SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

I guess this is semi-OT, but given that many people have mentioned enjoying the atypical setting, can anyone think of any other examples? When I say "other examples" I mean SF where the characters are Muslim and/or Arab, and not simply cardboard enemies or evil people. I don't mean that the characters should be unrelievedly good, just that right now (and within the last decade) it'd be easy to write SF that posited all or most Muslims or Arabs as evil terrorists.

Other than this I was able to think of The Dervish House and Fool's War. I would recommend both. Anyone know any others that they would recommend?

I came across mentions of Sophia's Journal: Time Warp 1857 and A Mosque Among the Stars when I did a Google search but don't know much about them.

Pashazade apparently also exists but after reading some reviews I'm not sure how much it counts as SF, or whether it depicts its characters convincingly.

I forgot to mention, I also came across this web site, which might be interesting reading.

Also, I'm dumb ... this page reminded me that I forgot Dune. My excuse is that it's so far future that I forgot. Or that it's such a classic that it's part of the assumed background. One or the other ought to work.

There is a popular Egyptian dystopia that was translated into English just last year: Utopia . I had to get a copy through The Book Depisitory since my usual places weren't carrying it.

Also Apex magazine did an all-Arab edition edition in 2010 (I think?) that was quite interesting.

I don't think it's off topic at all, Sid. The fact that the story featured Arab and Muslim characters is the reason I was most excited to read it. I love international stories in general, but this was something that's so lacking in sci-fI and fantasy, it was a real pleasure. In fact, I liked it so much that I've already started the second book in the series. I thought it was really special the way he showed such a mix of respect and irreverence for both the religion and the culture. I never felt he was mocking them (much), which was a pretty fine line considering how gritty the story was.

The only other book I can think of is God's War. It was a book that I really wanted to like because of the Muslim characters and because the author seemed really cool, but it just wasn't quite to my taste somehow. But it has a lot of really good reviews as well, so maybe some of you guys will love it.

It's not genre (or even Muslim), but the flavor of this book reminded me of Bangkok 8, the first in a series of detective novels set in Thailand. It's been a while since I read it, but I remember enjoying the different perspective quite a lot.

Ooh, thanks Peggy. I love mysteries. I'll have to give that a try.

Greg Egan's Zendegi set in near-future Iran. Mainly focussed on AI and MMORPG. OK but it didn't quite gel for me - characters and story seemed a bit flat.

I just read a reasonably interesting historical fantasy in Spanish, Rihla by Juan Miguel Aguilar, where the main character is a Granadan scientist who goes on an expedition to the New World before Columbus.

Snail in Danger (Sid) wrote: "I guess this is semi-OT, but given that many people have mentioned enjoying the atypical setting, can anyone think of any other examples? When I say "other examples" I mean SF where the characters..."
Not sure if it is OK to mention my own book, The Understanding:The Jump-Clones, by Dennis Pennefather.
This tale is centered on the event of human cloning in an alternative Earth dimension, which in the 'now' is some 36 years ahead of this dimension.

In inhereting an instinctive knowledge of the memoria mundae of mankind, the Clones have a cosmic awareness which of its very nature supplants the monotheistic religions of the day.
Thus the people embrace the enlightenment of the Clones, and that which is all that is left of Christianity becomes the evil, bent on destroying the Clones, to save and restore the flickering ember of philosophical credibility.

In this novel, it is Adam, a Clone, destined to lead a dimension jump to our dimension of 198,000BC, to initiate a von Daniken type husbanding of our early humanity, who is the hero.
Christian zealots will stop at nothing in order to stop the dimension jump.
Is that the type of environment you were thinking of, Sid?

Well does your book involve Muslim and/or Arab main characters? Not talking about religious overtones in sci-fi in general.

I second Snail-in-Danger's recommendation of The Dervish House, which won the Campbell Award for best novel last year. Turkish, not Arab, but definitely an Islamic culture. And a really well-written story.

The Lions of Al-Rassan is Arabic, but fantasy, not scifi. Excellent book.

I'll second both The Dervish House and God's War. I found both to be excellent.

On the fantasy side, there's Lions as Sandra as already pointed out as well as Throne of the Crescent Moon and The Desert of Souls.

It's not science fiction, but I quite enjoyed the graphic novel(s) Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood and Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return, which can also come in one volume.

Also, Steven Barnes wrote an alternate history series that is partially set in North Africa with Arab Muslims, who are slave owners in North America where white people are the slaves... First book is Lion's Blood: A Novel of Slavery and Freedom in an Alterative America.

I'll third 'God's War', which if you're an ebook person, can be had for six bucks off of baen books website. it's very gritty, and has a lot of seedy underbelly stuff, so I'd recommend it to people who liked this one.

Pashazade has been rec'd to me a few times now, maybe I should get around to it at some point...

I'll wholeheartedly second Persepolis, part 1 especially is fantastic.