The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia

The Bruising of Qilwa is the debut novella from Persian-American author Naseem Jamnia. The story is based upon their research/personal-history into their own heritage coming from Iran/Persia, and the knowledge that even as they are proud of some of the accomplishments historically of their people, such acknowledgements occurred while their people were oppressing and making use of others - even as now their people are often the oppressed ones. And so The Bruising of Qilwa features upon a non-binary refugee desperate to help their family and their people, a people who once were on top and now are refugees in the land of their former victims and struggle accordingly.

And it's a very effective story, if perhaps reliant a bit too much on late dialogue to hammer one of those themes, following its protagonist Firuz as they try to make it in their new land, hide their blood magic while helping those who need healing at a clinic for the poor and refugees, and help their brother and a girl they find with similar but more powerful blood magic. It's not a story with easy answers, or easily classifiable characters into "good" or "evil" (although there are certainly a few greedy ones), but it's really well done with some interesting questions and a strong protagonist who I really cared for.

Some more specifics after the jump:



Quick Plot Summary: Firuz-e Jafari escaped the slaughter of her people, the Sassanians, as a refugee from the country of Dilmun. Now on the streets of the City-State of Qilwa, she searches for a way to support their family, their mother and brother. To their surprise, they find a place working at a clinic run by Kofi, the only man willing to treat refugees and the indigent, people like Firuz. Firuz doesn't reveal their secret - that their magic is blood magic, the dangerous magic for which their people were persecuted, but Kofi doesn't seem to care, and Firuz finds a place helping there.

But even at the clinic, Firuz finds that they can't do enough for their family and people. Their magic isn't ready to help their brother Parviz with an alignment, so their body can fit who they are. They find another orphaned refugee with incredibly strong blood magic, who Firuz tries to teach despite their own lack of full training. And there's a strange disease Firuz has begun to see on some patients and bodies, one which bears ties to blood magic, used in a dangerous and untrained fashion.....

Thoughts: The Bruising of Qilwa features a protagonist in Firuz whose plights and desires are so very easy to understand and care about. They first want to support their family and to do so in a way that allows them to help their people - but they also want to hide the power inside them that could lead to persecution. They want to help their brother magically transition their body like Firuz was able to do in their original homeland, but Firuz has never used her power in that way and doesn't feel comfortable with attempting it until they're sure. And when they find an orphan with blood magic power, rather than risk that orphan misusing it and harming people, or coming to harm in fear, they take them in and try to help them.

In short, Firuz's story is the story of someone with power who is now oppressed, and who is desperately trying to use that power to help without invoking the fear that got so many of their people killed. And that's very much the underlying story of this novella, as it becomes revealed that Firuz's people were once the oppressors, making their new nation's fear and distrust of refugees not completely unreasonable (although this revelation occurs in a long speech in the climax of the story, which kind of feels pushed in). And the conflict faced by Firuz, as well as the others around them, form their family to friends to the eventual revealed "antagonist" makes it so that there is no way to do a clear right thing, as there are no good options, and no right choice, leading to an ending that is optimistic perhaps....without being clear about whether it was necessarily the best possible outcome.

In short, a very interesting novella, whose characters are extremely well done and understandable, based upon a culture (Persia) that is different from the Western one people are probably familiar with. Definitely worth a read and I will look forward to more from Jamnia.

eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 ⭐️

I went into this book not really knowing what to expect; I am not a huge high-fantasy fan, but the premise of a non-binary protagonist really drew me in. While it took me a while to get into this book, after reaching the 35% mark I was completely hooked! Its a simple book, but is filled with analogies for real life contexts (the author's note, oh god!) and definitely makes a strong impact.

