S. Ghali is the author of two novels. We Are Meridians was published in 2019. It is the 84th book I completed reading in 2023.

Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence, I categorize this novel as R.

It has been nearly 300 years since an advanced alien race approached Earth and offered them the opportunity to join in exploring space. Several took the opportunity to escape a rapidly decaying planet.

An artifact that had been guarded for many years by the Antharians is stolen by a team of humans. The artifact has incredible power and can easily cause widespread casualties in the wrong hands. A small group is pulled together to recover the artifact.

The team of three comes from very different backgrounds. Nineteen-year-old Cadet Elmyra Conrad is a top-rated student who intentionally brought rebuke upon herself by starting a fight. Dr. Effra Jones is a timid xenoanthropologist who is often of little help. Antharian Prince Zayn is part of the team, but how helpful he will be is in question.

The trio are stranded on Earth and must escape a host of people who want their capture while pursuing the artifact.

I enjoyed the 6 hours I spent reading this 236-page science fiction novel. The book started out rough but did get better. It is targeted at a younger audience, which is reflected in the plot and writing style. I do not like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 3.4 (rounded to 3) out of 5.

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My thanks to S. Ghali for the ARC. At first the plot lines seemed confusing but mid book the plot gelled and the action picked up. I will warn that it ends with a cliffhanger but it was worth it. Characters are well developed and worth following.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

Unfortunately, this book was not my cup of tea. However, to be fair I'm not much of a Sci-Fi reader. I'll have to say that the reason it was hard to focus on the story was because it was a lot of information drops. The characters were kind of alike in a way that none really stood out to grab your emotional intrigue to want to see them progress in the story. Sometimes, the author was writing very eloquently, and then it seemed like maybe another author would take over for the eriting didn't seem to match up. All in all, I would not look to read another book in the series, unfortunately. Maybe an overhaul of this book could produce a great story.

I did not finish this book. I tried to read it but I won’t be finishing it. I won’t be rating this book.

The premise is interesting but it’s too raw. The beginning of the book in particular- there must be better ways to introduce/explain different arrangements and set the scene than just listing them in plain narrative. It was also quite trope-y, especially with romance. It gave me a feeling that it could’ve been much bolder but it ended up toned down. Also, how they all speak the same English everywhere is beyond me - even humans on the same planet haven’t managed it. So it seemed like a promising premise but lacking execution

After jumping around confusingly at the start, this settles into a fast-paced military science fiction novel. An expedition, sent to recover a dangerous artefact stolen by mercenaries, is sabotaged, and only a small team survives to continue the search.
There is interesting material here, but it is insufficiently developed, partly because there is so much going on. There are several groups involved (Meridians, Antharians, Ancients, Chimeras, humans on Earth), but information on their culture and motivations is hurried and tantalizingly brief. Because the protagonist, Cadet Elmyra Conrad, has been traumatized by her earlier experiences with drugs and combat, her recollection of past events is fragmentary. She is also prone to panic attacks, feelings of failure and inadequacy, and a disconcertingly passionate emotional reaction to the handsome and charming Antharian prince, and they intrude repetitively into the narrative. There are, too, rather a lot of technological devices that keep conveniently popping up. Since this is first in a planned series, explanations and background may get filled in, but here the focus is upon relentless action as Elmyra and her companions struggle to survive against heavy odds.
We need more careful world-building, but those looking for a tale of fast-paced adventure should enjoy the ride.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
We Are Meridians follows a cast of characters that are trying to stop a group of criminals who have stolen a very deadly object. The story takes so long to pull itself together to get to that aspect of the plot. I think there was a bit of info-dumping at the start of the story. It wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t push through, but it was noticeable. There were so many characters and things that had to be introduced before the story could really get going. I feel like the author took a bit too much time letting us get to know the characters and the world before pulling the actual plot of the story into play. But somehow, at the same time, I feel like there was so much that happened and we didn’t get enough of any of it.
I’d say there were three main characters: Elmyra, Effra, and Zayn. Much of Elmyra’s story is still a mystery. We get to know her and her backstory pretty well except one big secret. And when that secret was finally revealed, it wasn’t elaborated on all that much because the person that knows all the details was dying. So, there’s answers, but still a bit of mystery surrounding that particular twist in the story. I really liked Zayn. I wasn’t sure if he was going to turn on the humans or end up deciding to truly join them and help with their mission. I think he was the best developed character and I look forward to reading more about him. Finally, Effra. I feel like we got to know him the least because he’s not really introduced until a ways into the story. We don’t spend that first third of the story getting to know him. So, his backstory is dumped when he’s introduced. He also spent much of the story needing to be saved, so I guess that’s all we need to know about him.
Overall, this was way more of a science fiction thriller/mystery then I thought it was going to be. I actually really enjoyed it. The authors writing was good. It was descriptive but still easy to follow. The characters were well developed and not hard to get invested in. The world was my favorite part I think. The world building and history of the humans that live in space was really well done. I don’t see any news about a sequel but I would definitely read it if/when one is released.

Thanks to S. Ghali and NetGalley for the opportunity to review 'We Are Meridians.'

I stepped outside my comfort zone to read this one so I'm probably unfairly not the target audience and that's most likely reflected in the rating.

It felt at the beginning that there were a lot of characters coming at you and when these include several non-human species and non-familiar names it could be hard to keep up and I think that set me off down a path where it was hard to remain engaged with the story or characters.

'We Are Meridians' is clearly (it's right there on the cover!) the first in a series which, I think, can also bias the reader since we're aware that certain characters are there for the long haul so it does away with some of the tension (maybe only George R.R. Martin has no qualms about killing off main characters at any time!) since you know that nothing too untoward is going to happen to main protagonists.

