The stranger

The Stranger, or the Story of Sister Shamlan The first in Barakunan’s keystone science fiction series, The Stranger or the Story of Sister Shamlan, leads its audience into the luxurious island of Asour, the nexus of a tumultuous cosmic and geo-political re-shifting that will carry the world of Ob into a new age. Set at the beginning of Asour’s development, the story is told from the perspective of Sarah Shamlan, a young refugee from who arrives in Asour seeking shelter. Asour is a young nation-state headed by the family Ayoub. Through a massive project of geo-genesis, using optics to manipulate light and temperature, and a re-distribution of underground water systems, the family transformed an island ravaged by an affliction of thorns into a thriving and luxurious landscape. The colossal feat was facilitated by a dubious relationship with the Republic of Al Azrak, a giant metropolis built atop a flat plane of psycho-active stone that contains access to the collective unconscious, controlled and coveted by Republican authorities. Shamlan’s story becomes intertwined with that of Haytham Bin Barhoum, beloved prince of Asour. Her romance with the passionate young intellectual and budding mystic implicates her in a web of action, veering her path towards the liberation of Al Azrak and the world spirit. Will the island’s spiritual and material abundance, its seductive mysteries, and its eccentric ruling family satisfy Sarah Shamlan’s longing for purpose, for home? Or will she be forced to flee, a stranger once again?