Line #36 Literature/AlifTheUnseen


1	''Alif the Unseen'' is a 2012 novel by Creator/GWillowWilson about a young man who lives in a {{Qurac}}-style state, complete with extensive Internet censorship. Alif (his online handle) makes a living as a 'grey hat', providing ways around the repressive state security system. He also is in love with an aristocratic Arab woman, and this leads him into an adventure complete with mysterious books, [[OurGeniesAreDifferent jinn]] and a computer code that could remake the world.
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4	!!This work has examples of:
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6	* AIIsACrapshoot: The programs based upon The ''Alf Yeom'' have an unexpected effects.
7	* AnotherDimension - The land of the Jinn.
8	* TheAlcatraz - The only way out of HellHolePrison is through a burning dangerous desert.
9	* AuthorAvatar - The Convert has many similarities to the author, as a white American woman who converted to Islam [[spoiler:who becomes pregnant during the story, which was written while the author was pregnant]].
10	* BettyAndVeronica- Dina and Intisar, respectively.
11	* BlandNameProduct - [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft World of Battle Craft]].
12	* BreakThemByTalking: The Hand does this to Alif.
13	* {{Catgirl}}: A catgirl jinn who also can appear as an actual cat.
14	* CoolOldGuy: Sheikh Bilal
15	* DefectorFromDecadence - [[spoiler:New Quarter 01]] who is a prince, but hacks to fight the regime.
16	* TheDreaded: Vikram the Vampire among street thugs, The Hand among hackers.
17	* DuelingHackers: Alif is struggling to keep the Hand of God, the state censorship network, out of his system and those of his customers. [[spoiler:This struggle eventually spills out into RealLife with the requisite murder attempts.]]
18	* EmbarrassingFirstName - Alif refuses to be called by his first name for much of the book, since he says it's too common. [[spoiler: His name is Mohammed.]]
19	* FamedInStory: Alif, at least among hackers. Also The Hand.
20	* [[spoiler:FirstGirlWins]]: Alif ends up with [[spoiler: Dina]].
21	* ForcedIntoEvil - [[spoiler: Intisar is somewhere between this and FaceHeelTurn.]]
22	* GenieInABottle - Of Mecca Cola.
23	* GirlNextDoor: Not only does Dina fit all the attributes of this trope (even if she has spunk as well), she is literally the girl next door to protagonist Alif.
24	* GoodShepherd: Sheikh Bilal
25	* HollywoodHacking: Alif seems to be able to hack and program intuitively, without really knowing how his own code works. This allows him to suddenly revolutionize computing after a single burst of inspiration, writing programs that understand metaphors and layers of meaning instead of binary ones and zeroes. Justified in that [[MagicPoweredPseudoscience the inspiration comes from the ''Alf Yeom'']], not earthly/human sources.
26	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Vikram the Vampire
27	* NoNameGiven: The convert.
28	* NotSoDifferentRemark: [[BigBad The Hand]] gives Alif one of these while the latter [[spoiler: is being held in a HellholePrison]]; although he and Alif are on opposite sides, he argues that both of them are motivated by the rush of what they do far more than any ideology.
29	* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Demons are rogue jinn which often take the form of froglike creatures or dragons with knives for teeth
30	* OurGeniesAreDifferent: The Jinn are nonhumans who can change forms at will. They have [=WiFi=]. There is one 'marid' who states that she was imprisoned by that thief Aladdin. [[spoiler:She is imprisoned by The Hand in a bottle of Mecca Cola. New Quarter nearly asks her for wishes but Dina makes him let her go.]]
31	* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized - [[spoiler:After the grid is taken down by Alif's code, revolutionaries gather in the street, and a prince is hung. Alif believes it's New Quarter and chews them out, but it's really the body of the Hand.]] The crowds are composed of everyone from Islamists to Communists, all groups Alif helped with his hacking.
32	* SelfDeprecation: G. Willow Wilson is a female American convert to Islam, as is a major supporting character in the novel. She is almost always called "the convert," and is frequently criticized or ridiculed by other characters as well as the narrator.
33	* ShadesOfConflict - Alif helps people hide from StateSec with his hacks whether they are jihadists or just porn lovers, the jinn have a code of honor, but mostly are out for themselves (although they [[TheCavalry save the day]] for our heroes several times) and the Hand has people locked in [[HellholePrison prison]] for hacking in which prisoners are starved, tortured and, in some instances, raped. [[spoiler: Both Alif and the Hand end up breaking half the computer systems in the city, with various consequences from the internet going down to riots, looting and hangings.]]
34	* ShoutOut:
35	** [[Film/ANewHope "These are not the banu adam you are looking for."]]
36	** At least two to Creator/NeilGaiman: a short dream sequence taken right out of ''Literature/AmericanGods'', and game of wits from the first arc of ''ComicBook/TheSandman''.
37	** The entrance to the jinn's alley is hidden the same way as the entrance to the Film/{{Labyrinth}}.
38	** Or it could be Diagon Alley from the Franchise/HarryPotter series.
39	** 'Son of Adam' is from ''Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe''
40	*** This might just be a translation of the frequently used Beni Adam, Arabic for Son of Adam.
41	* StateSec - Employs the [[BigBad Hand]] who censors the internet to prop up the emir's corrupt regmine.
42	* TomeOfEldritchLore - The ''Alf Yeom'' can be this. [[spoiler: It apparently shifts due to whoever reads it.]]
43	* UptownGirl: Alif, a poor man, is in love with an aristocratic woman from the other part of town. They met online, but in real life, their love is mutual. [[spoiler: In the end [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Dina]] gets Alif]].
44	* VillainousBreakdown: The Hand after [[spoiler: the royal family disowns him in a (failed) attempt to appease the uprising]].

Context Literature / AlifTheUnseen