I think this is one of the most original fantasy worlds I have read in a while: this book not only gives rise to the concept of 'blood magic', but also offers different school of thoughts on how this should be expressed/controlled. Overall, a lot of the magic system in this book hinges on biology and other scientific principles, which I do think are an homage to the author having studied neuroscience at university. As someone who generally struggles with understanding fantasy systems, I really liked how a lot of the magical elements of this book were rooted in science - it made it a lot easier for me to follow. Additionally, I also found the characters very unique and fleshed out. Although there aren't a lot of characters, all that were included was done so carefully and with purpose. I really liked how the main character was non-binary and the book always honoured that, from both the standpoint of the narrator and characters interacting with each other. This book being inspired by a Persian-like world was also very fun and different than the usual mainstream fantasy-forest setting: the world was built beautifully and I could picture the city where the characters lived very vividly.

Although I enjoyed this book quite a bit, as mentioned above, it did take me a while to get into it - not really sure if its more of a fantasy-genre issue or a this-book specific issue, though. I felt like a lot of the build up in the start could have been condensed or omitted all together. This is especially relevant since the ending/final showdown was all contained in the last 10% of the book, which was very rushed. I do not often say this, but this book would have definitely benefitted from an additionally 100ish pages to wrap up the ending. This really is my main criticism of the book: there needed to be more of it! I know that writing action scenes is usually very challenging, but I felt like a big portion of this book was mostly done through telling the reader that things happened, rather than actually showing them, which does make certain parts of the story a bit boring to read.

Nevertheless, I think it's important to remember that this is a debut novel. It was definitely a very good and strong effort, and I am very excited to read more of the author's work in the future.

The intersectionality and complicated themes within this book made for an intriguing and incredible read. My only complaint is that it was too short. Yet, they were able to make it impactful. I want this to become a longer work or series. It had such great potential for an already stellar work.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a story about that has themes of displacement, refugee migrations, and ancient Persian practices (blood magic). The Queendom of Dilmun was the early home of Firuz in the story, who later migrates to the Free State of Qilwa. The story seems the reflect the authors own unique Persian-American heritage of being a descendant to a once powerful empire and now residing in a land where her people are subjected to discrimination, at the Other.
I found her writing refreshing and enjoyed how she gave a voice to LGBQT - raising awareness of difficulties young people face as they come to terms with their sexuality.

The refernces to blood magic, djinns, Sassanian (pre-Islamic Persian dynasty) - is a little known area explored in fiction and may have been difficult for some readers to grasph.

I enjoyed this first book by the author and will be eagerly anticipated future novels.

I don't know what it is about the current raft of SFF novellas but The Bruising of Qilwa seems to fall into a common issue - too much going on for the structure and word count to allow, while not always using those limitations in a way that's satisfying overall. To put it frankly: this should have been a properly-drawn out novel, not a novella, and suffers from that fact.

The basic premise of the story is that our main character, Firuz, has found themself in a new place where the majority of people are terrified of the magic they can wield but ends up looking for work as the assistant to a healer where they can use it anyway. As one of many refugees to the country where they currently live, resources for people like them are all but non-existent and this is further strained by the sudden appearance of a mysterious illness. An illness that Firuz suspects is due to an untrained mage using the kind of magic they use and which they worry will be the start of a crackdown against everyone who is Other.

Perhaps 'overly ambitious' might be the best way to describe it all? Too much to get on with in the word count and at times it felt like a story released into the world too soon, that's unsure about what it actually wants to achieve or who its audience is. There's all sorts of good stuff here but it's a little muddled and that means the characters are not as strongly drawn as they could have been. I find myself wondering, as I have done with another book recently, if this is all about the author not quite being ready to tell the tale they want to tell with the skills they have currently. Theirs is a name I'll keep an eye out for in the future, that's for certain.

I received a free copy of this novella from the publisher via Netgalley and this is my honest review of the book in question.

Reminds me very much of early adolescence; earnest, sincere, and very awkward. I have no doubt that some will love it’s wholehearted embracement of the exploration of identity and I absolutely wish them enjoyment of this story. As a nurse caring for patients with blood cancers for over twenty years, I was looking forward to the mystery of a new disease, and forbidden magic. Unfortunately, the storytelling was not up to the admittedly high bar the author has set themselves.

