Throne of the Crescent Moon (The Crescent Moon Kingdoms, #1) in Niners (io9)

Jun 05, 2012 Benjamin added it

Shelves: bedside-reading, audiobook

Here's a book that I think you can safely judge by its cover; so, before picking this up to read on my recommendation, ask yourself, "Am I likely to enjoy a book about a quasi-Arabic fantasy figures--an old man clearly casting a spell, a turbaned dervish (maybe he's quasi-Sikh?), and a wild-eyed girl with claws--fighting some monsters in a city of spires and minarets hazily outlined in the background?"

Which is a way of saying that Saladin Ahmed's debut is a bit of a throwback: a cheerful, magic- Here's a book that I think you can safely judge by its cover; so, before picking this up to read on my recommendation, ask yourself, "Am I likely to enjoy a book about a quasi-Arabic fantasy figures--an old man clearly casting a spell, a turbaned dervish (maybe he's quasi-Sikh?), and a wild-eyed girl with claws--fighting some monsters in a city of spires and minarets hazily outlined in the background?"

Which is a way of saying that Saladin Ahmed's debut is a bit of a throwback: a cheerful, magic-rich fantasy of derring-do, with a charming lack of rape. (Not that I'm burned out on George R. R. Martin's low-magic, high-rape fantasies, but it's nice to have some variety.)

As Ahmed is being a little retro here, the book can seem a little cliched if I describe it in outline: the plot involves a group of adventurers who face off against some dark evil creature who is searching for one magical item in order to bring death and destruction down on the land. There's no ambiguity about what's good or evil in the big picture here, though there are some amusing small-picture ambiguities.

But this is one of those cases where I think leaning in to the cliches allows Ahmed to wring some more life out of them, particularly by using this ordinary fantasy adventure foundation as a springboard for his variations. The most immediate, obvious variation Ahmed plays here is by making this pseudo-Medieval fantasy land pseudo-Arabic rather than pseudo-European: not kings and knights fighting dragons, but caliphs and dervishes fighting ghuls. His other important twist here is to pay a lot of attention not to the young man who is called to adventure, but to the older adventurers who want to get out of adventure. (That is, three of the five adventurers here are on the retiring side of life. And the "one last job" cliche is more common in hard-boiled and mystery works than in fantasy.) There are other ways that Ahmed is playing with genre (as he notes at this guest post on Scalzi's website): not nobles, but lowborn heroes; not trying to restore a dynasty, but thinking about anti-dynastic forces; etc.

For people who like the history of fantasy, this is a fun romp; though you may occasionally hear the rattle of dice in the background. (I know Ahmed is a fan of roleplaying game, since he's mentioned it on Twitter when I asked; and even if you don't talk to him--though you should, he's very nice--you may notice a certain RPG influence in the balance of the characters' power.)

I can't say this is a perfect book, but that's because it seems so clearly like the first book in a trilogy, or, dare we wonder, a series. So there's several conflicts and dilemmas started in this book with the clear intention to tie up these ideas later.

Lastly, while I was given this copy from a friend, I found an audiobook at the library, and I have more time to listen than to read, so, there's that. The audiobook was fine, though the reader sometimes puts on some thick accents for the characters--just to drive home the fact that these are Arabic-inflected characters. ...more

Like · see review

Feb 21, 2012 Karlo rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, own

I was excited to read this book for the last year, and having completed the book over 2 days, I can say that I enjoyed it immensely.

The short stories set in the same world (and available online) are a wonderful primer for the world and these wonderful characters that inhabit it.

The main cast are very well written, and the shifting focus (and first person focus) was a great way to get into their heads. The world was nicely depicted, providing lovely key notes for sights, smells, tastes, etc.

Th ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 06, 2011 Quick ben rated it really liked it

It was nice to see a fantasy not set in the usual Eurocentric milieu.I had high expectations for this book and was not disappointed.The book was under 300 pages and in these days of back breaking tomes I consider it an achievement in itself.

1 like · Like · see review

Nov 05, 2011 Joe Informatico rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, alternate-worlds, adventure, conspiracy, quest

Doctor Adoulla is getting too old for this shit.

