The Republic of Memory: A Novel (The Song of the Safina) by Mahmud El Sayed (Paperback)

Fiction - Science Fiction - Space Exploration - Middle Eastern & Arab American

RELEASE DATE: 5/5/2026 (WILL SHIP DIRECTLY FROM OUR SUPPLIER'S WAREHOUSE)

A Most Anticipated Book of 2026
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A Memory Called Empire meets Children of Time in this Arabfuturist debut set on a generation ship on the brink of revolution as its crew begin to ask why they should toil for a people, and an empire, none of them remember.

The Safina is a city ship halfway through its four-hundred-year voyage from the ruins of Earth to a new colony world. Its crew maintain the ship, generation after generation, while protecting their ancestors in cryostasis so that one day they will be able to enjoy a fresh start under clear blue skies.

But when blackouts start, unrest follows.

The ship can only continue running smoothly with the cooperation of the crew. And the crew has had enough. As coordinated acts of resistance coincide with a much more complex conspiracy, a chain of events is set into motion that will change life on the Safina forever.

Inspired by the real-world events of the Arab Spring, The Republic of Memory is a bold interrogation of empire and an energizing portrait of revolution.

AUTHOR BIO: 

Mahmud El Sayed is a British Egyptian science fiction and fantasy writer and translator. A former journalist, he won the 2023 Future Worlds Prize for Fantasy and Science Fiction Writers of Color for his work focusing on Arabic and Islamic-inspired themes in a genre he is calling Arabfuturism. He lives in East London where he spends his time pondering linguistic oddities and running story ideas by his cat.

" The Republic Of Memory offers a brilliant, timely, and incisive look at the power of community and the myriad ways the past still rules our present. With a wonderful cast of believable characters, this is science fiction at its finest, and not to be missed."
--M.H. Ayinde, author of A Song of Lost Legends

"It's rare that you come across a book that is doing something completely fresh with the genre, but The Republic of Memory is just that. A heady cocktail of Arabfuturism, linguistics, and revolution, this political sci-fi mind-stretcher is destined to be a classic. I was enraptured from the very first page."
--Nicholas Binge, author of Dissolution

"El Sayed's debut builds a polyphonic blend of voices with an ensemble cast that showcases a mix of political views, cultures, and languages, including inventive new slang. With its centering of Arab culture, the novel is a fresh take on generation-ship stories but still delivers the beats sci-fi fans love....El Sayed takes Arabfuturism to space in this vibrant, layered achievement that librarians can hand to fans of Kim Stanley Robinson's political sci-fi or Rivers Solomon's An Unkindness of Ghosts."
--Erin Niederberger, Library Journal