I was excited to read The Bruising of Qilwa, set in a Persian-esque world. Naseem Jamnia plays with themes of identity, both cultural and gender. These themes are utilized very well and place a lot on the line for our main characters. Continue reading to see my thoughts on this debut novella.

World-Building
I enjoyed much of the cultural, political, and economic world-building. Our main character’s background provides the ethnic minority POV. This is even more complicated by their ability to perform blood magic. I do wish there would have been more of a discussion of the new disease and the blood magic. This is essentially the main problem that jeopardized the stability of the city. Jamnia created mechanisms that were able to avoid this discussion. Although it was able to explain these away it also left me disappointed.

Identity
Identity is a huge theme throughout this book, which I did appreciate. One aspect of identity being our main characters’ status as immigrants and ethnic minorities. Another aspect being Firuz and their brother’s gender identity. If this was a full-length book, I think Jamnia could have delved more into these aspects of identity. That would have also tied more into the world-building.

Overall
I loved the inclusion of a nonbinary main character and the allusions to sex changes. I love the setting in a Persian pre-Mulsim world. I loved the concept of now-feared blood magic tied in with a strange and unexplainable bruising disease. What I didn’t love: the length. Jamnia could have built upon all of these aspects further. That would have created an incredibly rich story that touches upon increasingly important themes of identity and culture.

I both liked and disliked this book. Liked because of the idea for the plot, the wonderful nonbinary/trans representation, and that it was a short fantasy. Didn't like because it felt too short for what the plot turned out to be. I felt confused at times and it felt like the story needed just a bit more fleshing out for me to feel fully invested. I did like all the characters and felt sad at the twist at the end, but there were just enough parts that felt slightly confusing that it ruined my full enjoyment.

Overall, give it a try as you may love it, and it's short enough that you won't be wasting your time on a long fantasy novel!

I would like more book. Is that possible? Can I order more book please?

There is so much in the short 170-something page book but also not enough. I would love to have more of this world, know more about Firuz before they fled, their training, the whole messy politics of the world. More of their family, Afsoneh and just all of it really. I'm actually genuinely disappointed in how short it was because of how much I want more of this story.

I loved the ending where Naseem puts this magical world into a historical context. I really added to the richness (that I've already said was too short!). Firuz was a great, if not slightly tragic, character. They were trying to be the breadwinner, mentor, older sibling guiding their younger brother who is also trans and investigating a new deadly phenomen. It's really apparent how many directions they're pulled in and struggling to do right by everyone around them.

Afsoneh was really interesting and with Faruz often questioning where her skills came from left me with a lot of unanswered question. Mostly the same one: where did this girl come from? Again, would love to have more book to explore that, please and thank you.

If you're looking for a short, little but packed book set in a Persian-inspired magic world with trans and non-binary MCs, don't read anything but The Bruising of Qilwa. And also brace yourself for wanting more that you may not get.

This was a lovely story, I really enjoyed the found family dynamics in this Persian world of Qilwa and the way magic systems and gender binaries are addressed was beautiful.

4⭐

This was one of my most anticipated releases for this year, and as usual I have pretty good instincts when it comes to predicting which stories are going to click for me.

I think this novella has a similar vibe to The Four Profound Weaves. Let me be clear: even though both novellas are published by the same press, they are *not* the same and they are not attempting to do the same thing whatsoever. That said, both have a similar culture of magic built into the story, especially one that explicitly makes space for transness. Both stories are also about pursuing a quote-unquote “forbidden” form of magic, one that involves the balance between life and death. So I definitely see some connections connections.

Now to focus on this story, what really stood out to me is the magic system. It's so unique, not in the sense that blood magic is a groundbreaking concept, but because every time that magic is used or referenced, it's firmly grounded in real-world science. The author has a scientific background themself, and that really comes through with how the magic is shown, conceptualized, and put to use. This system is very practical and takes a lot of actionable, thoughtful, biological factors into account.

Thematically, I also like how this story explores the deep-seeded bonds between communities and families. There’s a great storyline about Firuz taking in this young Sassanian refugee and becoming her mentor as she begins to learn blood magic. It's so incredibly heart-warming to see that kind of mentorship and that continuation of community in a story like this.

