THE FEATHER OF TRUTH

Hultine presents the first installment in a historically rich series about a miraculous invention.

Elina Khan lives in Afghanistan with her father, Emal, in the 2000s, and things are not great in the Indus Valley. Drought conditions in the area have many people worried about simply surviving. Then there are fears of the Taliban, a group that’s willing to punish people for innocuous acts like playing chess. They are absolutely intolerant of the idea of education for women, yet American forces have managed to build a school for girls where Elina lives. Elina proves a sharp student and, with the help of an American doctor, she learns a lot. In time, Elina herself becomes a teacher. Things take a turn, however, when she gives a lesson on plate tectonics. As one unhappy student points out, “Miss Khan, earthquakes are caused by Allah, not cataclysmic events defined through theoretical means.” Out of safety concerns (a threatening note is delivered objecting to Elina’s “blasphemous” teachings), the school is closed, but Elina is not done learning or teaching. She recognizes that much of the world’s problems, and specifically Afghanistan’s problems, stem from issues around energy use. She comes up with a solution she calls “The Mining Option” and creates a flowchart to illustrate how it works. It is a modest beginning, but perhaps The Mining Option can change the world. The story of this industrious young woman is not without bloodshed; violence comes in the form of Kalashnikov-toting fighters and, in early chapters depicting ancient times, a tiger hunt. The action helps maintain momentum even as some information is repeated—the drought in Afghanistan and its effects are described multiple times, and it is perhaps unnecessary to point out that “even the wealthiest farmers in their valley were surely concerned about the drought.” But the compelling question remains as to what will happen to Elina and her flowchart; she developed an impressive idea under dire conditions, and perhaps there will be no stopping her.

An inspirational, unlikely hero kicks off an impossible, at times repetitive, tale of innovation and its enemies.