The story opens with the young immigrant Firuz seeking a job at a free clinic. Kofi, the owner, is in no position to turn down willing help, not with a new plague sweeping through the city. Firuz, their mother and younger brother are newly emigrated to the city, fleeing their home country and have landed in a shantytown on the outskirts of the City-State of Qilwa. I think they left because they are an ethnic subgroup, Sassanians, who are also known to practice blood magic, but there’s a lot of confusing detail about the history there that is tied up with family, gender, politics and magic. The backstory is told to the reader through the thoughts of Firuz, so it ends up being both awkward and dense (how often does one actively think about one’s ethnic history in a way that would make it easily understandable to an outsider to that history?). It is one reason I felt like the scope of the story was too big. Sometimes I thought Firuz and family left because of the plague, because of being Sassanian, or economic opportunities (yes, I’m aware it could be all of those things).

To add to the confusion, although there is a rapidly-spreading disease, Firuz, Kofi, and the local mortician are noticing what seems to be a new disease among their clients. This is where the story had a lot of potential, I thought; use the investigation of what is happening to interact with more characters and build the story. I think Jamnia tries, but it’s so limited; shortly after the the discussion around the first strange dead body, we meet Afsoneh and then take a hard left turn into working on blood magic with her and Firuz for the rest of the year-chapter.

What this mostly is is an identity story. Firuz is extremely awkward from the first. All of the following comes from the first interaction with Kofi: “Did everyone in this place present themselves with only their names…three weeks in Qilway, and Firuz still wasn’t used to it… Reminding themself to keep firm their grip, Firuz was dismayed at the unexpectedly limp grasp of their own clammy palm…Firuz pulled their shoulders back, readjusted their feet to stand steady, project a confidence they didn’t feel… ‘Huh?’ Firu touched the golden amulet they’d worn somewhat religiously for the last year…They passed it over, hiding a grimace as they did so… Spots peppered Firuz’s vision as their toes tingled [with nerves, presumably]… They played with the buttons on their shirt, willed the palpitations to calm, their muscles to loosen… “I’m–I’m a structuralist.”….”Wha….what?”

We get it, Jamnia; we get it. Firuz is awkward. Moving on now.

This is how much of the rest of the story goes; in stops and starts, fluttering forward when Firuz meets a patient with a strange symptom or encounters a trace of blood magic, and resting when Firuz undergoes internal wrestling with their own identity issues. To make it worse, Firuz is also has challenges with what could be called the identity issues of others. Going home from the clinic late one night, Firuz discovers a sick orphan in an alley, a teenager with a strong talent for blood magic. Additionally, Firuz’ younger sibling wants to undergo biological sex transition, and Firuz’s incomplete abilities in blood magic are seen as the only path to getting there. I think these are supposed to be red herrings to the mystery, but since the true wrong-doer is painfully obvious to everyone but Firuz (that’s what comes of all the navel-gazing, youngster), it most just serves to increase frustration with Firuz.

It’s divided into three sections; ‘First Year,’ ‘Second Year’ and ‘Third Year.’ As you might guess from both the titles and experiencing our own pandemic, pacing feels a bit awkward, frankly, thematically en pointe.

Where it does get points is in the attempts to integrate issues of gender norms, transitions, of immigration, beliefs surrounding disease; basically, without saying is, looking in a very (very) fragmented way of the idea of otherness. This could have been oh-so-good (see P. Djèlí Clark for an example) but needed to either tighten up (slim down on all those anxiety words, for instance) or expand into a novel. As is, your mileage will vary. If you’re intrigued, I encourage you to pick it up.

Ultimately, I’d probably shelve it in the not-quite-for me category, under authors-to-watch division (it’s quite a sophisticated shelving system). I’d pass on the new-adult identity development unless it’s accompanied by much more cohesive world-building or mystery. Still, Jamnia has a talent with words and ideas, so they are one to watch.

