After promising Saladin that I’ll be reviewing the book within a week of its coming out, I stand abashed that it took me this long to get to it. Probably the reason was that in spite of all the acclaim I had heard heaped on it, I knew in my heart that ‘Throne of the Crescent Moon’ is still an out and out ‘Sword And Sorcery’ fantasy genre novel and I had made a conscious decision to stay away from genre novels. But now that I have just finished reading it, I have to admit that I am reminded of wh...

I found numerous things to like in this debut fantasy epic, and few to complain about, making it one of my top debuts of 2012, even if I only got to it in 2013. On the plus side:- the setting: rich and original, vibrant and convincing. The source material is easily identified, from the Arabian Nights and numerous other myths and legends of the muslim culture. I have read a few other recent epics that drink from the same fountain (Dreamblood by N K Jemisin; The Demon Cycle by Peter V Brett; Psalm...

There's not a lot to say about this one, other than that it's worth a read. Ahmed undertakes something both bold and unique -- an Islamic fantasy novel, set in another world which closely parallels our own in the medieval period (not unlike something Guy Gavriel Kay might write), but in which an Islamic God and angels and holy scripture (still) exist. It is exactly that feature which makes it so Islamic, and yet so unusual -- it posits that there is another world (or maybe an alternate version o...

Middle Eastern fantasy, with djenns and ghuls and dervishes and all sorts of Sinbad-type fun. It's mostly the adventures of a fat old ghul-hunter and his serious young companion plus their companions, including a young tribeswoman who turns into a lion. Surprisingly horrific at points--the baddie really is evil and the bits where we see him at work torturing an unfortunate chap are quite hard to read, and rather against the high-body-count action-movie feel of the rest of the book. It's vividly

Ahmed has created a fascinating new fantasy setting with a rich feeling of its own history, but with enough parallels to our own world to make it easy to relate to its problems and peoples.Throne was a really fun read. Ahmed's prose style is fluid and accessible, and his villains are truly terrifying without going over the top and becoming cartoonish. Ahmed claims he wanted to bring back the feel of the Dragonlance or Forgotten Realms novels he loved when he was younger, and in this, he has succ...

I love picking up a fantasy novel and reading something I haven't been exposed to before. With this book, that pleasure came from the fact that the world had some distinctly Arabian worldbuilding and cosmology. It's more than merely a different flavor to the same old story. It's not like the author just mad-libed out the generic European wizards and goblins and replaced them with Fakirs and Djinn. It's a different sort of world, complete with unfamiliar cultural values and superstitions. In term...

Throne of the Crescent Moon is an adult fantasy set in an alternate Middle East during the golden age of the Caliphate. It richly evokes the world of Ali Baba, Sinbad, and Scheherazade. I love the way Saladin Ahmed creates his story, lovingly portraying his characters and his settings, bringing them all to vivid life. This is another very fast read, because the story moves along at a good clip. The main characters are a ghul hunter (one who searches out and destroys magically summoned demons) a

I cannot fathom how respected reviewers that I follow could give this anything more than two stars, let alone herald it as the years best debut release. Are you all on crack? Is the author paying you all off? Only once in my life have I ever not been able to finish a book (and that was in 2008 with Kate Elliott's Spirit Gate). Throne of the Crescent Moon has now brought that tally up to two.The worst part is that at only a short 288 pages in length, it still took me a week to get halfway because...

http://www.rantingdragon.com/throne-o...Imagine The Arabian Nights starring Iroh of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and you’ll have a sense of what Saladin Ahmed’s debut novel is like. Throne of the Crescent Moon is one of the strongest debut novels I’ve read and will likely be a serious contender in any “Best Debut” list for this year.Throne of the Crescent Moon follows the story of Doctor Adoulla Makshlood, the last of the true ghul hunters in the great city of Dhamsawaat. On the verge of retiring...

