Saad Z Hossain

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Saad Z. Hossain is a Bangladeshi author writing in English. He lives in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

His war satire, Escape from Baghdad!, was published in 2015 by Unnamed Press[1] in the US, and Aleph[2] in India. It was translated into French by Agullo Editions, as Bagdad la Grande Evasion. This book was a finalist for the Grand Prix de L'imaginaire 2018. [3]

His second book, Djinn City, was released in 2017 by Unnamed Press, Aleph Book Company, and Bengal Lights Publications. It was also published in French by Agullo Editions in October 2020, translated by Jean Francois Le Ruyet, who subsequently won the 2021 Grand Prix de L'imaginaire for his work on the book.

His third The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday, was published in summer 2019 by Tor.com.[4] It has received critical acclaim and was a finalist for the Locus Awards as well as the IGNYTE Awards 2020 by Fiyahcon.[5]

His fourth book, Cyber Mage was published in 2021 by Unnamed Press in the US, and ULAB Press, in Bangladesh. It is a sequel to Djinn City and Gurkha, set in Dhaka, some years in the future.

His fifth book, Kundo Wakes Up, was published in 2022, by Tor.com. It was on the Locus[6] reading list of best novellas for 2022, and is on the longlist for the British Science Fiction Association awards. [7]

Reviews of his work[edit]

His books have received great reviews, and were included in some year end lists, including Financial Times Books of the year 2015[8] and Tor Reviewers Choice for 2015.[9]

A marvelous mix of genres, blending the visceral atmosphere of a war movie with the casual nihilism of Catch-22 or the original M.A.S.H. complete with an Indiana Jones–style treasure quest to employ a mystical watch that doesn’t tell time to unleash the ancient power of the Druze before the sect’s ancient Alchemist, the real enemy, catches up with them ... A gonzo adventure novel that shreds the conventional wisdom that pulp can be pigeonholed." -Kirkus Reviews[10]

Saad Hossain has given us a hilarious and searing indictment of the project we euphemistically call 'nation-building.' With nods to Catch-22, Frankenstein, The Island of Doctor Moreau and the Golem myth, Escape from Baghdad! weaves fantasy, absurdity and adventure into a moving counter-narrative to the myth of the just war. —Daniel José Older, NPR[11]

Saad Hossain is the author of Escape from Baghdad!, an engrossing cross between Zero Dark Thirty and Raiders of the Lost Ark that takes a sobering look at America's troubled legacy in Iraq. It's easily one of the best (and strangest, and most badass) books I've read in 2015. -Bookslut[12]

Saad Hossain's perplexingly weird debut novel, Escape From Baghdad!, captures the pure insanity of the Iraq War. At the same time, it's not a war novel. Instead, it's a skillfully constructed literary IED that brings together the sharpest aspects from multiple genres. It's a Tarantino-esque Heart of Darkness set in war-torn Iraq, filled with absurdism and dark humor, a mash-up of satirical Joseph Heller-style comedy and sci-fi fantasy with a gratuitous mixture of good old-fashioned ultra-violence. -Colby Buzzell, Vice[13]

Whatever your level of familiarity with beings mythological and godlike, rest assured: you’ve never journeyed with djinn like these before! Saad Z. Hossain’s Djinn City is a wholly enchanting contemporary fantasy novel that takes cherished stories of fantastical beings and transforms them into something crisp, engrossing, and newly relevant. -Foreword Review[14]

That Hossain is a master storyteller is evident from the pace and the tone of the book. He switches from the tragic to the funny with marvellous ease. And when you are done reading the book, there’s more on offer – "a glossary of absolutely 100 percent factual things meticulously researched by the author during his lunch break". -Lamat R Hasan, Hindustan Times[15]

I loved this book; it’s full of strange places, even stranger characters, and enough plot twists to knit with. The characters you hate at the start turn out to be more complex; the characters you love all have darker sides, and for most, you’re never quite sure where you – or they – stand. -SFF World[16]

