CYBER MAGE

A Bangladeshi teenager battles foes both magical and technological in the late 21st century.

Bringing fantasy elements into a story of hackers and virtual worlds is a task few have tried. G. Willow Wilson did it in Alif the Unseen; William Gibson arguably did it in Count Zero, though the book never ventures outright into the supernatural. Hossain’s latest novel borrows freely from both folklore and cyberpunk archetypes, making for an occasionally dizzying trip through a futuristic world. This is a world in which nations have transformed into corporations, hardcore gamers live in a state of suspended animation—and djinn walk the Earth. Protagonist Marzuk—the Cyber Mage of the title—is 15 and spends most of his days playing Final Fantasy 9000. Marzuk’s relatively comfortable life is juxtaposed throughout the book with that of the mercenary Djibrel, who carries a large sword as he makes his way across a futuristic version of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Hossain explains the juxtaposition of old and new technology briskly: “Cutting off heads was necessary in the slums due to the rampant nanotech available. Bullets didn’t kill people with the same finality they used to.” Gradually, their storylines converge, as Marzuk learns of a plot involving the upgraded remains of the International Space Station and a group of djinn working on creating an AI more powerful than anything that exists on Earth. That also leads to denouements that play out in both the physical realm and within the game that Marzuk is so fond of. The tonal whiplash between the novel’s irreverent teen protagonist and the dense plotting can sometimes be disconcerting, but the layered narrative feels assembled with care.

An unpredictable exploration of an expansive future world.