Looking for the Mahdi

2.5. Good writing and a page-turner, but this near-future SF thriller set in the Middle East felt shallow and dated 20 years after its publication. Which is a shame - it's not every science fiction novel that follows a plucky, sarcastic Arab-American foreign correspondent and a military cyborg with a heart of gold.

up to p.89 - shaping up to something like Silver Metal Lover with William Gibson speed.

Enjoyed the ride ~ this was the author's first book and I felt it sagged in some places under the weight of narrative about the politics of Khuruchabja that some decent editing would have streamlined. Khuruchabja is a fictional place in the near future in the middle east and the author's use of too many references to politics in our recent decade seem forced.

I see that previous readers have taken it to be a statement about global politics and women's rights, BUT I see it more as a metaphor about loyalty and what is human? And who do humans remain loyal to?

John, a humanoid fabricant at first is loyal to who ever legally owns him. Later he becomes show more loyal to Kay Bee although confused and damaged and finally unique. Like humans. show less

Halton is a humanoid fabricant, created as a bodyguard. Kay is an androgynous woman who has reported from the middle east as a man before and she is sent in to try to help Halton get out. Along the way she has to try to survive with her sanity intact. Everyone has an agenda except the android.

It's interesting and the characters are well drawn, it's less SF than feminist commentary on the treatment of women in the middle east. I enjoyed the read but wasn't terribly impressed and I'm not completely sure why.

This book was published in 1996 and was nominated for an Arthur C. Clarke award in 1997. That's an indication of how good this debut novel is.

Kay Bee Suleiman is a journalist who rose to fame covering the war in Khuruchabja, an Arab nation with few natural resources. Kay Bee describes herself as "homely as a mud fence" when she dresses as a woman but dressed as a man her features were judged as distinguished. In Khuruchabja she had to pretend to be a man since women could not hold jobs. Covering that war was stressful so Kay Bee was happy to go back to work for the Global Broadcasting Network (GBN) behind the scenes, giving feed-ins for the on air personalities. Ten years later, she is requested/ordered to return to Khuruchabja to show more accompany a government asset who is an artificially intelligent and enhanced humanoid. John Halton looks human but he has mental and physical capabilities far greater than any person. The idea is that he will pose as Kay Bee's camera person until the time they meet the ruler of Khuruchabja, Lawrence Abdul bin Hassan al Samir al Rashid. Then John will become the king's bodyguard and Kay Bee will return home alone. Kay Bee hates the idea of returning to Khuruchabja but finds that she has no choice but to acquiesce. Unbeknownst to Kay Bee, John is also smuggling a computer chip into the country. Kay Bee may be unaware but other people know about it and want it. After they land in Khuruchabja their taxi driver delivers them to some people who will stop at nothing to find the chip. Fortunately, John is able to use his superhuman powers to kill the kidnappers but Kay Bee got pretty roughed up. That's when she learns about the chip and she is determined to find out what is on it. Through an old contact she is put in touch with a group of computer geeks. There are multiple layers of security on the chip and the final level requires a lot of computing power. They manage to get to play the final message for a short period of time and what they see is mind-blowing. Kay Bee and John don't know what to do with it except hand it over to the authorized contact. Kay Bee and John become close during the hours and days they spend together. John confides in Kay Bee that he is afraid he will be terminated since, to the government, he is just a piece of machinery. Kay Bee wants to help him but as they are constantly under surveillance it is difficult to change the planned handover. Could there possibly be a happy ending for Kay Bee and John? And what does the future hold for Khuruchabja? Read the book to answer these questions. I promise there will be twists and turns.

N. (which stands for Nancy) Lee Wood doesn't appear to have published anything since 2014 and she became a naturalized citizen of New Zealand in November, 2020. All of the books she has written appear to be out of print and there are no copies in my local library. That is a real shame since I am quite eager to read more of her writing. I guess I'll have to keep my eyes peeled at book sales and used book stores. show less

This is a difficult book to classify, other than just calling it Fiction. Originally published in 1996, the book takes place in a future not too distant from our now, 2008, while no specific date clues are given as to the “now” for the setting of the story. There are some developments that are still a long way from reality, such as custom grown humans, called “fabricants” in the story, that are still not quite human. Regardless of the time frame, deception using the world media is still a major part of statecraft in the story’s setting. While there are some Science Fiction overtones, as suggested above, the real plot is closer to Spy-Fi than Sci-Fi.

The story concerns a washed up burned out journalist, now providing edited news show more feed to the newscasters on-camera, being asked to reprise their past glory days of covering the war in a mythical Middle Eastern country one more time to bring a fabricant that is to serve as a body guard for a new ruler, approved of and favored by the next generation CIA. Complicating things are the fact that this newsperson is a woman. Like the last time she was in this country, to gain access anyplace, she must be disguised as a man.

If you are not familiar with the word “Mahdi” in the title, this is a religious figure in the Muslim faith that is similar to the Messiah of Jewish / Christian based philosophies. The appearance of the Mahdi is supposed to usher in a new era of peace for mankind. While this concept is integral to the story, the author presents this story as how politics, equally corrupt and power hungry the world over, and not religion shape the conflicts of the Middle East.

In a scene that is eerily accurate in foretelling future events, given the publication date, when the Mahdi does appear, in human form as a new ruler, his proposal to peace in the Middle East sounds very much like a proposal recently, as of January 2008, floated by Saudi Arabia.

While undeniably fiction, I found the story line very plausible, even without coincidences like the one mentioned above. What’s more, I found Wood’s style very flowing. Despite the large number of transliterated foreign words, the book became a quick read. The action comes at you in a nice pace and quickly sucks you in. I would like to find more of this author’s work and add it to my collection.

Overall, a good solid four star read. If you enjoy spy thrillers, try this for something a little different. If you are up on current world politics, this falls into the realm of Really Scary as a possible happening thing. If you are looking for hard core Sci-Fi, you may be disappointed. show less

I made it 126 pages in after one week, but I am giving up. This book did not make me want to turn the pages. Maybe in the mid-90s this was more fresh and exciting, but now it just feels dated and hokey, with characters talking into modems (not a very effective way to communicate) and the future looking much like the 90s except with holographic TV and a space hotel. Not my cup of tea and too many books to read, so I will move on.

Rather liked this book, way back when. Was reminded that I'd read it after looking at the blurb for "Alif the Unseen".