Barzakh: The Land In-Between by Moussa Ould Ebnou

Barzakh: The Land In-Between by Moussa Ould Ebnou

From the sands of the Sahara to a dystopian future, one man's ancient memory holds the key to humanity's fate.

Gara awakens dying atop a desert mountain, his final memories encoded like fossils in crystal. Sold into slavery by his father, he survives the merciless salt caravans and the slave markets of medieval Awdaghost until alKhadir-the Green One-offers an irreversible gift: leap forward through time in search of a better humanity. Each jump hurls him into new eras of bondage and revolt-slave rebellions, colonial violence, and, at last, a dystopian regime where his own descendant, Tangalla, rules a toxic empire that turns the Sahara into the world's dumping ground. Across lifetimes he is bound to Vala, a love that flickers through the dark like a desert wellspring, as Gara grapples with memory and trauma, slavery and resistance, the fates of slaves and masters, and whether the cycle of power can ever be broken.

Blending historical realism with visionary speculation,Barzakh: The Land In-Betweenchannels the metaphysical intensity of African folklore and the stark poetry of a world unraveling-literary fiction about slavery reimagined through time travel, archaeology, and cosmic reckoning. Readers who come to the page for time travel romance books will find a fierce, tender thread between Gara and Vala; readers of dystopian and slavery books will recognize a chilling mirror in Barzakh's environmental collapse and tyrannies across centuries.

For readers of Octavia Butler books-Kindred; Parable of the Sower; -as well as Nnedi Okorafor books (Binti Trilogy) and Connie Willis; fans of Beverly Jenkins books who enjoy sweeping historical fiction with high stakes and heart; and anyone browsing top 10 historical fiction books lists.

If you've searched for terms like books on slavery in america, the modern British slave trade, history of slavery, slave, slaves, or slavery, this visionary, crosstemporal epic belongs on your shelf.

Key themes explored:
*Medieval-to-future sweep: salt caravans, Awdaghost, rebellions, and a high-tech dystopia.
*Big themes with high stakes: slavery, oppression, ecological collapse, memory, resistance.
*For comp readers: Octavia Butler (Kindred, Parable of the Sower), Nnedi Okorafor (Binti trilogy), Connie Willis.
*Emotional core: a crosscentury bond between Gara and Vala that will appeal to time travel romance books readers.
*Smart and atmospheric: a desert epic blending history, metaphysics, and thriller tension.

“Presented as a transcript of the stream of consciousness translated from the remains of a skeleton found at the top of a mountain in Ghallawiya… a story told

mostly with fragments of journeys across what is now Mauritania, it is an ambitious premise for an ultimately dystopian vision

— Regina Schroeder, Booklist Review

“The landscape of Barzakh is ethereal and alien [...] I left the book feeling unsure, but also satisfied. Curious about what I had been missing. Ready to go searching through a new world.”

            —Jason Kahler, The Future Fire

“Barzakh is a fascinating snapshot of the past and future of a fictional Mauritanian desert region. Framed by the story of future scientists discovering his remains, narrator Gara jumps between three eras--the distant past, the recent past, and the distant future.… I especially enjoyed the future section of this novel, which depicts space-age life and technology (and poverty and corruption) from the perspective of those it's left behind--in this case, desert nomads and prison laborers in the nuclear containment facilities turning Earth into a wasteland. I was also delighted by the brief appearance of a far-future psychic vampire alien--this book has a lot in it! “

– Leah Baxter - Reviewer/Publisher

“Hmm the way this book was written reminded me very much of how albert Camus wrote, the kind of melody of the narrative…yeah you’ll need to try this out… you’ll need to enjoy a kind of poetic narrative just like Albert Camus used to write.”

— Juliane Silver - Reviewer

Moussa Ould Ebnou, one of Mauritania’s greatest novelists, earned his Ph.D. at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, and is a philosophy professor at the University of Nouakchott in Mauritania. He has written several novels and short stories in French and Arabic. He was a consultant for the United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office in New York and served as a cultural advisor to the Presidency of Mauritania for fifteen years.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781957810003
ISBN 10	1957810009
Title	Barzakh: The Land In-Between
Author	Moussa Ould Ebnou
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Iskanchi Press
Year published	2022-10-17
Number of pages	236
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.