2012: Osama

Joe is a typically average private investigator who lives in Southeast Asia. The only real difference is that Joe's world, terrorist attacks like 9-11 never actually happened. Instead, they're simply key pieces in a popular series of fiction books titled "Osama bin Laden, Vigilante". These books have become so popular that they even have an annual fan convention dedicated to them. When Joe is hired to find the creator of these pulp novels, his life takes a decidedly strange turn. Very quickly Joe finds himself traveling the world and interacting with people who seem more than a little out of place. Next, he finds people who don't want him asking any more questions. Why it's on the list Tidhar is an Israeli writer and has written a beautiful and haunting book. It is exceptionally well-written and brilliantly evokes each of the places it takes place: Vientiane, Laos; Paris; New York; and finally, Kabul. She has created the ultimate in escapist fiction, a universe where Osama Bin Laden is merely a character in a book, and the acts of terror and destruction he was responsible for are only fictional events. In Tidhar's world, these acts are so inconceivable that people can only imagine them as over the top fiction. Osama lets its readers step back and consider what was lost since the war on terror began. We become acutely aware of the comforts we once had and the gradual erosion of the freedom we used to take for granted. Read if you like Alternate History.