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Dearest Reader,
Injustice is a powerful theme in the novel you’re about to read, but there would be no greater injustice than beginning this note with anything but my undying, boundless gratitude for your interest in my art. Without your wide eyes and open hearts, there’d be little power in my drive to publish this work. What good is a storyteller without those who sit and listen to the tale? Truly, thank you.
I must admit, though, that the above show of gratitude wasn’t among the original purposes of this note. One of those purposes is to relay to you the Trigger/Content Warnings of the novel. There’s quite a few, listed below my signature at the end of this note, and I do urge you to read them. My aim in including graphic content is never to upset or offend anyone, particularly not those of you who picked up my book.
The other original purpose of this note was to prepare you for the unexpected, genre-bending elements you might encounter in the novel. It took me three years to write this book, and throughout that time, I was often asked, “In what genre does your book fall?”
To this day, I fail to answer the question without a blank stare. I don’t want to sound pretentious, but the genre does feel unique in some ways. The closest category I’ve found is Science Fantasy. The book includes typical fantasy elements, like monarchies and swords and magical creatures, but it also mentions hover vehicles and sophisticated lighting panels and the biochemistry and genetics of creating life.
That’s all. I just wanted you to understand this information before walking into the Prologue. It’s not true High Fantasy, and it’s not true Science Fiction. Perhaps the real purpose of this note, I’m realizing now as I write it, is more selfish in nature than I’d like to admit. After three years, I finally got to answer the question.
Thank you again, and I truly hope you enjoy the journey.
Yours,
Zaid Hasan
TW/CW: graphic violence, murder (including one child), loss, manipulation and coercion, cults and organizations/institutions of control, non-graphic discussion of sexual abuse and grooming, mild sexual content, frequent nudity in non-sexual contexts, war, genocide, pregnancy loss due to medical complications
To my wife and my parents,
It is no easy task to have extraordinary love for an ordinary man. Your unconditional, limitless support for my art is more than I deserve. Though I fail, I aim to be a better husband and a better son everyday.
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And to Samia,
Forgive me for every way in which I’ve failed you.
Rejoice with me for every way in which I haven’t.
I miss you in every single moment I draw breath.
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Poetry of Samia Siddiqi
1965 - 1996
I wish I was all cured
I wouldn’t want anything more
I would do all the things I ever wanted to do
I would not worry about getting through
I’d work, play, and have a child
Go out in the world and just be wild
There wouldn’t be any limits or restrictions
There would be hard work with conviction
My baby and I would find a place of our own
Just live together in peace
All alone