AMIRA & HAMZA

The sibling duo return on another quest to save the world.

It’s been two months since sister and brother defeated Ifrit in Qaf and saved the universe. It’s also the end of summer: Hamza wants to have something awesome to share when school starts, so he goes off to explore an old, abandoned, castlelike house. But a sudden tornado hits, and he wakes up in the Oriental Institute, a nearby Chicago museum, face to face with Ifrit’s father, Ahriman, who has returned in search of the Ring of Power that will allow him to control the human and jinn worlds. To find it, Ahriman needs all three parts of an ancient oculus—and the help of Hamza, who is a Chosen One. Ahriman threatens to destroy everything Hamza loves if he does not help him. After solving a riddle, they claim the first piece from the Oriental Institute, then travel via Ahriman’s tornado to the British Museum and the Louvre to collect the remaining pieces, with Amira and fairy princess Aasman Peri in pursuit. Alternating chapters from Amira’s and Hamza’s points of view capture their thoughts and emotions. Ahmed cleverly weaves in Islamic historical figures, some of whom are ghost Keepers of The Ring who pose riddles, like scholar and philosopher Ibn Sina and scientists and inventors the Banu Musa brothers. Ahmed’s rich worldbuilding continues in this imaginative and absorbing sequel.

A captivating magical adventure.