Lethal Weapon jokes aside, this is the highly-anticipated novel by Saladin Ahmed, and I'm pleased to find it delivers for the most part. It even surprised me in places. It was welcome to see multiple characters of the same faith engage in earnest conversations--and outright scriptural sparring--over theological interpretations, while remaining friends and committed to the task at hand. While this is a common occurrence in the real world, it's rare ...more

Like · see review

Feb 11, 2012 Kaila rated it liked it

Shelves: 2012, fantasy, io9-book-club, monsters, middle-eastern-fantasy

First, the cover art is awesome. It caught my eye when I first saw it a few months ago, and after I was finished, it was obvious the art fit even more perfectly than I had originally thought. I do wish you were able to see the moon a little easier; I had basically completely missed it. But maybe that's just me.

The main character is the old guy casting the bad ass spell. How cool is it that our main hero is well into his 60s when this story picks up? Adoulla Makhslood is still the best at what he First, the cover art is awesome. It caught my eye when I first saw it a few months ago, and after I was finished, it was obvious the art fit even more perfectly than I had originally thought. I do wish you were able to see the moon a little easier; I had basically completely missed it. But maybe that's just me.

The main character is the old guy casting the bad ass spell. How cool is it that our main hero is well into his 60s when this story picks up? Adoulla Makhslood is still the best at what he does. He's strong, wise, and loaded with a hilariously jaded point of view. I was able to picture him more clearly than any other character in the novel, and he seemed the most real. At first he's just another adventurer who doesn't want to deal with it anymore, but doesn't trust anyone else to get the job done. And in this case, the job is killing boat loads of ghuls. Did I mention how cool it is that the cannon fodder are ghuls? I love that! And it fits so perfectly in the setting.

Indeed, the setting for Throne is the best part about it. It takes place in a fantasy Middle East instead of a fantasy Europe, and that is so refreshing. The names of people and places fit perfectly for the environment, but still retain an obvious fantastical slant. The characters constantly intone "God's peace" to one another - which for some may become annoying but I'm coming off of a year long Robert Jordan marathon, and no amount of repetition from another author can bug me at the moment. Instead, I found it completely endearing. It just set the tone so well for Dhamsawaat (where most of the action takes place) and an Arabian fantasy.

If you know Dungeons and Dragons at all, the main character is essentially a cleric. Every time he casts a spell, he says a little prayer to release the power. I love this! "God is the Oasis in the Desert of the Soul!" "God is the Mercy That Kills Cruelty!" "God is the Hope of the Hopeless!" Much like making "God's peace" the main greeting, instead of, "Good morning," this tells us a lot about not only Adoulla, but also the society he comes from. I was beset upon by a mad desire to immediately go roll up an Arabian cleric.

Of course, I liked the werelioness (yes, I typed that right) bad ass love interest, and the dervish, Raseed bas Raseed (Raseed, only Raseed). They both have a ton of potential story, and I really want to see more of them.

The story is relatively short, for fantasy. That should make it a quick read, but for me, it went a little slow. Why? There are some action scenes, of course. This is a sword and sorcery after all, but it is important to note that, like I said above, the main character is in his 60s. A few of the other characters are nearing retirement age as well. That fact demands the story to move slower. They don't bounce back from a near death situation and fight the next day, like we've just about come to expect from the fantasy genre. So what happens after a battle scene?

They go run errands.

At first, I was miffed. I said, What?! Slowing down in the middle of MY story?! I mind! The dude minds, man! These aggressions will not stand, man!

Once I was done quoting The Big Lebowski inside my own head, I settled down to enjoy the story. And it was very enjoyable. But know going into it that it simply does not have the pace a lot of fantasy does. Instead we explore the capital city Dhamsawaat as seen through the eyes of our intrepid adventurers. We drink tea quietly as people bustle by. We complain about politics and shake our fists ineffectually at the palace. We watch wide eyed as the Falcon Prince pulls an amazing stunt in plain view of the city guard.

Honestly, I can't wait to see where the story goes. The setting and the characters all have a TON of potential. I hope the next one holds up to the expectations its garnered! ...more

Like · see review