''The Exile Kiss'' is a

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyber ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

novel by American writer

George Alec Effinger George Alec Effinger (January 10, 1947 – April 27, 2002) was an American list of science fiction authors, science fiction author, born in Cleveland, Ohio. Writing career Effinger was a part of the Clarion Workshop, Clarion class of 1970 an ...

, published in 1991.''The Exile Kiss'' copyright notes, First Orb Edition: June 2006 It is the third novel in the three-book ''Marîd Audran'' series, following the events of ''

A Fire in the Sun ''A Fire in the Sun'' is a cyberpunk science fiction novel by American writer George Alec Effinger, published in 1989.''A Fire in the Sun'' copyright notes, First Orb Edition: February 2006 It is the second novel in the three-book Marîd Audran s ...

''. The title of the novel comes from '' Coriolanus'', by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

: "O! a kiss / Long as my exile, sweet as my revenge!" (Act V, scene 3). Effinger had begun writing a fourth book in the ''Marîd Audran'' series, ''Word of Night'', but died before that work was completed. The

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

-published '' Budayeen Nights'' contains the first two chapters of ''Word of Night'' along with other stories of Effinger's.

Plot summary

Married to Indihar, though from his perspective in name only, Marîd Audran gets invited to a reception at the palace of the amir of the city.

Shaykh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliteration of Arabic, transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonl ...

Mahali, the amir, thus wishes to end the rivalry between Friedlander Bey and Reda Abu Adil, two of the most powerful men in the city. Both Audran and Bey, or "Papa" as he's known in the Budayeen, become suspicious when their sworn enemy Abu Adil designates Audran as an officer of the "Jaish", an unofficial militia working for Abu Adil. However, it is not until after the party that Abu Adil's scheme unfolds: Audran and Bey are put under arrest by Lieutenant Hajjar and charged with the murder of a police officer named Khalid Maxwell. They're sentenced on-the-spot into exile, never to return to the city under pain of death. Left to die amongst the burning sands of a vast desert, their luck finally turns as they are rescued by a

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...

tribe of Bani Salim, allowing them to start planning the vengeance they'd exact upon Abu Adil and prove their innocence— if they ever make it back to the city alive.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Exile Kiss 1991 American novels Cyberpunk novels 1991 science fiction novels Dystopian novels Doubleday (publisher) books