming shows in frequent scenes of slaughter, which wouldn't hold up in a real world, except maybe for one country.
The world situation is cleverly thought out, and just credible enough.
Marzuk is a sexist jerk, but why can't he be? The POV character doesn't have to be the nice person. His thing with Amina is credible FOR HIM. The bully plot goes on too long, and I never cared for them; and in the end it isn't very much resolved.
I liked the way the djinn and AIs are at the same time quite human and totally not-human; that was well balanced. And in the end they are all playing the hands they've been dealt as best they can.
The final resolution of the Big Game was well done too.
Worth reading even if you don't love all the parts of it.
March 5, 2022
I'd describe this book as... a lot. It's very funny, very complicated, very violent. Saad Hossain is an incredibly talented author, one with a highly individual voice, sort of like Neal Stephenson on steroids. Like Stephenson, Saad Hossain goes deep into the details of the world he creates, and he doesn't care if it's kind of dense and overwhelming, and he doesn't care if you don't get his references (as someone who grew up in Dhaka, I got and laughed at the Dhaka references; as a non-gamer, I probably missed a ton of references). As someone who enjoys authors like Stephenson, Tim Powers, Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams, who also like to mix frenetic action with philosophy and wisecrackery, I really enjoyed this.
TL;DR: It's Ready Player One if Ready Player One were actually... you know... good.
TL;DR: It's Ready Player One if Ready Player One were actually... you know... good.
March 27, 2024
Cyber Mage is an interquel that takes place between Djinn City and The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday. As such it contains spoilers for the former and explains how the conditions of the latter came to be. Although the four books are allegedly standalone, I wouldn't advise starting with this one. None of the characters from Djinn City play a prominent role in terms of page count, though it does tell you what happened to most of them. All of this happens in and around Dhaka, Bangladesh, at the end of the 21st century. The exact dating of the series is unclear due to in-text contradictions in and between books.
As the About The Author says, "Saad Z. Hossain writes in a niche genre of fantasy, science fiction, and black comedy with an action-adventure twist". That's accurate, though for this book in particular, unlike the others, there's a lot of cringe comedy. There's too much for my preference, though his usual humor is present as well.
Marzuk Dotrozi Khan Rhaman is an infamous 15 year hacker savant known online as the Cyber Mage. He's notorious for some of the most daring and skillful hacks ever perpetuated and is a founding member of the most secretive and elite hacker collective. Less known are his ties to organized crime. His gaming identity in the VRMMORPG Final Fantasy 9000 is equally well known for griefing and innovation.
Marzuk has three severe weaknesses, his physical condition, his social skills, and attractive girls. Although he dropped out of school long ago due to having far surpassed any need for formal education, he decides to join high school to spend more time with his crush. Truly there is no other institution that is more treacherous or dangerous. If that weren't enough, a mysterious entity is contacting him in his dreams. Yes, Marzuk is as cringe as he seems, if not more so.
Akramon Djibrel is a golem forged from a corpse through dragonfire and djinn magic. At the behest of his djinn patron, he beheads any and all in pursuit of his quarry. He keeps the heads to interrogate and torture them, as he's able to keep them alive for a couple weeks. He's become something of a viral sensation to watch on livestreams, with Marzuk being especially interested.
As for the plot, a certain djinn has plans for humanity again. This time he's sure it'll work and all the humans will do what he wants and all the other djinn will respect him again. All that stands in his way are the djinn that have grievances against him and feel that they may as well oppose him with their allies.
If this were a bit worse I'd round it down. Marzuk is too much of a extremely online/hacker/gamer/edgelord caricature to read without grimacing. The VRMMORPG parts were overly much, especially when there was play-by-play commentating. It was certainly something different than the usual. Overall there's more that I enjoyed a lot than what I disliked.
Rating: 3.5/5
As the About The Author says, "Saad Z. Hossain writes in a niche genre of fantasy, science fiction, and black comedy with an action-adventure twist". That's accurate, though for this book in particular, unlike the others, there's a lot of cringe comedy. There's too much for my preference, though his usual humor is present as well.
