Review: Three Nights in Faral-Khazal
I’ve done another book exchange – this time with David Samuels, author of various tales in the world of Euvael. We’ve swapped books in order to review them – as in my previous exchange, I’ve saved the in-depth version for this blog. Without further ado, here are my thoughts on Three Nights in Faral-Khazal.
Short stories are tricky things. Many are the times that I’ve had a nice idea for something self-contained only to have it spiral out of control into a novella – or, if I had a word limit, be unable to cram all the worldbuilding I’d like into so small a space. Even when you go up to novelette length the same problem remains: how does one fit proper worldbuilding into a short without running out of room for an actual plot?
It’s difficult. But David Samuels has nailed it.
Three Nights in Faral-Khazal is, as its title suggests, a trio of short stories set in Samuels’ world of Euvael. I haven’t read his previous offerings – which would usually pose a problem, as I wouldn’t know the basics of the world into which I was diving. But from the very beginning of each tale Samuels conjures his setting masterfully – I was absorbed from the very start. This in itself is worthy of serious praise. The Arabian-inspired world of Faral-Khazal is beautifully described – sultans lounge in sumptuous harems, wizards lurk in rickety towers, thieves leap from cages dangling far above the ocean – and it is a world in which Samuels deftly weaves three stories, each following different inhabitants of the many different corners of this world. But despite the separate narratives, nothing feels out of place, like it doesn’t belong. The three threads instead expand our horizons, letting us see more of Faral-Khazal than any one long tale could easily manage.
The characters are as diverse as can be – a master chef, a young thief, an ambitious businesswoman. Each has their own story to tell. I’ll now give my thoughts on each one.
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The Deadliest Dish is the first tale, and the one that explores the widest range of locations in Faral-Khazal. Kaira, chef at the royal palace, is tasked with cooking an impossible dish for the chief concubine. If she fails, she will die, like several chefs before her – so she will have to pursue alternative means of preparing her masterpiece. Namely, magic. What follows is an elaborate fetch-quest that wouldn’t be out of place in a finely crafted RPG: the Anchorite, a sinister wizard in a tower high above the city, demands that Kaira find him a roc in return for conjuring the ingredients she needs; in order to get the roc from the royal menagerie she must bribe its keeper, which requires her to steal from the chief concubine…
Kaira’s quest takes her all over the royal palace, which is in itself a place big and varied enough to be a world all of its own – yet it sits beautifully within the larger world that Samuels paints so beautifully. And the characters who walk within it are fully realised even in so short a space – the Anchorite is truly repulsive, the chief concubine sinister and domineering, Lemon the potboy truly endearing. Kaira’s trials are very well told indeed – and the final twist was a satisfying one. The ending of the tale, however, I felt was the weakest part. While the twist was well done – I certainly didn’t see it coming – the last few paragraphs of the tale confused me far more than they should. Kaira’s ultimate fate is only implied, and not all that well. It took me several re-readings to actually figure out what Samuels meant by his last words – and I’m honestly still not quite certain exactly what happened to her.
Second comes the much shorter Banquet of the Embalmer. Where its predecessor was an epic quest, this story is a mystery, a thriller. Tariki, an ambitious embalmer, shows off his latest commission – the recently defeated Reaver Queen – to guests after a celebratory dinner-party, only to discover that the corpse in his cellar isn’t who it should be. In order to keep his contract, and his reputation, intact, Tariki resorts to desperate measures.
The story is tight and tense, an effect aided by its tight confines. Though the mansion is large and opulent, with open balconies and grand rooms, the fact that the protagonists are trapped within its walls exacerbates the tension, especially following Kaira’s travels all around the vast palace. When the action comes it is swift and bloody, and the reveals of the various secrets and motivations are handled neatly. I do wish some more time could have been lavished on setting up some of the motivations, but regardless the story is a skilfully wrought and thrilling piece.
Third and finally is Ups and Downs. This story introduced me to the protagonist of Samuels’ previous Euvael novel, Emelith the Finder – and it did so beautifully. As my own writing might imply I’m a sucker for a well-written rogue, and Emelith is certainly that. Within the first few lines her relationship with the less lovable but still roguish Liyento is established, and Faral-Khazal’s criminal underworld hinted in just enough detail. Both thieves are after the same amulet, and the chase that ensues as they continually pickpocket and misdirect one another across the city brings the last piece of Faral-Khazal – the streets, the city itself from ground level (or not, as the case may be) – to vivid life.
The verticality of Faral-Khazal had been hinted at before, with the high balcony of Tariki’s house and the soaring tower of the Anchorite, but Emelith’s chase across the Hanging Graveyard, bridge of dangling tombs, really brings it home. The death-defying leaps across precarious coffins are seriously tense, and Samuels never lets the pace of the action let up, which, after the slower speed of the previous tales, is as refreshing as the fresh air Emelith leaps through. The hints at the wider universe of Euvael, and Emelith’s past and future adventures, made me really want more. I’m glad that she, of the three, is Samuels’ main character. He writes her well and clearly enjoys doing so – it’s infectious, and made reading this story, of all the three, a real joy.
Three Nights is a great piece of worldbuilding and a great window into a new and exciting fantasy world. Though there are flaws in the stories themselves, it’s Faral-Khazal that’s the real star of the show, and Samuels’ descriptions, from soaring spires to seedy underbelly, are genuinely excellent. I look forward to reading more tales from the world of Euvael.
