Justly compared to the works of Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman, and William Gibson, Alif the Unseen is a tour-de-force, an addictive blend of classic fantasy with the 21st-century reality of imperilled young hackers in a repressive security state in the Arabian Gulf, now at a very friendly price point. Alif is a brilliant young superhacker in an unnamed Gulf state, and his computer has just been breached. While he scrambles to protect his clients (dissidents, outlaws, Alif doesn"t discriminate), he and his friends realize that they"ve been found by "the Hand" -- maybe a person, maybe a program, but definitely terrifyingly powerful. Alif, with the help of his childhood friend Dina, an ancient book, and a bizarre protector who almost looks human, must find a way into the hidden world of the djinn if he has any hope of saving the world of mortal beings.