There's a lot of imagination that went into this novel and I appreciated that but I don't think I'd be back for book two or beyond.

This is a very interesting, easy to read and follow storyline and storytelling. A sci fi and fantasy book with a very slight romantic twist to it. 300 years in the future no longer part of Earth, events occurred which caused a deadly mission to begin to search and find an alien artefact. Many twists and turns with thrilling on the edge of the seat book. I certainly recommend anyone to get a copy and have a read especially those who love to read the futuristic sci fi and fantasy genre. As this is part of a series as Book One I will indeed read this book again before reading book Two just to remember on what occurred in Book One.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from S. Ghali via NetGalley for my honest review of the book We Are Meridians Book One. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own thoughts, feelings and viewpoints of the book.

Review run date was set for 28 Aug 2019 for Netgalley, unfortunately life stood at a standstill as I finished the final semester and three subjects of my studies. On 28 March 2021 I was set to write the review and my health became an emotional roller coaster so here I am today 20 October 2021 review posted on NetGalley, WordPress blog, Facebook blog, Instagram, LinkedIn, Amazon.com.au, goodreads, along with the non-linked retail online stores that sell the book is at:

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We Are Meridians, while presenting with an interesting premise, just didn't grab me. The writing felt a little stilted, and many of the characters felt too alike to be quickly identified between reading sessions. It just wasn't my cup of tea. No major grammatical or spelling errors, so give it a shot.

The synopsis caught my attention - two humanoid races at war with each other. Space travel, other galaxies, so very different than my usual tastes.

However, the writing and actual storyline progression left much to be desired. The first 100 pages of this book made no sense. The author jumps too quickly from plot points. For example, the princes and their small army overtake humans in the vault, POV switches to the human invaders, who may or may not have found whatever it was they were looking for, and then somehow the two princes are injured? There’s no natural progression.

At times, the writing is detailed and intricate. Then at others, it sounded like a child wrote it.

I was given an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

We are Meridians
By S Ghali
When you leave something the world for your own greater good returning no mater how limited your reasons is never enough.
This book looks at the prejudices we all have the potential to fall victim to.

We are Meridians by S Ghali is a story about two human civilizations; one will rise and one will fall. 300 years ago, a small group of humans leave their violent past and human counterparts on Earth to create the most advanced civilization in history until now. When mercenaries steal a deadly artifact, the Meridians - the advanced society - has no choice but to send a military expedition back to Earth to retrieve it.

However, the mission is compromised as you might expect. Upon arrival, the crew members get separated on the surface of (then hostile) planet Earth that has never experienced alien contact. A group of three Meridians, with quite a wide background: Conrad a disgraced Cadet; Jones, a Xenoanthropologist; and Zayn, an Antharian Prince must work together to find other survivors before their own demise. And that's where the blurb ends, leading the reader into a cliffhanger.

That premise should be enough to engage the reader into an interesting book. I was drawn in in the beginning of the book, and I really enjoyed reading it, as it's been a while since I've had a science fiction book that I actually enjoyed.

The problem is that as I got further into the book, the author spilled the beans - too many times. The author violated the fundamental premise of creative writing: Show, don't tell. An author of a good book should be able to show a statement that he or she is trying to make, rather than explicitly come out and make the statement, which Ghali actually did several times (as if the reader could not figure it out for him/her-self).

This structure of tell a story and spill-the-beans made for a disappointing read. What started out to be an enjoyable book did not finish as such. I wish that the author would consider taking these comments to heart when continuing this series. Ghali has a very good premise, and has the ability to really start out the book, but needs a strong follow through without telling the reader what he or she is trying to say. Remember: show, don't tell.

I would like to thank the author and NetGalley for the copy. I am voluntarily leaving this review.

A weird concept where humans leave Earth to explore the galaxy, in regards to progression of the race and the differences in species there doesn't seem to be any major changes. Too many names to remember right from the beginning. Felt a bit information dumpy, lots of telling rather than showing in regards to the characters and their stories.

This was such a fun read! This was a Sci-Fi Thriller and it came through with the action packed punch I had been searching for.
The synopsis is correct and provides the reader to go in and enjoy the book for what it is being sold for (I find sometimes the synopsis is either lacking or not aligned to what the book is really about).
Writing has the opportunity to reach a better depth, hoping to see an improvement in this in the next instalment. I was not after a romance in this, so didn't feel pulled towards that part of the book either.
Very easy to read, and the pace was great.
I am excited for a sequel!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this book was a DNF for me. It was a slow start and the characters were uninspiring for me.

An interesting premise marred by uninspired tropes, lack of character development, and amateur writing. Feels like fan-fic rather than a polished book ready for an actual audience.

300 years of evolution has allowed a race of humans to evolve into Meridians. When a hostile group steal a mysterious yet dangerous artefact and expedition is led
"We are Meridians" follows Elmyra- a disgraced cadet who finds herself in the centre of the conflict and must trust in an unlikely band of allies to save not only themselves, but also to secure the future of their peoples.
This was a fantastic read. The author sets up a complex world quite seamlessly and I loved the creativity especially around the use of technology.
In Elmyra's character we were presented with concepts of trauma, love, acceptance and also personal conflict. I found her refreshing and her dialogue shone through the book quite well. Although I had difficulty connecting with her backstory as it didn't feel as developed as I would have liked.
The book seemed to slow down towards the second third of the story as the world building got a little heavy and I was wanting more plot/action. It does pick up again though and I found the end of the book and the accompanying development of the other characters really enjoyable. The author has set up a unique universe for future stories that I would be keen to read!

This is good not great. It didn't always hold my interest and the writing was below average, but I enjoyed the characters and certain aspects of it, including some of the action and plot points.

I really appreciate receiving the review copy!!