A Desi's Guide to Pakistani (English) Fiction

Of Poems and Identity: Fatimah Asghar's 'If They Come for Us' is worth reading

Of Blood and Boredom: Mohammed Hanif's 'Red Birds' is a yawnfest

Of Cliches and Complications: Awais Khan's 'In the Company of Strangers' barely passes muster

Of Science and Bigotry: Zarrar Said's 'Pureland' has good intentions but sucks at absolutely everything else

Of Possession and Potential: Mehak Khan's 'Jinns' was exciting until it wasn't

Of Space and Slavery: Khizer Abbas's 'Ignition' presents an entertaining premise but doesn't really deliver

Of Mothers and Magic: Nur Nasreen Ibrahim's 'Picture of a Dying World' was a complicated, entertaining mess

Of Grief and Gluttony: Marium Taufeeq's 'The Sadness Eater' is good, fun storytelling

Of Cyborgs and Close-minded Societies: Hamza Sarfraz's 'Being a Putla' tries to introduce something cool but ultimately fails