Pas de roman plus improbable que Bagdad, la grande évasion !, le premier d’un auteur bangladais, Saad Z. Hossain. Improbable, il l’est avec naturel et fantaisie. Disons que son récit mixe des scènes ultraviolentes et des digressions mâtinées de philosophie ou d’humour noir ; une expédition punitive en « Kevlar de location » et un largage de mots d’amour par hélico, lors d’une offensive à l’arme lourde. -Macha Sery, Le Monde[17]

Bibliography[edit]

Novels & Novellas[edit]

  • Escape from Baghdad!, Unnamed Press, 2015[1] (originally published Baghdad Immortals, Bengal Publications, 2013)[18]
  • Djinn City, Unnamed Press, 2017[19]
  • The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday, Tor.com, 2019[4]
  • Cyber Mage, Unnamed Press, 2021[20]
  • Kundo Wakes Up, Tor.com, 2022[21]

Selected Short Stories[edit]

  • "Djinns Live by the Sea," The Apex Book of World SF: Volume 4, Apex Publications, 2015[22]
  • "Bring Your Own Spoon," The Djinn Falls in Love and Other Stories, Solaris, 2017;[23] The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year: Volume 12, Solaris, 2018[24]
  • "The Endless," Made to Order: Robots and Revolutions, Solaris, 2020[25]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Saad Z. Hossain". Unnamed Press. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  2. ^ Saad Z. Hossain (2013-07-18). "Saad Z. Hossain". Aleph Book Company. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  3. ^ "2018 Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire Finalists". 9 April 2018.
  4. ^ a b Chen, Ruoxi (31 October 2018). "Announcing The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday: A New Novella from Saad Z. Hossain, Author of Djinn City". Tor.com.
  5. ^ "The IGNYTE Awards". 6 August 2020.
  6. ^ "2022 Recommended Reading List". February 2023.
  7. ^ "Vote for the BSFA Awards".
  8. ^ Lorien Kite (2015-11-27). "The FT's best books of 2015". Financial Times. Ft.com. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  9. ^ "Reviewers' Choice: The Best Books of 2015". Tor.com. 2015-12-02. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  10. ^ Hossain, Saad (2015-03-17). "ESCAPE FROM BAGHDAD! by Saad Hossain". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  11. ^ Older, Daniel José (2015-03-17). "'Escape' Is A Searing Indictment Of Nation-Building". NPR. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  12. ^ Adam Morgan. "An Interview with Saad Hossain". Bookslut. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  13. ^ Buzzell, Colby (2015-10-14). "'Escape From Baghdad' Is the 'Slaughterhouse Five' of the Iraq War". VICE. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  14. ^ "Review of Djinn City". www.forewordreviews.com.
  15. ^ "Review: Djinn City by Saad Z Hossain". www.hindustantimes.com. 27 July 2018.
  16. ^ "Djinn City by Saad Z Hossain – SFFWorld".
  17. ^ "Saad Z. Hossain signe le roman de Bagdad, 2004". Le Monde.fr. 18 May 2017.
  18. ^ "Title: Baghdad Immortals". www.isfdb.org. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  19. ^ DJINN CITY | Kirkus Reviews.
  20. ^ "T.G. Shenoy Reviews Cyber Mage by Saad Z. Hossain". Locus Online. 2021-11-07. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  21. ^ "Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Book Review: Kundo Wakes Up by Saad Z. Hossain. Tordotcom, $15.99 trade paper (208p) ISBN 978-1-250-82392-2". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  22. ^ The Apex Book of World SF: Volume 4 (2015-07-08). "The Apex Book of World SF 4 edited by Mahvesh Murad | Apex Publications". Apexbookcompany.com. Retrieved 2016-10-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  23. ^ "Revealing the Table of Contents for The Djinn Falls in Love". Tor.com. 2016-10-20. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  24. ^ Strahan, Jonathan; Reynolds, Alastair; Nagata, Linda; Lee, Yoon Ha; Hutchinson, Dave; Das, Indrapramit; Larson, Rich; Kiernan, Caitlín R.; Egan, Greg; Yoachim, Caroline; Wilson, Kai Ashante; Anders, Charlie Jane (22 March 2018). The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Twelve. ISBN 978-1781085738.
  25. ^ "Made to Order".
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