Mirage – Mirage #1 – Somaiya Daud

In a star system dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have adventure, and travel beyond her isolated moon.

But when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects: she is kidnapped by the regime and taken in secret to the royal palace, where she discovers that she is nearly identical to the cruel half-Vathek Princess Maram. The princess is so hated by her conquered people that she requires a body double, someone to appear in public as Maram, ready to die in her place.

As Amani is forced into her new role, she can’t help but enjoy the palace’s beauty—and her time with the princess’ fiancé, Idris. But the glitter of the royal court belies a world of violence and fear. If Amani ever wishes to see her family again, she must play the princess to perfection…because one wrong move could lead to her death.

 

Review:

Mirage is the debut novel by Somaiya Daud. It’s a fast read, with an interesting premise and a lot of potential. It certainly has its flaws and one of it is what I generally dislike about this kind of Young Adult books: the romance. This is probably a very personal thing, but I just wish there wasn’t this urge of always slotting in some kind of romance. In my opinion, it isn’t needed to make a book enjoyable. That being said, it did have a lot of redeeming qualities that in the end made me enjoy this book.

 

Amani’s world is one of occupation. Her solar system has been invaded by the Vathek, who have now made her planet their home base. Amani and her family live on one of the moons, trying to avoid poverty under the cruel rule of the Vathek and clinging to forbidden traditions. On her Majority Night, some sort of coming-of-age ceremony, Amani gets kidnapped by the Vathek and taken to the Royal Palace, the Ziyaana. She soon discovers that she looks almost exactly like the Vathek Princess, Maram, and that this is the exact reason she was taken. Maram, half Kushaila and half Vathek, born from a forced union between the conquered Kushaila Princess and the Vathek ruler, is hated by both. All the conquered see is their conquerer and all the conqeurers see is the weaker blood of the people they’ve crushed. This means she is in constant danger and needs a body double to appear in public.

 

Amani and Maram are both very interesting characters and I really enjoyed reading their interactions and seeing their relationship blossom throughout the book. Maram is clearly the villain in the beginning of the book, a cruel girl without any empathy, entitled and Vathek to the bone. However, as Amani and Maram spend more and more time together it becomes clear that there’s more to her than meets the eye. Forced into a position she didn’t choose, unable to please either side of her family and people, she is struggling to find her place in this world. Amani is as a beacon to her because she allows her to explore her Kushaila side, something she hasn’t been able to do since the death of her mother. Maram stands out in this book as a complex and multifaceted character and for her alone I’d keep reading this series.

 

Being the body double for the Vathek Princess also means spending time with her fiancée, Kushaila royalty and dreamboat Idris. It was extremely predictable that some sort of romance would blossom from this and I’m not a fan. I think this book would have been better served with Idris and Amani becoming allies and connecting over their Kushaila heritage without the romance. A strong friendship would have made everything far more believable then this whirlwind hidden romance.

 

The events at the end of the book feel a bit rushed, but apart from that it’s a very good ending and it certainly made me curious about the next book. As is the case with many debuts Mirage is not without it’s faults, but it was definitely an interesting read. Its science fiction background is very minor and will therefore also be quite enjoyable for people prefering Fantasy over SciFi. I’m interested to read the next book to see where this story goes.

 

 

Release Date: August 28th, 2018
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 336
Format: Hardback
Source: Bought