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 Effendi
by Jon Courtenay-Grimwood
List Price: £12.99
Hardcover (April 2002)
Published by Earthlight: ISBN: 0743202856
Review by Lavie Tidhar
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UK
Effendi is the second novel in Jon Courtenay Grimwood’s
Arabesk trilogy - a series centering around the free city of “El
Iskandryia” on the shores of North Africa. We may relate to the city
better as “Alexandria” (indeed, my word-processor is quite happy with
that name, yet throws a tantrum at the original spelling!) and prefer to
think of it as part of that political entity called Egypt - but at the
risk of mixing metaphors, “we’re not in Kansas anymore”! The
Arabesk is very much an alternate history, portraying a world
where the Ottoman and Prussian empires still exist, where Egypt is still
under the Sultan and still has a Khedive.
I must confess I wasn’t able to get through a Courtenay Grimwood novel
before Pashazade appeared last year. Something to do with
over-the-top cyberpunk narratives put me off each time. Yet Pashazade,
and now Effendi, reeled me in within the first few pages
Here too Courtenay Grimwood draws heavily on cyberpunk traditions, with
its fetishistic worship of gadgets, rapid-fire techno-speak and
fascination with designer drugs. The famous wrap-around shades are a
constant feature of the novel’s central character, but this is an author
who has come-of-age through the writing of these novels. Simply put,
these books are so much fun that you may want to go out looking for
Courtenay Grimwood, in order to corner him and force him to write more!
The mixture of high-tech gadgetry and traditional middle-Eastern
culture, the expert blending of murder mystery, cyberpunk and thriller,
the superb characterization that makes you genuinely care about the
people involved, all add to one of the best surprise publications of
recent years. After being in the profession for some time (in paperback
exile, as it were) Jon Courtenay Grimwood is finally set to become a
“bright new star”, and reach the market share he so richly deserves.
For those of you who have not yet read Pashazade, it is the story
of one Ashraf Bey - fugitive from US law (and the mafia!), a
designer baby with some very special features, the supposed son of the
Emir of Tunis oh, and he’s in a LOT of trouble… Arriving in the chaos
of North Africa, Raf is set to marry the daughter of a rich
industrialist and settle in to a life of leisure - yet little things, like
the murder of his aunt, keep cropping up. Soon he is busy playing the
detective, dodging assassins, and having to take care of his young niece Hani. To say more would be to spoil the story, but Courtenay Grimwood’s
cast of superbly drawn characters, from Raf’s fiancé Zara and her
half-brother, Avatar, to the least significant slum-dwellers and
lowlifes, all sparkle whilst playing their parts.
Effendi follows on soon after these events. The city is plunged
into chaos, a serial killer is operating on the streets, and the
influential Hamzah Effendi is being put on trial for mass murder.
Weaving through this tale of 21st
century El Iskandryia is the story of a boy-soldier, Ka, in the time of
the Little War. Throughout, Courtenay Grimwood expertly combines
excitement with serious social issues, examining the conflicts of the
rich versus the poor world, the treatment of children, and life in an
enclosed Islamic society. With Pashazade recently nominated for
an Arthur C. Clarke award, Courtenay Grimwood is fast proving his
“lit-cred” just as much as his “street-cred.”!
What more can I say? Fast, furious, fun and elegant, the Arabesk
trilogy is one of the best things to hit the bookstores in a while. Get
serious, get Jon Courtenay Grimwood!
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