The Bruising of Qilwa

Starred review from July 1, 2022

DEBUT This debut fantasy novella featuring a nonbinary protagonist sets its intriguing medical mystery within a Persian-inspired world. The city-state of Qilwa has provided a reluctant welcome for Firuz-e Jafari and their refugee family. As a healer practicing forbidden magic, Firuz fears discovery but still offers a helping hand at one of the city's few remaining free clinics, where they find a friend and mentor in the healer Kofi. But the plague that is ravaging Qilwa increases tensions about migrants flooding the city and creates reams of new rules and regulations for the clinic. When a strange, new disease starts killing people and results in bodies that are preserved while decomposing, Firuz has a medical mystery on their hands that will lead to the greatest dilemma that a healer can face--how much harm is acceptable in the race for a cure? VERDICT The delicately interwoven complexity of the story, along with the loving portrait of Firuz and their found family, makes Jamnia's fantasy puzzler a delight to read. Highly recommended, especially for fans of Katherine Addison's The Witness for the Dead.--Marlene Harris

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July 1, 2022
Sassanian refugee Firuz has to keep their blood-magic training a secret. There's already enough prejudice against their people in the city of Qilwa, and they need to be able to feed their family while trying to find an alignment formula to help relieve the pain of their younger brother's gender dysphoria. With so much on their plate, Firuz is relieved to get a position as assistant to local healer Kofi, whose clinic is free and welcoming to all. But when a mysterious plague begins to spread, and the government lays blame on the crowds of refugees entering the city, Firuz will have to fight to find the real source of the illness before too much damage is done. Jamnia's debut is a rousing, Persian-inspired fantasy that investigates otherness, oppression, and generational trauma but is powered forward by a suspenseful, bloody, medical-mystery plot. Readers of queer fantasy will fall hard for the rich characters, particularly our aromantic, asexual, nonbinary protagonist. The frank narrative tone and short page count paired with an intricately built world is a winning combination.

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April 4, 2022
Jamnia mixes magic and real-world conflict in their inventive but uneven debut fantasy. As a Sassanian and a practitioner of blood magic, Firuz-e Jafari is unjustly blamed for the plague sweeping their homeland of Dilmun, and they flee to the Free Democratic City State of Qilwa for refuge, where they hide their magic in order to protect themselves. They find work as an assistant to benevolent healer Kofi Nadifa, but just as they’re settling in, the discoveries of a series of rotting bodies spark fear of another plague. When Kofi’s patient Ahmed falls ill to the disease, Firuz throws caution to the wind by attempting to heal him with their blood magic—but they fail and Ahmed dies. Accused of his murder, Firuz must find a way to prove themselves innocent and end the bias against Sassanians. It’s a short, propulsive tale that admirably centers a strong queer protagonist and offers thought-provoking commentary on the struggles of refugees. The storytelling, though, can feel a bit rushed, with conflicts dismissed almost as soon as they’re introduced. Still, there’s plenty to enjoy for readers of LGBTQ fantasy. Agent: Erica Bauman, Aevitas Creative Management.