Found on a list of Sci-fi/Fantasy by Muslim/Women authors. Why this has not shown up on any of my lists of good fantasy without the special categorization I cannot figure out. The world created here by Tahir is outstanding. The setting is Serra, a central city of the Scholar peoples, but currently part of the Martial empire. In this city is the Blackcliff, the training facility for Masks, the elite soldiers of the Empire. Elias and Helene are about to graduate. Elias is the son of the commandant, but neither wants anything to do with the other; they operate on diametrically opposed moral foundations. Helene is the sole woman mask of her generation (not class, generation). The two are the top fighters/soldiers of their class. Laia is a young girl forced by desperation into spying for the resistance in order to save her brother. The intertwined relationships between these three and various factions (both physical and mystical) in the empire and resistance is a complex weaving that Tahir has set out. This book is not about magic and mystics, but I am sure that the world is magical and mysticism will weigh heavily in this story. And the slow reveal of the history of the world though personal stories keeps me pushing though to discover more.
4 stars (out of 4)
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