Marzuk Dotrozi Khan Rhaman is an infamous 15 year hacker savant known online as the Cyber Mage. He's notorious for some of the most daring and skillful hacks ever perpetuated and is a founding member of the most secretive and elite hacker collective. Less known are his ties to organized crime. His gaming identity in the VRMMORPG Final Fantasy 9000 is equally well known for griefing and innovation.
Marzuk has three severe weaknesses, his physical condition, his social skills, and attractive girls. Although he dropped out of school long ago due to having far surpassed any need for formal education, he decides to join high school to spend more time with his crush. Truly there is no other institution that is more treacherous or dangerous. If that weren't enough, a mysterious entity is contacting him in his dreams. Yes, Marzuk is as cringe as he seems, if not more so.
Akramon Djibrel is a golem forged from a corpse through dragonfire and djinn magic. At the behest of his djinn patron, he beheads any and all in pursuit of his quarry. He keeps the heads to interrogate and torture them, as he's able to keep them alive for a couple weeks. He's become something of a viral sensation to watch on livestreams, with Marzuk being especially interested.
As for the plot, a certain djinn has plans for humanity again. This time he's sure it'll work and all the humans will do what he wants and all the other djinn will respect him again. All that stands in his way are the djinn that have grievances against him and feel that they may as well oppose him with their allies.
If this were a bit worse I'd round it down. Marzuk is too much of a extremely online/hacker/gamer/edgelord caricature to read without grimacing. The VRMMORPG parts were overly much, especially when there was play-by-play commentating. It was certainly something different than the usual. Overall there's more that I enjoyed a lot than what I disliked.
Rating: 3.5/5
February 28, 2022
Well, that was a hell of a rush! Though you could make a drinking game out of spotting the influences in this novel, Hossain's malicious glee in following the misadventures of his characters in the post-apocalyptic nuthouse that is his milieu is infectious. One is reluctant to say too much, as that would give away the plot. However, these thoughts come to mind. One is that you should probably read Hossain's "Djinn City" first, as that introduces a lot of the supporting characters. Two, the critical comments by those folks who found this to mostly be a "boy's own" adventure have a point; though this is probably inevitable when the main character is fifteen years of age. Three, I was considering rating this book higher, but since Hossain has two interlocking series going, in what is looking like a sprawling family saga, I'm withholding judgement to a certain degree. However, I will be reading the follow-on books, will be trying to hunt down "Djinn City" sooner, rather than later (my reading schedule for the year is already filling up), and I will be a little surprised if this book doesn't do rather well on the nomination front.
July 16, 2023
Hossain is really skilled at writing complex stories where many characters and storylines slowly come together to form a fuller, bigger picture. What frustrated me about Djinn City (which takes place before this) was the ending. And while a lot of loose threads didn’t get resolved here, this story did have an ending that felt more complete and satisfying for me.
February 3, 2022
There are many things I like about the science fiction genre. I think it has immense political potential, with the ability to communicate complex and traumatic themes at an incredibly impactful and resounding level. I think it is also home to some unimaginable creativity, and the lack of real creative boundaries makes the genre dynamic and ever-relevant that, with personal bias therefore recognized, makes it one of the best evolved genres. But, beyond all of the important and academic reasons to applaud science fiction, the reason it will always be my favorite genre will always be because it is fun. Cyber Mage is just that–so, so fun.
There’s magic and hackers and highschool bullies (?) and a whole lot of humor, and, really, no synopsis is going to be able to encapsulate all the stuff that goes down in this book. All I can tell you is to hold on tight, because Hossain drives you at full speed through that classic grimy and glitzy cyberpunk world, with enough twists to keep the story relevant and feeling original. While featuring some very classic archetypes of cyberpunk–there’s VR and a hacking hierarchy reminiscent of Snow Crash, which is, admittedly, one of my most favorites–Hossain’s world, influenced by Islam and taking place primarily in an apocalyptic future, corprotized Bangladesh, makes the classic feel fresh and unexpected.