Two and a half red blood cells, rounding up for healing intentions.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Tachyon Publications for the eARC! As always, I’m the only one who thinks these things up!

I was really excited to delve into this book. I love fantasy novellas/diverse fantasy and the synopsis given seemed right my alley. Unfortunately, despite this “The Bruising of Qilwa” just didn’t work for me. The world felt empty, the story was poorly paced and quite simply boring. Where I was expecting a mystery plot that readers would be able to tangle alongside the main character, I instead got Firuz just sort of meandering through life, skipping months at a time, just to drop us into scenes that usually felt either too short, desperately underdeveloped or both. This book did a poor job balancing it’s worldbuilding with it’s plot, a move which, to me, is often not egregious, but it also had the unfortunate addition of having worldbuilding that was neither unique or interesting enough to carry this story. I really wish I had more positive things to say but the truth is no positives outweigh the fact that this book was a chore to get through. Still, there is potential here, and I will be watching the author, hopefully their next releases will be more fulfilling for me.

This book felt like a long short story. The world building was quite good, but I would have liked more details. I think a spin off story would be very interesting.
I think this is the first book I've read with a non-binary protagonist, Firuz. His quest to help people heal, even though his kind of blood magic is illegal and needs to be hidden. He serves as an assistant to Kofi, a more traditional rune healer.
There are layers of colonization in the book and begs philosophical questions, like who does land belong to, and who is seen as the invader.
It was an easy fluid read.

Novellas have this peculiar innate power that always takes my breath away. They read succinctly—the shorter word count demands a scarcity of words, after all—yet there is such depth to unpack behind this succinctness that it can feel quite daunting as a reader to delve into.

The Bruising of Qilwa also has this depth.

Plot and prose take a backseat in this book, thus allowing character, world, and thematic resonance to be the driving forces that hook the reader to the pages.

For starters, this is a book that includes minorities of all kinds. Ethnic minorities, sexual minorities, linguistic minorities, immigrant minorities, cultural minorities, religious minorities, political minorities—all types of minorities. The representation is thorough and consistent, and while we are dealing with minority groups, Jamnia still makes the world feel inclusive to the reader. Natural. As it should be. A large part of this is thanks to the great characterization of the nonbinary refugee main character, Firuz, and the way that we view the world through their eyes.

This is an extremely political book, at its depth, meaning it’s largely about the power of the individual within a group and how groupthink starts with the individual. We have an ideological clash in Qilwa (the main setting) that paints nobody a hero or a villain. Instead, the book invites us to consider the rise and the fall of power. Specifically, it invites us to discuss what it means to be an oppressed people when you were once an oppressor yourself. Jamnia derives from their own Persian heritage for this discussion, presenting the compelling answer of putting aside judgment and joining migrants (and other marginalized people) in creating a brighter tomorrow that isn’t built on fear and otherness.

To this end, the plot of the book is centered on the question of family. Of blood, as the title indicates. Firuz is a refugee practitioner who heals with blood magic. In the world that Jamnia has created, magic has a scientific basis. Magic is, in short, energy. It operates like energy. The transfer of energy becomes magic. In using the energy of their own blood, Firuz can heal the blood of others, for example. There are other types of magic as well. Structural and environmental. And they are all based on the principle of energy transfer. The plot specifically revolves around stimulated/magicked parasitical blood that can kill (think an autoimmune disease), warping bodies to stay active even after (brain) death has occurred—and that’s all the spoilers I’ll give you.

Lastly, I want to talk about thematic resonance. I want to do so by bringing the title of the book into play. This book is about how blood bruises you—both literally and figuratively. It’s about bruises. About healing. It’s about whether you should hide your blood or use it for good at the risk of pain. It’s about what happens when a minority of any kind is not allowed to be at their best, to offer their best as they want to offer it, and to use their best to help others become better as well.

