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A Noose of Light
1st edition Orbit 1986 paperback, vg++ In stock shipped from our UK warehouse
- GenresFantasy
216 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1986
29 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 24, 2022
A strange book. I found it by accident on this site and grabbed a used copy on the promise of "unnecessary detail on the genitalia of djinn." If nothing else I hoped for a spectacle!
The back cover describes the story as "sensual, erotic, humorous, and enchanting" among other things. Having read it now I can see this for what it was: marketing trying desperately to find an appeal to this odd tale. In reality, the book is more sexually aggressive, slapstick, bizarre, and self-seriously pseudoreligious. Let's get into it. Below are spoilers for the whole plot and some discussion of sexual violence, so you've been warned on both fronts.
Two djinn scheme in the desert. One wants the soul of a holy man, the other wants nothing more than to capture a female djinn to impregnate; the two agree to help each other. For the former goal, they target a young woman who tends to the holy man (on the logic that he'll barter his soul to keep her safe). For the latter, the djinn build a boobytrapped fountain to trick a female.
One of the djinn begins sexually harassing the human woman, with a golden penis with a ruby tip (like the actual gemstone. This is the djinn genital aspect that is the weirdest and most original idea on display). The holy man sends her away to become a beggar prostitute...to keep her safe(?). Put a pin in that.
We're also introduced to two rich merchants who have contrasting character arcs around their material and spiritual wealth. For now, both are rich assholes.
Back with the prostitute, she has various sexual encounters both mundane (but kinky) and supernatural. The djinn is thwarted here too. These read as intended to be alternately humorous or titillating, I can't quite tell. But then one of the merchants abducts our heroine to torture and assault her. This is nothing but harrowing and uncomfortable. She survives but never heals from some of the wounds she receives. Pin that as well.
Luckily (though small comfort) the other merchant has given up his wealth for an ascetic life of poverty and good deeds. He cares for the young woman until she dies, off-page. He forgives he assailant and keeps being poor but righteous.
The second djinn's trap fails and he's defeated by the female djinn. However she decides to teach him a lesson by giving him a child (spirit world pity sex?). This never really gets paid off and the djinn plot is basically over at this point.
We follow the evil merchant very pointedly not repenting for his crimes. The holy man ascends to another plane, but not before helping the djinn who indirectly started these events in motion. The evil merchant finally gets his comeuppance and the book ends.
Okay starting with the second pin: there's a jarring tone shift halfway through the book. The whole story keeps revolving around sexual peril, but in the first half it's less serious. The heroine is hypnotized by the gem-dick but an astral projected holy man steps in at the last second. It's absurd enough to be silly and there are no lasting consequences. Then the human merchant rapes her and she's scarred for the rest of her life and everyone continually remarks on how terrible it is. It's an unwelcome gritty turn, but why? Why did the author do this?
To answer this, back to the first pin, why did our heroine have to become a beggar prostitute? Well, the moral position of this book hews closely to that ascetic philosophy. Spiritual purity can only be found by denial of all that is physical and earthly. Only the most impoverished can have a good heart and any attempts to give yourself comfort or protection deviate from that path. Evildoers MUST be forgiven to maintain your moral superiority and in-text there are no real rewards for this path beyond the idea that future generations will remember you for being such a good person. The are winks to Islamic, Jewish, and Christian prophets but no real depth to these allusions.
I don't know what to make of this book, equal parts horny fantasy and preachy parable about rejecting the material world. It certainly reads like an author's very weird vision. Maybe it sounds like a "gotta read to believe," but as someone who did just that, it's not worth it.
The back cover describes the story as "sensual, erotic, humorous, and enchanting" among other things. Having read it now I can see this for what it was: marketing trying desperately to find an appeal to this odd tale. In reality, the book is more sexually aggressive, slapstick, bizarre, and self-seriously pseudoreligious. Let's get into it. Below are spoilers for the whole plot and some discussion of sexual violence, so you've been warned on both fronts.
Two djinn scheme in the desert. One wants the soul of a holy man, the other wants nothing more than to capture a female djinn to impregnate; the two agree to help each other. For the former goal, they target a young woman who tends to the holy man (on the logic that he'll barter his soul to keep her safe). For the latter, the djinn build a boobytrapped fountain to trick a female.
One of the djinn begins sexually harassing the human woman, with a golden penis with a ruby tip (like the actual gemstone. This is the djinn genital aspect that is the weirdest and most original idea on display). The holy man sends her away to become a beggar prostitute...to keep her safe(?). Put a pin in that.
We're also introduced to two rich merchants who have contrasting character arcs around their material and spiritual wealth. For now, both are rich assholes.
Back with the prostitute, she has various sexual encounters both mundane (but kinky) and supernatural. The djinn is thwarted here too. These read as intended to be alternately humorous or titillating, I can't quite tell. But then one of the merchants abducts our heroine to torture and assault her. This is nothing but harrowing and uncomfortable. She survives but never heals from some of the wounds she receives. Pin that as well.
Luckily (though small comfort) the other merchant has given up his wealth for an ascetic life of poverty and good deeds. He cares for the young woman until she dies, off-page. He forgives he assailant and keeps being poor but righteous.
The second djinn's trap fails and he's defeated by the female djinn. However she decides to teach him a lesson by giving him a child (spirit world pity sex?). This never really gets paid off and the djinn plot is basically over at this point.
We follow the evil merchant very pointedly not repenting for his crimes. The holy man ascends to another plane, but not before helping the djinn who indirectly started these events in motion. The evil merchant finally gets his comeuppance and the book ends.
Okay starting with the second pin: there's a jarring tone shift halfway through the book. The whole story keeps revolving around sexual peril, but in the first half it's less serious. The heroine is hypnotized by the gem-dick but an astral projected holy man steps in at the last second. It's absurd enough to be silly and there are no lasting consequences. Then the human merchant rapes her and she's scarred for the rest of her life and everyone continually remarks on how terrible it is. It's an unwelcome gritty turn, but why? Why did the author do this?
To answer this, back to the first pin, why did our heroine have to become a beggar prostitute? Well, the moral position of this book hews closely to that ascetic philosophy. Spiritual purity can only be found by denial of all that is physical and earthly. Only the most impoverished can have a good heart and any attempts to give yourself comfort or protection deviate from that path. Evildoers MUST be forgiven to maintain your moral superiority and in-text there are no real rewards for this path beyond the idea that future generations will remember you for being such a good person. The are winks to Islamic, Jewish, and Christian prophets but no real depth to these allusions.
I don't know what to make of this book, equal parts horny fantasy and preachy parable about rejecting the material world. It certainly reads like an author's very weird vision. Maybe it sounds like a "gotta read to believe," but as someone who did just that, it's not worth it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2012
This is a strange book. The imagery is splendid, with a wonderfully evocative feel of the Arabian Nights and some highly creative blending of Islamic and fictional mythology but the author's seeming obsession with the genetalia and mating habits of the Djinn gets a bit wearing after a while.
December 31, 2014
Some books are to be judged by their covers and synopsis
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews