FLEDGLING

In a socially and physically stratified future, political forces seek a marital alliance between Raisa Freelund, daughter of the chief guardian of Upper Earth, and Lein Verg, son of the amir of Lower Earth.

Upon their marriage, Verg and the Alliance Liberté of Independent Guardian Nationals, or ALIGN, will launch the Enlightenment Project, “knitting” the population of Lower Earth into streams of knowledge and the accoutrements of industry, technology, and prosperity while eliminating the Ahraar, whom they regard as destructive “brutes.” The Ahraar conduct strikes against ALIGN and the Verg collaborators’ exploitation of people and resources, while planning a second revolution; their analogue records reveal the consequences of their failed first attempt, and the subsequent mind control of the people of the Bridge. To prevent a future of eternal subjugation and servitude, Ahraar enlists political prisoners Nayf and Nada Verg, the twin grandchildren of the deposed amira, to capture Raisa. To win people over and promote the Enlightenment, ALIGN styles Raisa as the Fledgling, a symbol of freedom foretold by the late amira—but fractures soon reveal unexpected underlying plots. In this duology opener, Ali depicts a richly complex setting through the perspectives of an array of politically positioned characters. References to the Islamic lunar calendar and scripture and Arabic naming conventions, as well as clear allusions to present-day geopolitics, conflicts, inequities, and imperialism, lend verisimilitude to a dystopian future of technological and environmental destruction.

A grippingly believable mirror of our own world.