You will love this book if you enjoy thematic resonance and a character-driven plot, but you might find yourself less entranced if you’re looking for a twisty and unpredictable plot. What truly shines here, as far as I am concerned, is the theme, and the world, and the characters.

(EArc provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review)

The Bruising of Quilwa is quite different from every other fantasy novella I've ever read before: it's an ambitious story that aims at discussing many different and important topics in less than 200 pages.
First off, I undoubtedly appreciated the queer rep that the author, Naseem Jamnia, included in her story, and how the characters' queerness was addressed as a matter of fact, rather than making it their sole and only personality trait. I know, it's 2022, but as a passionate fiction reader I've learnt not to take anything for granted. From Parviz's dysphoria, to Firuz's fluidity when it comes to thinking about their body, I found the way the characters live their queerness very relatable.

This novella is a colourful tale whose main theme – past and present oppression – emerges frequently through the story and which shapes the main characters' experiences and actions.

The main issue I had with this book was the pacing: even though it improved in the second half, making the scenes flow, it was a struggle to get through the first fifty pages, and through the first half in general.
The worldbuilding was the most intriguing element of the story, yet I felt like it was underdeveloped: this could've easily opened the way to a novel (or a whole saga), so much was the potential.

On a whole, the core concepts are intriguing and well developed, but there are some structural issues that make it difficult to reach its fullest potential.

An incredible and lush world featuring a non-binary refugee, blood magic, and a plague that seeps within a city. Naseem Jamnia weaves an exquisite tale within a short span of pages. From protecting found and blood family, to unexpected turns, this story is a must-read. The afterword perfectly wraps up the story

While it's clear Jamnia is very passionate about this novela I am still not sure how to feel about it. I love the focus on non-binary characters and their struggles, but the construction left something to be desired. It seemed like a lot of dialog and then world description and rinse and repeat. I just couldn't find the flow that worked for me.

While some fantasies take the reader across great spans of land, the Bruising of Qilwa keeps it local and familiar to its namesake city. However, Jamnia writes in such beautiful prose creating a rich atmosphere where I could imagine how the forces of the world’s history led to each small detail.

The cast of characters is also small and overall politically insignificant to their lands. However, I was fascinated how the political history slowly unfurled in conversation leading to deeper understandings of each characters’ past and motivations. Again, these characters felt rich and realistic because of their preoccupation with both the personal and international.

The pacing in the first part felt off to me. The large time jumps only make sense because it would have felt more unrealistic for the events and interpersonal attachments to develop quickly, but read as stilted. I would have appreciated the first section either being fleshed out or have that exposition somehow folded into the second section. In my opinion the ending was worth it! I could not put the book down for the last third of the book. The questions of empire and medical ethics, especially revolving “the plague” will stick with me.

NetGalley provided an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars for me.

The Bruising of Qilwa was a beautiful world filled to the brim with queer characters and an interestingly built magic system. This novella scratched the surface of this world, and while I enjoyed the introduction, I desperately wanted to know more about the world itself, as well as the characters within it. There is room for so much growth and expansion in Qilwa as well as in the backstories of the characters. We received scraps of information, and I kept reaching for just a bit more. Additionally, the pacing was a bit off for me, because it felt as though we skipped from event to event without much transition, particularly at the beginning.

With all of that said, I would happily read a full series about this world and these characters. My chief complaint was simply that I wanted more.

A fun story with unique characters. The worldbuilding doesn't leave anything to chance. Yet more explanation about the cultures would be nice. The magic system is interesting and the way in which characters interact with it only adds to the story. A good pageturner to have fun and relax. The conflicts that the characters face and the plot twist are on point. Though maybe I would like to get to know them a little better.

I finished this novella and had to wait to really process my thoughts and feelings, letting them form on their own as I replayed the story in my head and chased after the plot as it unraveled.

