Book description
In a decadent world of cheap pleasures and easy death, Marid Audrian has kept his independence the hardway. Still, like everything else in the Budayeen, he's availableā¦for a price.
For a new kind of killer roams the streets of the Arab ghetto, a madman whose bootlegged personality cartridges range fromā¦
Why read it?
2 authors picked When Gravity Fails as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
This story is set in an Arabic cyberpunk future in which the rest of the world has splintered into warring factions. Where you traditionally find the cityscapes of Gibson, here you have the Budayeen, with its narrow streets and souks, its bars and strip clubs abutting mosques, and the daily calls to prayer cutting through the cries of hawkers, gangsters, and unfortunate tourists.
Audran is the classic flawed detective: drug-addled and morally grey but with a cynicism that I canāt help but love. He is cowardly at times, brave at others, self-serving, and selflessāa character to get your teeth into!ā¦
From F. D.'s list on apocalyptic Sci-Fi novels with complex characters.
One of my favorite things about noir is how a flawed main character can be a reflection of the broken world in which they live. In this book, MarĆ®d Audran has his charm, but heās a deeply flawed character. He lives in the criminal quarter of an unnamed Middle Eastern city, with corruption everywhere.
As the story goes on, the city scrapes away at him, stealing the one thing he values over everything elseāhis independence. That is a theme at the center of many great noir stories, and the sci-fi elements in this book amplify it a thousand percent.
From Anthony's list on morally complex sci-fi noir books.
If you love When Gravity Fails...
The Rosewood Penny
2023 Queer Indie Award Nominee!
The dragons of Yuro have been hunted to extinction.
On a small, isolated island, in a reclusive forest, lives bandit leader Marani and her brother Jacks. With their outlaw band they rob from the rich to feed themselves, raiding carriages and dodging the occasional vindictiveā¦
Want books like When Gravity Fails?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 91 books like When Gravity Fails.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,343
readers submitted
so far, will you?
š If you like When Gravity Fails, you might also like...
Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman
Kate from Jules et JimĀ meets I Love Dick.
A young woman filmmakerās journey of self-discovery, set against a backdrop of the sexual liberation movement of the 1970s and 1980s. In Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman, we follow Ana Fried as she faces the ultimateā¦
Malcolm Before X
Malcolm Before X is about finding a way to continue moving forward after everything has been taken from you. While in prison, Malcolm Little discovered the power of reading and found a way to transform his character and become a better man. This half-biography focuses on that transformation, especially hisā¦