Firuz also has a really complex relationship with their younger brother, who’s also trans. They really care about him and work really hard to provide for him, almost like a parent, but then there’s also a feeling of jealousy between the two of them since Firuz was able to transition back in their homeland and their brother hasn’t been able to have that same experience. I appreciate the nuance in both of these primary relationships. There’s closeness, there’s trust, there’s emotional intimacy, but there’s also growing pains and sense of disconnect as both Firuz’s apprentice and their brother are trying to grow on their own terms outside of Firuz’s guidance, even if it means making their own mistakes.

The other central part of the story is an interrogation of what heritage looks like when there’s a complex relationship between two countries, when immigrants are assimilating into one culture as an oppressed or marginalized group—but also the danger of the oppressed inadvertently becoming the oppressors themselves, even *to* themselves. The story is questioning how far some of the Sassanian refugees will go in order to be accepted in Qilwa, even if means damaging themselves, their values, their traditions, or even other people in the process. It’s really a question of what kind of places we find ourselves led to because of our fear, because of internalized shame or self-doubt, and how we bring ourselves *out* of those places.

Generally speaking, I think the world-building—especially in terms of the complex international politics—could have a been integrated a little more seamlessly into the story. But other than that, I round this to be well-paced, it has a compelling element of mystery, and I thought the characters were distinctive and interesting. It gave me a lot to consider in a very short space while also delivering an incredibly rich fantasy world. For all those reasons, I'm very excited to see whatever Naseem Jamnia writes next.

This was a great read: a persian-inspired queernormative fantasy novella? Count me in ! The vibes and worldbuilding are absolutely top tier and the characters are believable and feel real; I especially loved this since it's the very first fantasy work I've ever read that attempted to explain how transition and gender-affirming care could work in a fantasy setting in which magic exists. The only thing I can be really critic about was the length: in my opinion, the story, worldbuilding and characters needed a longer book to really bloom. Still, it was a fantastic read and I'm really curious about this author's next works.

Deep in a queer normative, Persian-inspired world, a blood-plague has seeped its way into its inhabitants that is being ravaged by xenophobia, poverty, and misery. Our protagonist Firuz, is working tirelessly in a community free-clinic trying to locate the cause of a grueling illness, a sibling with extreme dysphoria, and taking in a youth off the street.

Thumbs Up: I love blood magic based systems. the very diverse experience and identities of all the characters, the world in which they created will be an exciting location to host many new novellas.

Thumbs Down: I thought the storyline was very clunky. The 3 part book needed sub-chapters as it just felt very dense (2 hours left of this chapter?!). I thought there were so many opportunities to make this story an exciting but the stakes were sort of, meh? I had a hard time connecting with the characters in the story, thus leaving me at a loss with wanting to come back to this story. For a short novella, it felt entirely too long and too short.

Was it a nail biter?: Not for me but I would certainly love to see more from this author. I think they have so much to offer in the realm of storytelling and I am excited to see how their writing grows as they continue on with this world.

Shelf Awareness PRO:

Naseem Jamnia's brilliant and insightful novella, The Bruising of Qilwa, explores questions of identity and belonging in a nuanced medical mystery.

Firuz has relocated to Qilwa with their family to avoid persecution in their homeland as a practitioner of the much-feared Sassanian blood magic. In Qilwa, they find a city unwelcoming to outsiders, with a deep-seated fear and suspicion of Sassanians--particularly any that may be adept at blood magic. Despite the climate, Firuz is fortunate enough to find work as an apprentice healer at a local clinic, where they work alongside healer Kofi as a plague sweeps through the city. As the plague begins to wane, however, Firuz and Kofi start to see startling signs of a new "blood-bruising" disease that leaves healthy people ailing, and cadavers behaving in ways that should be impossible. Unless, as Firuz suspects, the new illness may not be an illness at all, but a side effect of poorly used blood magic--but by whom? And to what end?

Jamnia has built an intricate, multi-layered world full of magic and queerness in The Bruising of Qilwa. While the political worldbuilding can be hard to follow at times, the exact nature of the politics in Qilwa and surrounding areas proves less important than the region's history of subjugation--in both directions. That fact, upon which the current climate of prejudice in Qilwa is built, bleeds into Jamnia's exploration of place and belonging. Dedicated to "the migrants around the world who leave their histories in search of a better future," The Bruising of Qilwa explores the murky and nuanced complexities of migration: "What did it mean to belong to a people who had once subjugated another before becoming subjugated themselves?" (In the author's note, Jamnia attributes this line of questioning to their own evolving understanding of their Persian heritage, first as subjugators, then as the subjugated.)

