Book Reviews
[Ms. Wilson] has her own fertile imagination and fanciful narrative style… as an American convert to Islam who divides her time between the United States and Egypt, she has an unusual ability to see the best of both worlds. In Alif the Unseen she spins her insights into an exuberant fable that has thrills, chills and—even more remarkably—universal appeal.
Janet Maslin - New York Times
Wilson's fast-paced, imaginative first novel… defies easy categorization. Is it literary fiction? A fantasy novel? A dystopian techno-thriller? An exemplar of Islamic mysticism, with ties to the work of the Sufi poets? Wilson seems to delight in establishing, then confounding, any expectations readers may have…For those who view American fiction as provincial, or dominated by competent but safe work, Wilson's novel offers a resounding, heterodox alternative.
Pauls Toutonghi - New York Times Book Review
G. Willow Wilson's marvelous first novel… takes events similar to those of the Arab Spring, adds a runaway computer virus, an unconventional love story and the odd genie to create an intoxicating, politicized amalgam of science fiction and fantasy… Alif the Unseen confronts some of the most pressing concerns of our young century, but it's also hugely entertaining. Wilson has a Dickensian gift for summoning a city and peopling it with memorable characters.
Elizabeth Hand - Washington Post
Written just before the Arab Spring, this wild adventure mixes the digital derring-do of Neal Stephenson with the magic of The Thousand and One Nights.… Alif the Unseen is a rich blend of storytelling magic.
San Francisco Chronicle
Outstanding.… Wilson’s novel delights in bending genres and confounding expectations: It’s both a literary techno-thriller and a fantasy that takes religion very seriously.… Alif the Unseen… is one of the most inventive, invigorating novels of the year.
Christian Science Monitor
A fantasy thriller that takes modern Islamic computer hackers fighting against State-based repression and entangles that with the fantastical Djinn-riddled world of One Thousand and One Nights.… Like a novelization of one of Joss Whedon’s best Buffy episodes crossed with a Pathe newsreel of the Arab Spring uprisings. It’s a page-turner.
Austin Chronicle
A magical book. The supernatural and sociopolitical thriller Alif the Unseen is timely literary alchemy, a smart, spirited swirl of current events and history; religion and mysticism; reality and myth; computer science and metaphysics.… Alif the Unseen richly rewards believers in the power of the written word.
Seattle Times
Outrageously enjoyable.… The energetic plotting of Philip Pullman, the nimble imagery of Neil Gaiman and the intellectual ambition of Neal Stephenson are three comparisons that come to mind.
Salon.com
[An] excellent modern fairytale.… [Wilson] surpasses the early work of Stephenson and Gaiman, with whom comparisons have already been made.… Alif the Unseen will find many fans in both West and East. They will appreciate it for being just the fine story it is and as a seed for potent ideas yet to come.
io9.com
[I]intriguing, colorful…. Wilson provocatively juxtaposes ancient Arab lore and equally esoteric computer theory, highlighting the many facets of the East-West conflict while offering few insights, to some readers’ regret, into possible resolutions of that conflict.
Publishers Weekly
[I]maginative…. Wilson skillfully weaves … modern-day technologies and computer languages to the folklore and religion of the Middle East. [O]riginal storytelling, this excellent novel supersedes genres as easily as its characters jump from one reality to another. —Catherine Lantz, Morton College Lib., Cicero, Il
Library Journal
The novel is timely…. But though Wilson… displays a savvy knowledge of Muslim arcana, the story is overstuffed with left turns… and bogs down in jargon.… [Still] Wilson displays an admirable Neil Gaiman-esque ambition that isn't quite matched by this oft-plodding tale.
Kirkus Reviews