Arabesk trilogy

The Arabesk trilogy is a sequence of alternate history novels by the British author Jon Courtenay Grimwood.

Starting with the 2001 novel Pashazade and continuing with Effendi (2002) and Felaheen (2003), the point of divergence occurs in 1915, where U.S President Woodrow Wilson brokers an earlier peace so that World War I never expanded outside of the Balkans; the books are set in a liberal Islamic Ottoman North Africa in the 21st century, mainly centering on Alexandria (referred to as El Iskandriyah).

The central character, Raf, is an enigma. Genetically enhanced, frequently wired on various drugs, occasionally accompanied by the hallucinatory fox , and strongly conscientious in everything he does, Raf's past is as much a mystery as his future.

(shortlisted for the 2002 Arthur C. Clarke Award, BSFA award for Best Novel and John W. Campbell Memorial Award)

The first book centres on the arrival in Alexandria of Bey Ashraf al-Mansur, claimed to be the son of the Emir of Tunis. Shortly after his arrival, though, Raf's tendency to do exactly what he thinks is right leads to unexpected consequences. Between caring for his niece, Hani, and attempting to understand Zara—the girl he was to marry—Raf ends up suspected of his Aunt Nafisa's murder, running from the police as he tries desperately to work out who really killed her.

The main story is intercut with out-of-order flashbacks to Raf's past as a schoolboy in Swiss and Scottish boarding schools and as 'ZeeZee', a low-ranking agent of Hu San—an influential Triad boss in Seattle.

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