These questions, like those of the plague and what it might take to cure the city's people of it once and for all, feel familiar in a 21st-century global context steeped in questions of migration and pandemics. And while we may not have the environmental magic of Kofi or the blood magic of Firuz to try to solve these real-world problems, the questions Jamnia raises (and the answers they seem to hint at) about blood family and chosen family, identity and self-expression, gender and immigration and bigotry--are ones as applicable to this world as to the incredibly imagined one that unfolds across the pages of The Bruising of Qilwa. --Kerry McHugh, blogger at Entomologyof a Bookworm

Shelf Talker: A fantastical novella raises questions of place, identity and belonging as a nonbinary healer attempts to track down the origins of a mysterious blood-bruising disease in the city of Qilwa.

I thought this was a really fab little novella! I read it it one sitting. I thought the world was so interesting, I loved the way it explored oppression, how do you come to terms with being oppressed when your people once were the oppressors. I think it has a lot of parallels to the idea queer white people should really sit with more, that yes they are oppressed because of their queerness but also the oppressor due to their whiteness. I thought the novella explored this well. I also really liked the way Firuz’s character played out, their responsibility torn between family and community, their student and self, the guilt they felt, they were so well-characterised in such a short novel. And of course, the medical blood magic!! Dark, gory, excellent.

I also very much appreciated the way queerness, especially transness, was woven into the magic of the story. The way transitioning was handled in the magic system, the style of introducing yourself, I loved this.

I definitely think it could have worked really well as a longer novel, it is such a richly built world with very detailed political, historical and magical systems but I think Jamina did well to fit in a lot of content about the world and history and politics in such a short book. Would love to read more work in this world!

Content warnings: Blood and gore, medical content, mass death/plague, body horror, colonisation, assault, poverty, self harm (for magic), refugee crisis, genocide, racism (particularly medical racism), body dysphoria, physical child abuse (past), death, graphic descriptions of corpses

The Bruising of Qilwa is a book that left with me with mixed feelings, and definitely required some ruminating on afterwards. It is an absolute powerhouse of a novella in terms of the emotional impact, and the depth of what Jamnia is exploring here, and it touches on so many aspects that will impact on so many people. On the other hand, it needed more space to fully do justice to what the author was creating here – or to have some elements stripped out, although that would have lessened the impact. But, there was just so much involved, and a world with the potential to have so much scope just from what we were shown here, that the limitations were felt more keenly than they might have otherwise been. I really hope that the author will return to this world and these characters in the future, because there are so many stories waiting to be told, and I would happily pick up any book that delves into this. I would also definitely recommend The Bruising of Qilwa, because despite that it is a powerful, layered exploration of gender, family, immigration and identity – and complex in its exploration of those aspects, and it is a book that has lingered in my thoughts beyond the reading.

The Bruising of Qilwa follows the story of Firuz-e Jafari, a blood magician and refugee, as he works with a known healer in Qilwa, Kofi.

This book is less than 200 pages, but it's amazing how well it was able to build the world that Firuz is in. You will feel like you're in Qilwa yourself. The overall vibe is consistent all throughout. I also love the magic system in this book, although I wish we could have dived more into it.

My only problem with this book is that it had a slow start. It was hard to be attached to any of the characters from the start. I think it wasn't until around 50% that I was truly immersed in the things that were happening. This does not mean that the book isn't any good. I give this 3.5 stars! I do recommend it to anyone who's just getting into fantasy, and anyone who enjoys good worldbuilding. Big kudos to that aspect of the book!

Thank you to NetGalley for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Review forthcoming on Dragonmount in November 2022 (will update link when it is posted). Interview and excerpt published in khōréō.

I can't believe I'm saying this but I just had to DNF this one. I had such high expectations for this book but I couldn't bring myself to finish it and to be honest, I can't pinpoint why

Jamnia does an amazing job at immersing the reader into their Persian-inspired world. The many layers of representation in this book really stood out to me. Whether it was through the food, the political history of the land, or the use of language and pronouns, Jamnia takes you on journey that will leave you wanting more.