Of course, it is more than fun, as science fiction often is. Hossain interweaves elements of anticapitalism, classism, and anti-corporation rhetoric that give the story depth to match it’s dazzle. It’s unique setting–an overpopulated Bangladesh where the overpopulation is fundamental for survival–also adds another layer of poignancy, because the somewhat overdone tropes Hossain relies on are ever so different because of the fresh location. Added to that is a magic system divorced from the typical Anglo-Saxon mythology the LotR knockoffs have clung to, and you end up with an incredibly fun book you don’t get bored of, because there’s just enough heart to keep you from rolling your eyes.
Was it flawless? No. The second climax (I would argue there are two, a red flag already) fell a little flat, and across the board I found the twists less shocking and more off-base and poorly integrated. Still, it returned me to why science fiction will always be my favorite, and I’ll be eagerly pushing this into the hands of anyone looking to break into the genre.
Thank you Edelweiss for the ARC, in exchange for my honest review.
There’s magic and hackers and highschool bullies (?) and a whole lot of humor, and, really, no synopsis is going to be able to encapsulate all the stuff that goes down in this book. All I can tell you is to hold on tight, because Hossain drives you at full speed through that classic grimy and glitzy cyberpunk world, with enough twists to keep the story relevant and feeling original. While featuring some very classic archetypes of cyberpunk–there’s VR and a hacking hierarchy reminiscent of Snow Crash, which is, admittedly, one of my most favorites–Hossain’s world, influenced by Islam and taking place primarily in an apocalyptic future, corprotized Bangladesh, makes the classic feel fresh and unexpected.
Of course, it is more than fun, as science fiction often is. Hossain interweaves elements of anticapitalism, classism, and anti-corporation rhetoric that give the story depth to match it’s dazzle. It’s unique setting–an overpopulated Bangladesh where the overpopulation is fundamental for survival–also adds another layer of poignancy, because the somewhat overdone tropes Hossain relies on are ever so different because of the fresh location. Added to that is a magic system divorced from the typical Anglo-Saxon mythology the LotR knockoffs have clung to, and you end up with an incredibly fun book you don’t get bored of, because there’s just enough heart to keep you from rolling your eyes.
Was it flawless? No. The second climax (I would argue there are two, a red flag already) fell a little flat, and across the board I found the twists less shocking and more off-base and poorly integrated. Still, it returned me to why science fiction will always be my favorite, and I’ll be eagerly pushing this into the hands of anyone looking to break into the genre.
Thank you Edelweiss for the ARC, in exchange for my honest review.
January 8, 2022
I would tell you to read Djinn city by Saad Hossain before you venture into this book as it will help you see the world he built in a better way. Now coming to Cyber mage, I would say it is an awesome read and I really loved the way it's paced and I feel this can become a full fledged Hollywood blockbuster if treated in the right manner. This is my first fiction read of 2022 and I enjoyed it to the core. God Speed
January 21, 2022
This has become one of my favorite books of all time. Perfect for fans of G. Willow Wilson "Alif: The Unseen" and for those who are fans of literature from the Subcontinent and Desi authors, Saad Hossain knocks it out of the park with his latest release, "Cyber Mage". This is my first book from the author, and I am putting him in my automatic buy corner because as a Bangladeshi author, he beautifuly melded his brand of dark comedy, fantasy, mythology, science fiction and technology to continue his world building with his latest release.
The story takes part in a future Dhaka, one that has changed and become the center of many things, in part because of the individuals that now operate in the bifurcated city. On one hand we have the Cyber Mage, a fifteen year old hacking prodigy who is counted among the very best of the netizens in the virtual and gaming sphere - and also indicative of the trends and cultural jargon that any affluent fifteen year old Bangladeshi kid would be. On the other front is Djibrel, a golem created by djinn on Earth to serve as their champion as he goes around parts of Old Town (a district in Dhaka) providng vigilante justice as he attempts to fulfill the mission that he was brought back to life for.
The book is filled with comedic moments, gaming and technology references that showcase not only the very best of the science fiction genre, but also contains moments that reflect the very Bangladeshi nature of the book - as an #OwnVoices author writing about his home city of Dhaka, I appreciated how he was able to straddle the various religious, social, economic, and political spheres that control the city and put them in the background of his novel. Indeed, what makes the book even better is veiled political commentary on state of Dhaka (and Bangladesh as a whole) in what the government is (and is not) doing for her citizens.
