Afrah Jamal

Published by Global Affairs / Aug 2017 Raymond Davis is a champ. A team player, who puts the needs of his comrades in arms before himself. He is savvy. He is a man of integrity - a survivor - a trooper. Ray, the epitome of courage runs headlong towards danger and into a minefield - literally. He is all this and more. This is his story after all. 6 years ago, he was a trained Special Forces SF, undercover ‘contractor’, forced to navigate the cramped alleyways of Lahore on a routine mission – the details of which remain a mystery. His book ‘The Contractor: How I Landed in a Pakistani Prison and Ignited a Diplomatic Crisis’ with Storms Reback, revisits the scene of the crime to solidify his innocence and along the way take a few potshots at random players who helped secure his release. It’s a hair-raising ride. His style is conversational, his demeanor - amiable. The case is still fresh in people’s minds and his intent to set the record straight ignites yet another round of controve...

Received an ARC from the lovely Boyce last year, couldn't review it then, by the time I did, Daily Times (my paper) had decided YA wasn't suitable for it OP-ED Pages. This Blog is only for my published work but I promised the author a review, so here it is. Apologies for the delay S.M. P.S: I am looking forward to Illusion. Reviewed by: Afrah Jamal ‘ Heritage ’ which was to mark the grand finale of the Grimoire trilogy is now the third installment in a series of four. The YA fantasy still hurtles towards the end but the adventure is far from over. And former rookie Kara Magari is busy trying to balance two thankless jobs as the wise Vagabond, and her true nature revealed at the end of ‘ Treason ’. Change is in the air for both realms and newcomers vie for Ourea - the fictional land envisaged by S.M. Boyce and brought to life in ‘ Lichgates’ - Book I . Book III that was supposed to wind up our heroines arc, marks the continuation of the same journey that began when Kar...

Published in Daily Times (Pakistan) / 24 June 2014 Published under the title: Domestic Bliss, Displacement & Desi Wives Thank you Indireads & Rizwan Tufail for the review copy Happily ever after’s have not lost their appeal. But Shewta Kumar takes fairy-tale endings, with the land far away as a launch pad, and enlists a newly-wed Mythili busy trading in her journalistic credentials for ‘desperate’ housewife’ as a starter. This is Shweta’s third novel and her first e-book / novella. She is an Indian writer / travel columnist who has worked as a CNN-IBN correspondent, and authored two bestsellers - ‘Between the Headlines: The Travails of a TV Reporter’ & ’Coming up on the Show: The Travails of a News Trainee’. Here she sets out to sketch Mythili’s new life among fellow expats using Manila as a backdrop where time weighs heavily and the walls start closing in. Having left her crime reporting days as ‘chief-ferreting-out-information-officer’ behind, the characters t...

Thanks to S.M. Boyce for the ARC (Advanced Review Copy) First Published in Daily Times / Saturday, November 17, 2012 Published under the Title: Isens and Muses & Vagabonds O' My Reviewed by: Afrah Jamal As Ourea looms into view, young Kara Magari, the only human in this fantasy realm is no longer a rookie, Braeden Drakonin is still a reluctant Heir, the trenches remain occupied and cases of intrigue have been dusted off for a re-match. Treason is the highly anticipated sequel to Lichgates , a YA (Young Adult) novel penned by S.M. Boyce that returns to the magical land of Ourea, home to warring factions, savage critters and disappointed fathers . Kara, who takes a wrong turn and turns up in Ourea, is revealed as the first Vagabond in a thousand years with the ability to control the Grimoire, a book of revelations. The Yakona race, divided into six Kingdoms, finds her irresistible for their cause. Her newfound powers come with a steep learning curve and a roster...