Thank you to Tachyon Publishing and Netgalley for a gifted eARC in exchange for an honest review. As soon as I heard about this book earlier in the year I knew I just had to get my hands on the book!⁣⁣
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This book was very different from other books I’ve read and I truly enjoyed the story. There’s a lot going on in this story though. There’s a young girl learning to control her magic. There is Firuz (main character) trying to navigate doing what they love (helping heal people), hiding their forbidden blood magic, taking care of their brother, and teaching the girl how to use her magic. On top of that there is a new disease popping up that Firuz and the other healer, Kofi, have to figure out how to heal/treat the people who catch the disease. ⁣
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𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬: family, gender identity, self discovery, politics, and magic. ⁣
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As much as I LOVED the writing and the characters, I wish this book was broken into two. I for sure want more books with these characters in it! I loved the culture that was brought into the writing along with the way the characters introduced themselves with their pronouns.⁣⁣
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Read if you’re interested in…⁣⁣
- Novellas⁣⁣
- Fantasy⁣⁣
- Queer/LGBTQ stories⁣⁣
- Medical talk⁣⁣
- Forbidden Magic

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great book. I really enjoyed the characterizations and depth of emotion. I think this would be a great addition to any library collection.

This book tackles a lot of interesting themes such as ignorant govenrment, gender, transition and immigration/xenophobia Tho I think I would've liked it more if it had been a full length novel, I think the author would've delivered the themes more efficiently if given more space. I love the queer-normative setting where our pronouns are attached to out names, and I like how the magic is interlaced with science.

Though the premise and length of this novella makes picking up this story a compelling thought, I found myself unable to finish it due to lack of strong character development. I think Jamnia is an author whose work will be well worth picking up in future titles.

Thank you Tachyon Publications for this ARC!
Some TW in this book that come to mind are: disease and death, gender dysphoria...


The Bruising of Qilwa is a queernormative Persian inspired fantasy, following our non-binary main lead Firuz. Firuz and their family are Sassanians who immigrated to The Free Democratic City State of Qilwa, to escape persecutions of blood magic users. Firuz has to hide the fact that they are a practitioner of blood magic even while working at a clinic where blood magic could have been useful.. Blood magic can be seen as both a gift and a curse depending on who you ask. With the spread of a strange disease, there is more animosity towards the immigrants who are thought to be linked to the disease.

This book deal with the heavy themes of immigration, violence and the history of enmity between groups of peoples. Additionally there are themes of family, and gender identity. At first I understood the world through Firuz's point of view, but afterwards I realized how limiting that was.

The world building in this book is well thought out, from the histories of the peoples, to the magical system. For that reason I applaud the author. However, I found this book hard to get into. I kept waiting for some sort of direction to orient myself. I wanted to grip on something, and be led to explore the story. But instead, it was like being present in an open world game where the details of the world is clearly there, but the character's story line needs more.....ironing out? I'm a simple person, I just wanted the carrot to be dangled in front of me! I wanted to be curious of what was going on to Firuz, Or even attached to them. And to top it all off, the major reveal felt like it happened all at once out of nowhere! Where was that buildup?

One other disappointing thing to me was how long the sections were. Long chapters are the bane of my existence... To balance off my negative remark with a positive one. I appreciated the diversity in this world.

For such thoughtful Worldbuilding and writing, I give this book 3 stars. I really wish I could have enjoyed it more.

3.5 stars

In a narrative that's as awkward as our protagonist, I appreciated the commentary on identity, probably more than the story deserves.

Unfortunately, I don't think The Bruising of Qilwa is long enough to meet the expectations Jamnia sets. There is so much to cover; refugees, colonisation, and overcoming history are the first group of big-ticket items we're introduced to, but this is quickly followed by trans and non-binary talking points. I liked that pronouns weren't a big issue, but gender reassignment is definitely more complicated - and yet less complicated, depending on where you live in our world. This feeling of more or less or maybe not complicated is one I felt a lot throughout The Bruising of Qilwa. Because, despite everything we're already juggling, let's throw in acceptable magics vs cursed/possibly illegal blood magic, a plague, a mysterious disease, a surprise untrained orphan mage, and family problems. Did I mention that book is less than 200 pages?

"Blood would always tell, and its capacity to heal the body and fight off disease would forever impress them. What else could it do that they'd yet to discover?"

While Firuz's awkwardness never wanes, their pure goodness made it easier to stomach. Feeling guilty for every decision made is not an easy way to go through life. Beautifully written, I never wondered what the setting was like - Jamnia has a gift for placing you somewhere and making it real in every way. I wish more of this was directed towards the magic/fantasy parts of the read - it did feel shuffled to the side sometimes to make way for everything else going on. I think Jamnia did an impressive job for the length of this story, but I wish it was longer and more fully fleshed out.