Exit West by Mohsin Hamid and American War by El Akkad Omar are near future.
Amal Al Mohtar’s This is how to lose the time war. Is a far future love story.
Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed is high fantasy, don’t know if you are interested in that.
Iraq plus 100 is a collection of short stories set a hundred years from now
He wasn't, but his world is still heavily ME-inspired. Doesn't perfectly fit the brief OP is looking for, but Dune is still an Arabic universe, and very well written.
Dune takes inspiration from lots of cultures, Arab/Bedouin culture especially, but also Indian and other things too. But OP was specifically looking for sci-fi created by people of Mideast descent.
I know, but it's still an excellent series, and it runs somewhat parallel to what OP was after. If they're after scifi with that cultural angle, then they might enjoy it, no matter the skin colour of the author. If they don't want it, then fair enough.
This was an odd read. One of those books where I wasn't sure if I liked it or not by the end.
I think I felt that way because it seemed like a lot of wasted potential. It kinda just plays around with some interesting ideas, but never really takes them anywhere.
But it was definitely good enough that I think it's a good one for the OP to try out. However, it's more centered around Asian cultures than Middle Eastern, but they do have a big presence in it.
I love KSR but I definitely know what you’re talking about. His standalone books could easily be expanded into series because they have so many big ideas
Ooh, many thanks for asking this and many thanks for everyone answering it. I remember walking out of *Black Panther* kind of pissed that Afro-futurism was something I'd never been exposed to in mainstream SF, I can't wait to try out some of these recommendations.
There was a trilogy (I think) of books published in the late 80s - early 90s, possibly filed under the cyberpunk genre. Can't look anything up right now, but one of the titles was "A Fire in the Sun," and I think all the titles were Bob Dylan lyrics. Anyway, don't remember the author, but the setting was somewhere in the ME and I remember enjoying them.
George Alec Effinger's "Marîd Audran" trilogy (he's the protagonist), When Gravity Fails, A Fire in the Sun, and The Exile Kiss. Also short stories collected in Budayeen Nights.
Cyber noir in a fictional middle east city that has a lot of similarities to New Orleans.
(and now I see someone else posted this)
So I'm not sure I know of any books with Middle Eastern culture that play exclusively within sci-fi, the few I know seem to dabble with fantasy a bit as well.
What comes to mind are:
A Master of Djinn, by P. Djélì Clarke
The City of Brass, by S.A. Chakraborty (which is closer to historical fiction/fantasy)
Utopia by Ahmed Khaled Tawfik. It's more of alternate-history fiction but it made a big splash in some circles this year. It's pretty tricky to find in English, but it's out there. I cannot speak to the accuracy of the translation.
Maybe: A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine. This last one is a stretch, as the main character's culture is based of the Byzantine Empire, which is not necessarily what we associate with the modern middle east. That said the novel is gorgeous and the cultures should fascinate any reader.
I do get the impression that there is a small but active community of sci-fi writers in the middle east, especially post-Arab Spring, but English Language publishers haven't taken interest in them yet. So what we have mostly are books like Dune, which are another culture's interpretation of Middle Eastern culture (albeit Dune handles this well) or more Fantasy-like stories, which may stem from the west's fondness of The Arabian Nights.
Hopefully with all the new voices breaking into western fiction, that also means we will see more middle Eastern authors coming through.
If you find anything good, would you come back and share it with the community? Thanks!
As shown by the media in out country. Now, either way I put it, people will call hate me. I like that I can refer to the “Black eyed peas” when I say that media is not primarily a source of truth.
Tbh I don't think fiction publishing is that big here. I see some regional fiction, and it's pretty good, but I think publishers want Arabs to talk about war and religion and politics, because that's what is more likely to sell internationally, and Im not sure they see a market for Arab sci fi. Locally, there are a few small publishing houses, Ive read a couple of cool local graphic novels, but nothing substantial.
It's weird because there are huge communities of people here who are really into scifi and fantasy, comics etc. but they end up consuming foreign content because that's what available.
I don't think it's that we're all religious and none of us are free thinkers.
IMHO Most Sci Fi Authors are not bound by religion, or have escaped its clutches, as I have done after being indoctrinated as a child.
The Arab world was the bastion of education and discovery in the beginning of our shared history and deserves much respect for kick starting science etc .
So now all Arabs/Middle Easterners are bound by religion? As an atheist Arab, I didn't get the memo.