I won't give too much of the plot away (because I really encoruage anyone who either wants to diversify their shelf, read more from BIPOC, Desi authors) to check out this book. It remids of the work of Samit Basu, but also G. Willow Wilson on the merging of myth, magic and tech. I can't wait to read the rest of his backlist.
The story takes part in a future Dhaka, one that has changed and become the center of many things, in part because of the individuals that now operate in the bifurcated city. On one hand we have the Cyber Mage, a fifteen year old hacking prodigy who is counted among the very best of the netizens in the virtual and gaming sphere - and also indicative of the trends and cultural jargon that any affluent fifteen year old Bangladeshi kid would be. On the other front is Djibrel, a golem created by djinn on Earth to serve as their champion as he goes around parts of Old Town (a district in Dhaka) providng vigilante justice as he attempts to fulfill the mission that he was brought back to life for.
The book is filled with comedic moments, gaming and technology references that showcase not only the very best of the science fiction genre, but also contains moments that reflect the very Bangladeshi nature of the book - as an #OwnVoices author writing about his home city of Dhaka, I appreciated how he was able to straddle the various religious, social, economic, and political spheres that control the city and put them in the background of his novel. Indeed, what makes the book even better is veiled political commentary on state of Dhaka (and Bangladesh as a whole) in what the government is (and is not) doing for her citizens.
I won't give too much of the plot away (because I really encoruage anyone who either wants to diversify their shelf, read more from BIPOC, Desi authors) to check out this book. It remids of the work of Samit Basu, but also G. Willow Wilson on the merging of myth, magic and tech. I can't wait to read the rest of his backlist.
April 12, 2022
A terrific (and terrifying) installment in Saad Z. Hossain's ongoing futuristic series of dystopias and djinn in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
As always, Hossian gives us a fantastic multi-POV narrative with wildly different characters: a precocious teen shut-in who rules the cyber metaworld as the titular "Cyber Mage" (an appropriately cringe-worthy name for a teen online); Amina, a hacker living far from the "utopian" (cough, insanely wealthy) side of town; a golem who roams the city with a dragon-forged sword; and Matteras, a djinn we know well from Hossain's previous novel, "Djinn City."
(We also see Indelbed from Djinn City, and YES, I was thrilled. My favorite! He's ok! Why am I crying.)
Hossain's brand of humor and cynicism form a perfect blend. One minute I'm crying, the next I'm laughing and having a panic attack. It's fine. But also yes, the future he draws is terrifying in how real it feels (but comforting in that, all things considered, humans will always be humans). I don't know how I feel about it except that I enjoyed it a lot, and I can't wait to read his newest novella, "Kundo Wakes Up."
Recommended if you like fantasy hardwired into science-fiction, adventure, laughs, and something akin to Terry Pratchett from a nevertheless very different author. Hossain has quickly become one of my favorite authors.
As always, Hossian gives us a fantastic multi-POV narrative with wildly different characters: a precocious teen shut-in who rules the cyber metaworld as the titular "Cyber Mage" (an appropriately cringe-worthy name for a teen online); Amina, a hacker living far from the "utopian" (cough, insanely wealthy) side of town; a golem who roams the city with a dragon-forged sword; and Matteras, a djinn we know well from Hossain's previous novel, "Djinn City."
(We also see Indelbed from Djinn City, and YES, I was thrilled. My favorite! He's ok! Why am I crying.)
Hossain's brand of humor and cynicism form a perfect blend. One minute I'm crying, the next I'm laughing and having a panic attack. It's fine. But also yes, the future he draws is terrifying in how real it feels (but comforting in that, all things considered, humans will always be humans). I don't know how I feel about it except that I enjoyed it a lot, and I can't wait to read his newest novella, "Kundo Wakes Up."
Recommended if you like fantasy hardwired into science-fiction, adventure, laughs, and something akin to Terry Pratchett from a nevertheless very different author. Hossain has quickly become one of my favorite authors.
