Alif the Unseen

Alif the Unseen follows the path of a young hacker living in the heart of a strict Middle East security state. He plays fast and loose with his digital skills, arrogant enough to believe himself good enough that he can't be caught. But alas, he falls in love with the wrong girl, who breaks his heart. In an effort to eliminate any possibility of ever encountering her again in the online world, he develops a code which can "profile" an individual's online presence. Unfortunately, this brings attention to himself he didn't bargain for. Add to this the aquisition of an ancient tome and mythical beings come to life, Alif finds his life completely turned upside down and he will never ever be the same.

Alif is what you would expect from any accomplished hacker regardless of locale...arrogant, preoccupied and still living with his mother! A young man who thinks he has all the answers, Alif quickly finds out there is so much he doesn't know and even more he will never fully understand. I enjoyed the character, though there were times when I wanted to slap him in the back of the head to make him see things more clearly. He had amazing moments of maturity and insightfulness, but these were usually followed by mirror moments of self centered obtuseness.

In some ways, this is a classic tale. Boy falls in love with the aloof physically beautiful girl he thinks he wants rather than the girl right in front of him who is the best thing for him. His heart is broken by the beauty, while the girl next door stands by him through thick and thin. And things truly get thick as Alif is chased by state police through the streets of his city and into the elusive world of what he thought were the mythical jinn.

This is where the story jumps the track of classic. Running from human and jinn alike, he finds unlikely allies in an american convert, a vatela (vampire), a sila (siren), a religious leader, and a marid (genie). In the end, though, it's up to him and his coding skills to save the world.