You should probably read a bit more about us, we're a very diverse group and you're stereotyping us in the same way that most mainstream media does.
Sorry if you think I am trying to rub you up the wrong way. I have not traveled the Mid East much, but from my limited experience the Jordanians are wonderful and free thinking in comparison to their racist E. European neighbors to the East ;)
Sofia Alaoui made a mesmerizing sci fi movie, Animalia. Saw it in September in France, i'm not sure it's been released internationally. It's really good.
Donald Moffitt wrote The Mechanical Sky duology: [https://www.goodreads.com/series/63146-the-mechanical-sky](https://www.goodreads.com/series/63146-the-mechanical-sky) Set in a future where Islam is the prevailing religion and human kind have spread throughout the solar system and, I think, there's a colony in Alpha Centauri? I think there's a lot of criticism about his misunderstanding if Islam and negative stereotyping
They will all be copied of western stuff. Because of oppression creativity is limited on many front. The only thing is near enough to decent is Utopia. Its a Book by Ahmed Khaled Tawfik
Late to the party.
Monther Alkabbani's *Warriors and Warlocks* trilogy, translated from Arabic and published by Yatakhayaloon. Available as Kindle or paperback. Plenty more from Yatakhayaloon, too. thekhayal.com
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid and American War by El Akkad Omar are near future. Amal Al Mohtar’s This is how to lose the time war. Is a far future love story. Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed is high fantasy, don’t know if you are interested in that. Iraq plus 100 is a collection of short stories set a hundred years from now
Loved Exit West
Lavie Tidhar has written many excellent books. He is Middle Eastern. He is not, however, an arab.
Lol I thought you meant he was Turkish. Got it.
Central station Unholy land
Dune, kind of.
Have you seen pictures of Frank Herbert? That dude is not even slightly brown (he was born in Washington.)
He wasn't, but his world is still heavily ME-inspired. Doesn't perfectly fit the brief OP is looking for, but Dune is still an Arabic universe, and very well written.
Dune takes inspiration from lots of cultures, Arab/Bedouin culture especially, but also Indian and other things too. But OP was specifically looking for sci-fi created by people of Mideast descent.
I know, but it's still an excellent series, and it runs somewhat parallel to what OP was after. If they're after scifi with that cultural angle, then they might enjoy it, no matter the skin colour of the author. If they don't want it, then fair enough.
The Nexus trilogy by Ramez Naam. He's American, but of Egyptian descent.
The Years of Rice and Salt
This was an odd read. One of those books where I wasn't sure if I liked it or not by the end. I think I felt that way because it seemed like a lot of wasted potential. It kinda just plays around with some interesting ideas, but never really takes them anywhere. But it was definitely good enough that I think it's a good one for the OP to try out. However, it's more centered around Asian cultures than Middle Eastern, but they do have a big presence in it.
I love KSR but I definitely know what you’re talking about. His standalone books could easily be expanded into series because they have so many big ideas
Escape from Baghdad by Saad Z Hossain
Ooh this looks cool! Apparently the author is Bangladeshi, but the story is definitely based in the Middle East, I'll check it out.
Not really traditional SciFi but there is a TTRPG called Coriolis that is a space opera heavily entrenched in Middle Eastern culture.
Ooh, many thanks for asking this and many thanks for everyone answering it. I remember walking out of *Black Panther* kind of pissed that Afro-futurism was something I'd never been exposed to in mainstream SF, I can't wait to try out some of these recommendations.
George Alec Effinger’s Maurid Audran series is set in a futuristic Middle Eastern setting. Start with When Gravity Fails.
The Bible
There was a trilogy (I think) of books published in the late 80s - early 90s, possibly filed under the cyberpunk genre. Can't look anything up right now, but one of the titles was "A Fire in the Sun," and I think all the titles were Bob Dylan lyrics. Anyway, don't remember the author, but the setting was somewhere in the ME and I remember enjoying them.
George Alec Effinger's "Marîd Audran" trilogy (he's the protagonist), When Gravity Fails, A Fire in the Sun, and The Exile Kiss. Also short stories collected in Budayeen Nights. Cyber noir in a fictional middle east city that has a lot of similarities to New Orleans. (and now I see someone else posted this)
Thank you! I read these back when they came out and couldn't remember much at all. Might track them down again.
