BOOK REVIEW: Throne of the Crescent Moon
Title: Throne of the Crescent Moon
Author: Saladin Ahmed
Series: The Crescent Moon Kingdoms (Book 1)
Adoulla is one of the last ghul hunters. Along with his assistant, warrior priest Raseed, Adoulla uses his abilities to take down the deadly creatures that occasionally plague the city of Dhamsawaat and beyond. But as Adoulla enters his twilight years, he finds himself weary of the fight and desires nothing more than to settle down, marry the woman he loves, and enjoy a nice cup of tea. Any plans for retirement will have to be put on hold, as Adoulla and his allies will have to face a powerful enemy whose target is the heir to the Throne of the Crescent Moon himself.
A couple years back, a class in children's literature rekindled my interest in One Thousand and One Nights, a love first developed while reading illustrated versions of “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” and “Aladdin” when I was young. As a result, I found myself on a the lookout for fantasy books that drew their inspiration from these tales. I was disappointed when I discovered that there wasn't really all that much out there. This is why when I first learned about Throne of the Crescent Moon, I immediately knew that I wanted to read it, as it sounded exactly like what I had been looking for two years ago. Throne of the Crescent Moon takes place in a setting inspired by the ancient middle east, in a world filled with deadly ghuls and djenn. Beyond this setting, the book is populated by a cast of likable characters. Admittedly, I did not find the book to be as engaging as other reviewers have, but I still enjoyed it.
Throne of the Crescent Moon features a wide variety of nuanced characters, from the Zamia, with her ability to shape shift into a lion, to the proud warrior priest Raseed, with his deep devotion to his faith. By the end of the book I found myself rather attached to this cast, but I sometimes felt as if the book was dragged down a bit due to the third person omniscient point of view. Although I'm sure that there are some short novels that can pull of this type of point of view, Throne of the Crescent Moon, who's hardcover version is less than three hundred pages, feels a little bogged down. I found myself wishing that the author had stuck with either two or three perspectives, and chosen to share each character's thoughts in other ways. As far as the story goes, I found it to be pretty solid, and sometimes surprisingly dark (we have a handful of side scenes involving torture). Still, although I enjoyed reading the story, I don't think I was every fully emotionally engaged with it. It was a nice read, but never really one I got all that excited about.
Final Thoughts: Saladin Ahmed's Throne of the Crescent Moon is certainly filling a hole in fantasy literature by providing us with a story inspired by One Thousand and One Nights. The rich setting and well developed cast of characters made the book and enjoyable read for me, even though I never seemed to fall in love with it as much as over reviewers have. I do plan on continuing the series and look forward to seeing how Ahmed will grown and develop as a writer. Three and a Half Stars.
Author: Saladin Ahmed
Series: The Crescent Moon Kingdoms (Book 1)
Adoulla is one of the last ghul hunters. Along with his assistant, warrior priest Raseed, Adoulla uses his abilities to take down the deadly creatures that occasionally plague the city of Dhamsawaat and beyond. But as Adoulla enters his twilight years, he finds himself weary of the fight and desires nothing more than to settle down, marry the woman he loves, and enjoy a nice cup of tea. Any plans for retirement will have to be put on hold, as Adoulla and his allies will have to face a powerful enemy whose target is the heir to the Throne of the Crescent Moon himself.
A couple years back, a class in children's literature rekindled my interest in One Thousand and One Nights, a love first developed while reading illustrated versions of “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” and “Aladdin” when I was young. As a result, I found myself on a the lookout for fantasy books that drew their inspiration from these tales. I was disappointed when I discovered that there wasn't really all that much out there. This is why when I first learned about Throne of the Crescent Moon, I immediately knew that I wanted to read it, as it sounded exactly like what I had been looking for two years ago. Throne of the Crescent Moon takes place in a setting inspired by the ancient middle east, in a world filled with deadly ghuls and djenn. Beyond this setting, the book is populated by a cast of likable characters. Admittedly, I did not find the book to be as engaging as other reviewers have, but I still enjoyed it.
Throne of the Crescent Moon features a wide variety of nuanced characters, from the Zamia, with her ability to shape shift into a lion, to the proud warrior priest Raseed, with his deep devotion to his faith. By the end of the book I found myself rather attached to this cast, but I sometimes felt as if the book was dragged down a bit due to the third person omniscient point of view. Although I'm sure that there are some short novels that can pull of this type of point of view, Throne of the Crescent Moon, who's hardcover version is less than three hundred pages, feels a little bogged down. I found myself wishing that the author had stuck with either two or three perspectives, and chosen to share each character's thoughts in other ways. As far as the story goes, I found it to be pretty solid, and sometimes surprisingly dark (we have a handful of side scenes involving torture). Still, although I enjoyed reading the story, I don't think I was every fully emotionally engaged with it. It was a nice read, but never really one I got all that excited about.
Final Thoughts: Saladin Ahmed's Throne of the Crescent Moon is certainly filling a hole in fantasy literature by providing us with a story inspired by One Thousand and One Nights. The rich setting and well developed cast of characters made the book and enjoyable read for me, even though I never seemed to fall in love with it as much as over reviewers have. I do plan on continuing the series and look forward to seeing how Ahmed will grown and develop as a writer. Three and a Half Stars.