The Exile Kiss

The Exile Kiss (1991) is the third SF novel in the Budayeen series, following A Fire in the Sun. In the previous volume, Marid confronted Reda Abu Adil with his wrong doings and Abu Adil offered up Umar Abdul-Qawy as his scapegoat. Marid also gained a token agreement regarding the Phoenix file. Friedlander Bey gave his permission for Indihar to move into the palace, but only if Marid married her and adopted her children. In this novel, Marid is still adjusting to marriage with a woman who lives elsewhere in the palace and he is feeling awkward with the children. What does Marid know about being a father? His own father moved out of the household when he was only four years old. Shortly after the marriage, Marid accompanies Friedlander Bey to the Amir's palace, allegedly for a party to celebrate Marid's wedding, but really to reconcile disagreements between Papa and Abu Adil. Strangely enough, Abu Adil gives Marid a commission in the Jaish, an unofficial right-wing militia. Marid and Papa leave early, shortly after midnight, but they are kidnapped on the Amir's grounds by Lieutenant Hajjar. They are taken in Papa's own limousine to the shuttleport and deported by suborbital shuttle to Najran, the capital city of Asar. Enroute, they are tried and convicted for the murder of Khalid Maxwell, one of Hajjar's policemen. From the Najran shuttleport, they are taken in a military helicopter to the Empty Quarter and left on the sands. A group of Bedouin meet them at the drop point and take them elsewhere across the desert. When the Bayt Tabiti camp for the night, Marid imposes on their hospitality to refill his canteens. After the Bedouins fall asleep, he and Papa sneak away into the sands. After Papa tires, Marid snaps override daddies into his anterior connections, blanking out his bodily needs. Then he carries Papa much further through the desert. Finally, his own body gives out and everything fades away. His next memory is the face of an unknown Bedouin inspecting him and then giving him a shot of liquid Sonneine. In this story, Marid and Papa have been found by the Bani Salim, who nurse them back to health and provide a guide to the nearest shuttleport. When they arrive back home, they sneak back into the city and arrange a meeting with the Amir. After learning of their covert arrest and exile, the Amir gives Marid and Papa thirty days to appeal their conviction. Of course, Lieutenant Hajjar does everything he can to sabotage their efforts to find the real killer. Hajjar fails to keep Marid from ordering an autopsy of the murdered policeman. Then he fails to keep Marid from using the police data network. He even fails to kill Marid on the streets. He is getting thoroughly frustrated. Marid learns much while with the Bani Salim. For one thing, he learns that too much thinking is ineffectual; he resolves to be more decisive. He also develops more compassion for, and consideration of, those outside his own circle of friend

No science fiction writer has been more apt in conjuring up Chandler's ghost than George Alec Effinger. It's a shame this excellent novel is now out of print. I certainly hope his publisher will reprint it soon. Effinger excels in offering a believable Middle Eastern future cloaked in yet another first rate thriller. His Arab characters are among the most credible and sympathetic I've read; one might say he's become a Graham Greene of a future Middle East. Effinger has a distinguished reputation as a writer of science fiction; his extensive work deserves to be read by a wide audience.

The price might seem steep for a paperback, but be glad you can get at least two of Effinger's three Marid Audran novels in some form (I notice A FIRE IN THE SUN is also listed here, but it seems the first one, WHEN GRAVITY FAILS, is still out of print). It's genuinely obscene that these novels aren't still available in mass market editions. These are three of the most entertaining novels I've ever read -- and, yeah, I've read a bunch. Effinger blends science fiction and the hard-boiled detective novel seamlessly and more effectively than anyone else who's attempted it, then sets the whole thing in one of the most interesting and unusual worlds you can imagine. We've seen the futures of Los Angeles and Tokyo more times than any of us can count -- but what about the future of the Middle East? The Budayeen, the sleazy setting of these novels, is a place you've never been before in any form, and it's a place you'll wish you could visit in real life -- even if you could end up with a knife in your back.These are just great novels. The only thing more disappointing than the fact that Bantam Spectra let them slip out of print is the fact that Effinger stopped at three, when Marid Audran and his world were still so rich and intriguing.One last thing, though: Don't call 'em cyberpunk. First off, they ain't -- and second, Effinger reportedly hates that.

After reading the first two books at the age of 16 and 17, I waited and waited for The Exile Kiss to arrive on the shelves. The day I found it felt like the second/third coming of a saviour who perilously navigated me through the dangerous streets of the Budayeen, and then to the fascinationg Arabic world outside of the city. His seeming transformation from pill-popping, whore banging hell-cat to a more refined, cultured arabic gentleman had me somewhat dismayed, but I found that in all reality, Effinger was just showing MARID'S cunning and shrewdness in adapting to necessary environmental changes. When in Rome!!! We do find that you can take the Maghrebi out of the Budayeen, but you can't take the Budayeen out of the Maghrebi. The only element missing in this excellent third installment in the life of Marid Audran and Friedlander Bey is another 1000 pages. There was a tease about a fourth book called Retribution, which I have been anticipating with baited breath. So, the long of the short of it...Read all three books, When Gravity Fails, A Fire In the Sun, and The Exile Kiss, and you will be introduced the one of the most interesting and fascinating antagonist/protagonist in the literary world. Don't let the Sci-Fi setting disuade you from this adventure, I'm not a Sci-fi fan at all, but have become a adamant Audran/Effinger follower, as will you. Please harass Effinger to give us our fourth installment of this fantastic saga. GBA San Diego, CA

I read this book back in the day, when it first came out... All I can say is, that, if you loved Gibson and Co., you need to add this book to your collection as well. A definate must read.