A review by storytimed
The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday by Saad Z. Hossain

4.75

This is a good book
I am now a Hossainhead
Basically the premise of this book is that it is a post-climate apocalypse utopia
Nanomachines fueled by human biology create a microclimate possible for sustaining life
And all resources are determined by an impartial AI, Karma, who gives everyone points based on the value they provide to the community
In this utopia, a gurkha (old soldier) wakes a djinn
This djinn is from the ancient times! The fighting, fucking, warlord times
This djinn.......... is a bit of a himbo, LOL
Through the careful application of flattery and condescension, Bhan Ghurung the gurkha manages to harness this djinn in the services of his own Great Revenge
All the while there is a Big Mystery on why Bhan Ghurung was thrown out of Karma's city, why he is seeking his revenge, etc. told through the perspective of Hamilcar Whatshisname, Karma's sheriff (appointed to look after her blind spots, of which she famously has none)
Hamilcar is not that interesting, but the world he inhabits is! And so is Hossain's manner of depicting it
There's a lack of self-importance to the writing that I really like...... it reminds me a bit of Zen Cho where individual people have their own ridiculous aspirations, but the narrative gently pokes fun at such silliness and returns you ultimately to the mundanity within the wonder
There are a few different ideas that this story explores: one is the presence of human unruliness and cruelty within a system that depends on (literally) karma-encouraged human altruism
This bit is fun but doesn't go anywhere. We kind of get the feeling that Melek Ahmar the djinn and Bhan Gurung are chaos actors and the utopia will pretty much return afterwards
The second is like, a backdoor investigation of colonialism
It's sort of a sideways Omelas aka: what if your beautiful utopic city on a hill was once built on horrific injustice and disgrace?
If you wreck the whole city, you risk killing millions of innocents, thereby perpetuating more war crimes and suffering 
I remembered liking the resolution, then I'd realized I forgotten what it was (although I did remember the Kpop-loving drug-dealing teen girl djinn), and then I went back to reread the ending and now I'm back to liking it a lot
The djinn earn three boons from Karma: one is to install Hamilcar as permanent sheriff (checks and balances against the system), one is to give ReGi a 99-year exemption from Karma's eye (outlet for rebellion, another check and balance), and the third is to reset everyone's karma counters to zero (maintaining the utopic system that everyone agrees works, but removing the profit that people earned from historic injustices)
Anyway I quite liked how Hossain never gets too didactic with it. There's a gentle vibe to this story, like an anecdote from your rambling uncle. This is the kind of world where a civilization-destroying djinn can get pushed around by an old man's force of character; where honorable acts are respected and powerful people keep to their bargains