June 18, 2024
If you want to see what egotistical Djinn look like in the modern world and amongst tech advances, this is for you. Dual-POV story with a bit of humor following a savant hacker teen and a killer going around cutting off heads, in a near-future dystopian that feels like it could actually be our future in 60 years. Sounds serious (and feels serious for a couple chapters and the commentary in this near-future dystopian is serious, real and relevant), but Hossain’s humor and style of storytelling makes it feel breezy and delightful to consume. Maybe not a perfect book, but I absolutely loved this so it’s 5 stars from me and I don’t care!
If you’ve read and liked The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday (which I HIGHLY recommend, even if you don’t want to read the other books) you’ll want to go to Hossain’s Djinn City and then this one. If you read Djinn City and liked it but were unsatisfied with the end, you NEED to go Cyber Mage. I think techies, cyberpunk fans or gamers might really want to pick this up too. Folks who like dystopian, but don’t want to feel the emotional tax of dystopian, this would be great for you. If you like Djinn stories or sci-fi/fantasy mash-ups the Djinn City series is a must-read, the books are absolutely top of the class of the mash-ups I’ve read.
If you’ve read and liked The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday (which I HIGHLY recommend, even if you don’t want to read the other books) you’ll want to go to Hossain’s Djinn City and then this one. If you read Djinn City and liked it but were unsatisfied with the end, you NEED to go Cyber Mage. I think techies, cyberpunk fans or gamers might really want to pick this up too. Folks who like dystopian, but don’t want to feel the emotional tax of dystopian, this would be great for you. If you like Djinn stories or sci-fi/fantasy mash-ups the Djinn City series is a must-read, the books are absolutely top of the class of the mash-ups I’ve read.
August 28, 2022
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Fajer Al-Kaisi who is an exceptional narrated. The book is a sequel to Djinn City, which continues to be one of my favourite SFF novels. I would recommend a re-read/listen to Djinn City before this one so you have greater context. It's not required but you'll know the connections better. It's just as funny, dark, and a fantasy meet technology science fiction with interesting and diverse characters. Djinn City was a stronger novel but this one us a must read for anyone who is into SFF, especially BIPOC SFF.
February 2, 2022
Just magnificent.
It does help to have read Djinn City, and I'm so glad I finally read it just ahead of this one coming out. It's an awesome book but this is even better - dialling up the sci-fi side, with the magical elements secondary, but with a solid YA feel. That's one of the singularly idiosyncratic things Hossain has done, following a couple of pretty adult books with a YA(ish) sequel of sorts.
As usual, things so not go as a Western reader might expect, but this time the author is a lot less cruel to this characters (including many from Djinn City).
I feel like there's another in this particular sequence coming, but in the meantime I'm going to reread the Tor novella The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday, which features at least one key character from here. And the next novella is out soon.
I sincerely recommend this to anyone, but I do recommend starting with Djinn City.
It does help to have read Djinn City, and I'm so glad I finally read it just ahead of this one coming out. It's an awesome book but this is even better - dialling up the sci-fi side, with the magical elements secondary, but with a solid YA feel. That's one of the singularly idiosyncratic things Hossain has done, following a couple of pretty adult books with a YA(ish) sequel of sorts.
As usual, things so not go as a Western reader might expect, but this time the author is a lot less cruel to this characters (including many from Djinn City).
I feel like there's another in this particular sequence coming, but in the meantime I'm going to reread the Tor novella The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday, which features at least one key character from here. And the next novella is out soon.
I sincerely recommend this to anyone, but I do recommend starting with Djinn City.
May 11, 2022
Disappointing compared to the wonderful novella The Ghurka and the Lord of Tuesday. Also confusing as this novel comes before the novella. Again, I like the world; but it felt like the author constantly repeated himself with explaining the world. Also, it felt like there was too much going on or a lot of fat that should have been trimmed. Overall, this would have been a wonderful book if the editing had been better and the plot tightened up. It’s too messy. It’s trying to do too much and in the meantime it fails at the most important job: being a compelling narrative.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews