Mirage: the captivating Sunday Times bestseller

Mirage is full of characters who feel like they existed long before the story began, and a rich world that is as beautiful as it is cruel. Somaiya Daud is a rare talent. A smart, romantic, exciting debut.

Lush and dangerous, Mirage had me entranced. Amani's journey-from rural innocent to calculating young woman, from village girl to royal impersonator-is galactic. Daud's novel asks, 'what does it mean to impersonate your enemy?' And the answer she provides here is nothing short of thrilling. I was here for all of it, and I desperately need to know what happens next.

Mirage had me enthralled from its first page to its last. It's a a heart-wrenching, romantic, and exhilarating page-turner. Begin preparing yourselves for it now. Somaiya Daud is a brilliant writer and she has written a brilliant book.

Mirage is filled with incredible world-building, compelling characters, and gorgeous writing. It is not only completely unique, but it is a story that will immediately make you want to pick it back up and read it again.

Mirage centralises on oppression, erasure and slavery. Although contrasting characters and circumstances, the imprisonment of a young woman who is tortured and a Princess within her gilded cage, both young woman are tormented by the burden of expectation. It scrutinises colonisation as the Vathek conquered the Mizaal Galaxy, poisoning the atmosphere of Vaxor and colonising Andala, enslaving the Indigenous population and depriving the Andalaans of their ethnology and spirituality. Rebellion arises as rebels strategise against their oppressors, Amani becoming embroiled in the uprising. The narration infused with delicate female and Indigenous empowerment throughout the instability of dissent and cultural reclamation, comparable to the current political climate and resonating with Indigenous readers. Amani represents a quiet endurance and resilience against her environment, a reiteration of nevertheless, she persisted. Somaiya Daud has composed an exquisitely imagined narrative, enchanting and affluent. A remarkable debut.