#Review - Mirage by Somaiya Daud #YALit #Fantasy #SyFy

Series: Mirage # 1
Format: E-Galley, 320 pages
Release Date: August 28, 2018
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Epic

Shatter Me meets The Wrath and the Dawn in this epic fantasy inspired by the author’s Moroccan heritage about a poor girl who must become the body double of a princess of a ruthless empire.

In a world dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have adventure, and travel beyond her isolated home.

But when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects: she is kidnapped by the regime and taken in secret to the royal palace, where she discovers that she is nearly identical to the cruel half-Vathek Princess Maram. The princess is so hated by her conquered people that she requires a body double, someone to appear in public as Maram, ready to die in her place.

As Amani is forced into her new role, she can’t help but enjoy the palace’s beauty?and her time with the princess’ fiancé, Idris. But the glitter of the royal court belies a world of violence and fear. If Amani ever wishes to see her family again, she must play the princess to perfection...because one wrong move could lead to her death.

 

"The blood never dies.

The blood never forgets."

Somaiya Daud's Mirage is her debut noel. The story is set in a galaxy known as Mizaal, which has been invaded and colonized by a race called the Valthek Empire. The story features Amani, an 18-year old from Cadiz, one of the moons of the planet Andala. On Amani's 18th birthday, when she is receiving her marks (daan) to indicate her transition to adulthood, Imperial droids appear and spirit her away.

Amani is taken to the royal palace, the Ziyaana, on the planet of Andala where she will be lucky if she ever sees her family again. The next thing Amani knows, she is meeting half-Vathek princess Maram. Amani discovers that she is staring into what is practically her own face. Because of Maram's unpopularity and rebel activity, it has become necessary to have a stand-in at public activities. This is when Amani knows what her crime was, and why she was forcibly taken from her family. 

Amani, after a few alterations, will act as the Princesses double, making public appearances and risking her life as the rebellion strengthens. Amani must learn to perfectly mirror Maram to survive (and perhaps see her family again). This is what her future will be for the near future and there's not a whole lot she can do about it. Or can she? As Amani and Maram learn to understand the other, you wonder if this will be a turning point in both characters lives. 

I found myself quickly hating Maram. There's really not a whole lot to like. She's as brutal as those she deals with on a daily basis. She doesn't have a care in the world for those that she deems below her. Then you have to understand her family, and her expectations, and the fact that there are people all around her who want her not to rise to become the heir of the empire. To the Andalaans, she's a symbol of the oppressors and to the Vath she is impure and not worth to become the heir. 

To make things even more interesting, she is outed to Maram's fiancé Idris who discovers that she is more than just a body double. Amani is a girl who dreamed of a world in which everyone is free and able to live and experience their own cultures through art and poetry. All Amani's life, she has been forced to face a life of oppression by the Vath and their slow erasure of the indigenous cultures, especially the Kushaila poetry that has been used as a rallying cry for rebellion.  

Mirage is a painful true story when it comes to life under colonization. The author does a fairly impressive job in showing the aftermath of Vathek’s colonization and its continued effects on the Andalaan people. From living as second-class citizens in a world that used to be yours to being victims of cultural erasure, there were definitely a lot of parallels to our real world events and history. The author excels at showing the reader people living under harsh rule, living through myth and legend – the background is gorgeously described and multi-layered.

I dare say that the story is more of a science fiction novel with romance included, than a fantasy one. Or, one could say that the story is a science fiction / fantasy mix-up with mythology and romance. After all, when a story is set in space, and you have space travel, it's science fiction. When you have an alien race who colonizes your planet, it becomes science fiction. At the start, Amani seemed a bit naive, but overall she developed into a character who fights for her people and their legacy and their survival. The difference in her maturity from the beginning to the end of the book is vast and I'm hoping for even more character development after the author leaves us hanging by a tightrope waiting to see what happens next.

 

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