One Thousand and One Nights, Volume 4 of 11

One Thousand and One Nights #4

by Jin-seok Jeon, Seung-hee Han

Sehara meets Sultan Shazaman and discovers that his brother's distrust of women comes not only from Fatima's betrayal but also from his mother's traumatic death. And while Sehara is away, Shahyar continues to play his dangerous game with another girl. Will Sehera's next night story be enough to stop the Sultan's wicked ways?

Genres: Manga, Manhwa, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels, Yaoi, Fiction

176 pages, Paperback

Published June 3, 2008

Reviews

[Heather Cain]

I had to wait a long time for this volume to come around, but it was totally worth it. Before reading volume 4, I had to retrace the story line because I had forgotten the main details. This volume by far, is one of the saddest because it explains so much as to how the Sultan became so corrupt. I figured it had to do something with his past, but I didn't think it started from his childhood. I think what sucks the worse though is that Fatima is still alive and the sultan's brother has her. I figured that after being caught for her infidelity, that the brother wouldn't want her; however, I see that her beauty shield other men from the truth of her ways. I only hope she is done with by the next volume.

[Marsha]

In spite of the royal bard’s certainty that he can cure Shahryar, the situation looks bleak. In his absence, the mad sultan attacked and grievously injured another girl and has to be physically restrained. But there is a faint light in the darkness of his mind. For the first time, he requests Sehara tell him a story…

The next story-within-the-main-plot is a horror tale of domestic abuse and violence, as an apparently kind fisherman who obtained his wife through unlawful means becomes obsessed with keeping her to himself—no matter what the cost. This touches on the miserable secret of Shahryar’s own past...

SeungHee’s drawings grow more beautiful and compelling with each installment. JinSeok shows a superb sense of mystery, pacing and psychological complexity that has garnered just praise and excitement for this series.

[Katherine]

This was a much more serious and involved story than the ones preceeding. Shahryar is still so unbalanced and he starts to lash out against those who aren't even normally near him; he is becoming a danger to all and cannot continue to rule as he is. Sehara has to find out why and help him to move past his old wounds.

What we do learn is heartbreaking, and the story that it is told through equally so. The relationship between Sehara and Shahryar really reaches a tipping point and the trust between them is what makes this series so worth reading.

[scarlettraces]

gorgeous, clean art, lovely retellings of stories from a variety of sources (this one was a korean folktale, from memory, but they've also done madam butterfly and cleopatra, for example) and an intriguing, shonen-ai framing narrative. i really like this, much against expectations when i picked up the first one in the library.

[Mariella]

Sexy Sultan is Sexy...! :)

[Aurora]

The stories just seem to get better and better. And that woman is still alive?! After all the pain she caused the sultan and the country, she should have died in the desert!

[Susan]

So far I like the stories Sehara tells better than his own story with the sultan.