Songs of Blood and Sword

Songs of Blood and Sword got mostly mixed reviews from critics.

William Dalrymple published a review in Financial Times by saying "Songs of Blood and Sword is moving, witty and well-written. It is also passionately partisan: this is not, and does not pretend to be, an objective account of Murtaza Bhutto, so much as a love-letter from a grieving daughter to her father and an act of literary vengeance and account-settling by a niece who believes her aunt had her father murdered." [2]

Thomas Lippman published a review in Washington Post by noting that "It is at least 50 pages too long, larded with self-indulgent emotional outbursts and personality sketches of minor characters, and her reflexive anti-Americanism is tiresome." But describe it is a valuable read for those who want to understand why Pakistan is such an ungovernable mess.[3]

The Guardian also published a review by Roderick Matthews, who wrote "This book is not an explicit prosecution of the Pakistani government; there are no damning documentary revelations. But for those who like their history presented in personal terms, it will not disappoint. Hope, injustice, drama and grief are all ably captured and conveyed in what is a highly readable introduction to the grim realities of domestic politics in Pakistan."[1]

Arifa Akbar published another review in The Independent by noting "As much as this is a loving portrait of Murtaza, it also reads as a hate-filled expose of Benazir and her husband. Once Fatima's favourite aunt, nicknamed Pinky, Benazir is shown as a rapacious woman who may have had a hand in her brothers' deaths. The trouble with these dichotomous portraits of good sibling/evil sibling is that they are crassly over-simplified."[4]

Shobhan Saxena published a review in Times of India by pointing unconvincing attacks on Zardari and criticised the author for being slanted on historical fact. She wrote "In fact, the book is an attack on Zardari whom Fatima blames for everything wrong with Pakistan today. And that's the problem with the book. Fatima fails to see anything wrong with the Bhuttos. They are presented as martyrs who died for Pakistan. The fact that all of them died in either pursuit of power or during internal power struggles has been ignored by the writer. With their feudal, arrogant attitude, the Bhuttos have been part of the problem and not the solution. But the writer fails to address this issue."[5]