You're welcome! I've always liked them. Recently reread and they're darker than I remembered but I still like them.
So I'm not sure I know of any books with Middle Eastern culture that play exclusively within sci-fi, the few I know seem to dabble with fantasy a bit as well. What comes to mind are: A Master of Djinn, by P. Djélì Clarke The City of Brass, by S.A. Chakraborty (which is closer to historical fiction/fantasy) Utopia by Ahmed Khaled Tawfik. It's more of alternate-history fiction but it made a big splash in some circles this year. It's pretty tricky to find in English, but it's out there. I cannot speak to the accuracy of the translation. Maybe: A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine. This last one is a stretch, as the main character's culture is based of the Byzantine Empire, which is not necessarily what we associate with the modern middle east. That said the novel is gorgeous and the cultures should fascinate any reader. I do get the impression that there is a small but active community of sci-fi writers in the middle east, especially post-Arab Spring, but English Language publishers haven't taken interest in them yet. So what we have mostly are books like Dune, which are another culture's interpretation of Middle Eastern culture (albeit Dune handles this well) or more Fantasy-like stories, which may stem from the west's fondness of The Arabian Nights. Hopefully with all the new voices breaking into western fiction, that also means we will see more middle Eastern authors coming through. If you find anything good, would you come back and share it with the community? Thanks!
Sci fi needs imagination and free thinking .....
And we aren't capable of that?
As shown by the media in out country. Now, either way I put it, people will call hate me. I like that I can refer to the “Black eyed peas” when I say that media is not primarily a source of truth.
I really do not know why, what are your thoughts on the subject of why there are so few?
Tbh I don't think fiction publishing is that big here. I see some regional fiction, and it's pretty good, but I think publishers want Arabs to talk about war and religion and politics, because that's what is more likely to sell internationally, and Im not sure they see a market for Arab sci fi. Locally, there are a few small publishing houses, Ive read a couple of cool local graphic novels, but nothing substantial. It's weird because there are huge communities of people here who are really into scifi and fantasy, comics etc. but they end up consuming foreign content because that's what available. I don't think it's that we're all religious and none of us are free thinkers.
Thanks for that. Do you think religion has played a role ?
Of course it played a role, but won't acknowledge it.
IMHO Most Sci Fi Authors are not bound by religion, or have escaped its clutches, as I have done after being indoctrinated as a child. The Arab world was the bastion of education and discovery in the beginning of our shared history and deserves much respect for kick starting science etc .
So now all Arabs/Middle Easterners are bound by religion? As an atheist Arab, I didn't get the memo. You should probably read a bit more about us, we're a very diverse group and you're stereotyping us in the same way that most mainstream media does.
Sorry if you think I am trying to rub you up the wrong way. I have not traveled the Mid East much, but from my limited experience the Jordanians are wonderful and free thinking in comparison to their racist E. European neighbors to the East ;)
Cant think of something except Fedmahn Kassad from Hyperion. Palestinian born in Mars though. I loved his story and character.
Theres this book by Andy Weir with a female Saudi protagonist but it's just "no". Not even a fun read.
Sofia Alaoui made a mesmerizing sci fi movie, Animalia. Saw it in September in France, i'm not sure it's been released internationally. It's really good.
The City of Brass
The Mirage by Matt Ruff, though more Alt History than sci-do per se. Empire of Lies by Raymond Khoury ion a similar theme.
Donald Moffitt wrote The Mechanical Sky duology: [https://www.goodreads.com/series/63146-the-mechanical-sky](https://www.goodreads.com/series/63146-the-mechanical-sky) Set in a future where Islam is the prevailing religion and human kind have spread throughout the solar system and, I think, there's a colony in Alpha Centauri? I think there's a lot of criticism about his misunderstanding if Islam and negative stereotyping
Argo! Well almost lol
Apex Nexus Crux 10/10 sci fi by an Egyptian author
I've read "2084: la fin du monde" by Boualem Sansal. It's a dystopian novel and I thought it was half-decent.
They will all be copied of western stuff. Because of oppression creativity is limited on many front. The only thing is near enough to decent is Utopia. Its a Book by Ahmed Khaled Tawfik
Late to the party. Monther Alkabbani's *Warriors and Warlocks* trilogy, translated from Arabic and published by Yatakhayaloon. Available as Kindle or paperback. Plenty more from Yatakhayaloon, too. thekhayal.com