The Bruising of Qilwa left a lot to be desired. It opened so beautifully, with very descriptive and poetic language that i wish the author had carried throughout the book, especially for world-building. Considering its fantasy categorization, I wish there was more time spent on the world-building and description of the magic system(s). The author's passion for this work was very evident, and I wish they had showed me the Firuz's world rather than info-dumped between dialogue.

Similarly, I felt like the relationships between the Firuz, Kofi, their brother, and Afsoneh were superficial at times. I could tell the author had built very intricate and complex characters with similarly complex relationships, but on page the dialogues felt rushed and their interactions stunted. Afsoneh's development was told rather than shown, which made me feel like she wasn't as important of a character until the end.

Something that added to the superficiality of the characters' relationships was time. I was very confused about the passage of time and its importance to the plot. Within short sections we would be told that weeks had passed then months had passed without any true shift or indicators in the plot itself.

Overall I wish I could have delved into the author's mind and seen for myself what exactly they were envisioning while they wrote. From Qilwa itself to the way the blood magic worked, I wanted to love this world as much as they did, but with the limited amount of development I felt like I missed out on a shared-memory, a "you had to be there" story. I would love to see where Naseem Jamnia goes next and wish them nothing but success!

Thank you Tachyon Publications, Naseem Jamnia, and NetGalley for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for an honest review.

THE BRUISING OF QILWA is a layered work, indeed. It explores the legacy of an empire—post-imperialist, post-colonialist inhabitants coming to terms with their cultural history and identity.

Specifically, in the afterword, the author asks the question “What does it mean to be oppressed when you were once an oppressor”- which feels like one of the major questions this book is asking.
But that’s only one part of this intersectional work, with nuanced character motivations and some fantastic queer (non-binary and aro/ace) representation. What seemed like a simple medical fantasy at first, another “COVID novel” (I feel like I’ve already read too many of those, and COVID isn’t even over yet…) surprised me with its complex themes and challenges.

Definitely feels like the author had more to say here. I would love to be able to explore this world further. There was so much to unpack in this novella… Most importantly, it all feels executed rather well. This is such a diverse work—prominent queer representation, multiculturalism, colonization, genocide, plague, trauma, refugees, … a lesser writer would not have been able to do it justice in so few words.

I look forward to reading more Naseem Jamnia books in the future. A voice to look out for.

Nonbinary refugee Firuz is a practitioner of blood magic living in Qilwa, working as a healer and supporting younger family members (both blood and found). When a new disease runs rampant across Qilwa, Firuz faces prejudiced accusations of being responsible, and must work to discover the truth before it's too late.

First, I have to say I loved how everyone in this book is queer, and I really liked the depiction of Firuz as a nonbinary aroace protagonist. My heart hurt for their brother and his struggles with dysphoria, and I thought the magic system had so much potential. The author's note at the end is one of the most moving and poweful I've ever read. I found myself wishing it had been written as lower YA or KidLit, because for me that fitted better with the content of the novel. There was so much incredible potential in this book, and if I was rating The Bruising of Qilwa on potential alone, I would give it infinite stars.

However, I struggled to know how to rate and assess the story. Based on the blurb, I was anticipating a potential favourite read of the year - certainly something dark, emotional, and firmly 'Adult' in terms of audience. For my personal tastes, I wish this had been a full-length novel, rather than a novella, and I wish the author had plunged right into the vicious potential of the storyline and themes. I did my best to check beforehand, and to my best knowledge, The Bruising of Qilwa isn't targeted at younger YA readers, or even marketed as Children's Fiction, but it did read that way to me throughout, because of the emotional distance and reluctance to include/engage with more mature content or themes. Overall, I felt I was missing huge swathes of worldbuilding, character development, and potentially thrilling plot. I would love it if The Bruising of Qilwa marked the 'prologue' of this world, and we saw more of it and Firuz in the future, without limitation.

I am grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free eARC of The Bruising of Qilwa. These opinions are my own.