This year has been a year of many ‘reading’ firsts. My first slipstream fiction book- 11.22.63 by Stephen King, my first review copy- Served With Love by Priyanka Menon, and now, my first Urban Fantasy fiction read- Hell! No Saints in Paradise by A.K. Asif.
I may also add that this is the first book I’ve read which has a base of Muslim religious beliefs. Many people do believe that the Muslim religion and Christian religion have similar themes, and I do agree with that. But, after reading this book, I learnt that there are certain subtle distinctions in the two faiths. Hence, this book was a literary as well as educational experience!
Let’s get to the plot of the book:
This book is set in 2050, mostly in Lahore, Pakistan. Ismael is a Pakistani-American student who left Lahore and went to New York, in a bid to distance himself from his over-zealous father, Ibrahim. However, a chance meeting with an enigmatic Petra and an interesting experience at an Ayahuasca ceremony, introduces Ismael to the domain of otherworldly beings. Other-worldly beings who wish to send Ismael on a perilous journey of self-discovery in Paradise/Hell. What’s the catch? Ismael doesn’t believe that Paradise/Hell exists.
In spite of his agnostic beliefs, Ismael is selected for a mission: return to Pakistan, pose as a true believer and gain his father’s trust. Will he survived long enough to infiltrate his father’s inner sanctum and complete his mission?
The characters in this book are Ismael, Ismael’s father, Wali and Ghulam Rasool who are the members of his father’s household. The other-worldly beings mentioned are Pir Pul Siraat and Chacha Khidr, and of course, Tarzan. Ismael’s love interest is Laila and Sophie (yes, and that causes a certain dilemma in the book!) There are many other characters, but revealing them to you now would be akin to giving spoilers.
What I liked about this book is the wonderful language with which the author tells the story. Mind you, I read this book before sleeping one day, and I had a lucid dream of the exact same part of the book that I was reading before dozing off! That’s how powerfully worded this book is.
Moreover, I felt that the author did justice in describing the various elements of the Muslim faith to the reader. The various prayers to be said at different times of the day, the many beliefs about the horrors in Hell and wonders in Paradise, the psyche of religious leaders and fanaticists and much more. However, I still feel that readers who have a prior knowledge about the Muslim faith would enjoy this book better than the others.
The otherworldly beings were described in such a magical manner, it felt like they really existed! Also, another similarity that I felt when I was reading the book: it felt like I was reading a fiction book based on Greek Mythology! No doubt, there is a Greek Mythology reference in this book, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the way the magical description felt eerily similar to Percy Jackson. That wondroud belief, the total imaginative power of the text, the feeling that the gods can do anything. That sort of feeling. So, if you’re a fan of Greek/Egypt/Norse Mythology, you’ll love this book too.
What I didn’t like about this book is that at one point of time, there were too many explicit descriptions of acts of sexual nature. Granted, the Paradise part of the book was meant to have a lot of descriptions like these, but they could have been tempered down for audiences who may not appreciate such graphic descriptions in the book. If a prurient adolescent like me felt a bit disgusted with the book, you can only imagine how the naive souls would feel. (Just kidding, I’m not prurient 😛 )
I give this book a 4/5 star rating and recommend it to anyone who is interested in knowing more about the Muslim faith. Also, I would recommend it to readers who want to enjoy a thoroughlh engrossing Urban Fantasy read.
~Amateur-Book-Reviewer
Thank you Writersmelon and HarperCollins for sending me a review copy of this book!
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