3½ starsA sword & sorcery fantasy set against an Arabian Nights backdrop. The story follows the paths of three unlikely characters: Adoulla Makhslood, an aging disgruntled mage and the last ghul hunter left in the city who's still hunting ghuls; Raseed bas Raseed, the mage's young pious protege who, unfortunately, has no magic of his own but has been blessed with great strength; and Zamia Badawi, a young gifted (but self-righteous) shapeshifter from a desert tribe who no longer has a home. These...

An old ghoul-hunter, most probably last of his kind, is asked to investigate a killings of his friend's grandnephew family. Little does he know he is about to face the most dangerous enemy he ever faced, and he is definitely past his prime physically. To add to his problems, a revolution is brewing in the city. The current Khalif managed to alienate almost all people except for the wealthiest of merchants with high taxes. A self-proclaimed seemingly impossible to catch the Prince of Thieves lead...

Every so often I read reviews that talk about a book or an author being “a breath of fresh air” to a genre or market, and I scoff and wonder what that means. Now I know, because that’s how I would describe Throne of the Crescent Moon. After so many fantasy novels based on a pseudo-medieval European setting, it’s just refreshing to see someone use a pseudo-Islamic setting. Moreover, Saladin Ahmed tells the story in a way that makes it feel like urban fantasy—just not urban fantasy set in the pres...

Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths.“Dhamsawatt, King of Cities, Jewel of AbassenA thousand thousand men pass through and pass inPacked patchwork of avenues, alleys, and walksSuch bookshops and brothels, such schools and stallsI’ve wed all your streets, made your night air my wifeFor he who tires of Dhamsawaat tires of life”This is the home of the protagonist of our story: Doctor Adoulla Makhslood, and he is the last “real” ghul hunter in the city, though there are always charlatans about who pre...

The highest compliment I can pay Throne of the Crescent Moon is to say that it made me incredibly hungry. I know what you’re thinking, “Sarah, that is a weird compliment to pay a book,” but hear me out. Throne of the Crescent Moon was so well done, the culture was so vibrant, the world was so colorful and reminiscent of the Middle East that every time I read the book I wanted to eat tons of kebobs and cucumbers. Indeed, this is the first book I have ever complained that it was too short. That ri...

What fantasy readers would call "Sword and Sorcery", though with a touch of Arabian Nights. Started off very promising, but both plot and characters started wearing on me after a while. I feel it's one of those stories that could really be told in about fifty pages, and the main character was the only one I found interesting and not irritating. The rest of the gang felt as formulaic as the plot line which is a shame, though the unique setting of the book went a long way in making up for this. I

Well, jeez, I wrote the thing. Didjya expect me to give it two stars?

This debut novel inspired by “One Thousand and One Nights” is a fantasy setting which is refreshingly in a non Anglo-French environment. The tale focuses on several different viewpoints but most notably on an old ghul hunter (one of the last of his kind in the area) named Adoulla who is unusually loving and faithful towards his capitol city but sometimes poor at expressing his feelings towards the people he cares about. He has a few close people to him who all end up appearing in his life in dif...

I wanted to read this book from the second I heard about it, because several bloggers I respected kept raving about how wonderful it was. It seemed like it would be a nice change--a medieval fantasy in which the pseudo-Middle-Eastern setting was the main focus of the story, not just an exotic sidetrack.I think that was the problem: in this case, the setting was the main focus of the story--to the point where the characters and plot were used to show off the setting, rather than vice versa. Dhams...

I'm kind of surprised this traditional fantasy novel was shortlisted for the Hugo, not because it isn't good, but because it is traditional fantasy. That being said, the flow of the novel was top rate and a quick read, truly giving us a feel of the Arabian Nights universe while focusing mostly on great action, great characterization, and a solid plot. As a piece of writing, it is better than most fantasy I've ever read, but it might not stay in my mind because it didn't challenge me. It might ch...

(3.5 stars) It’s refreshing to read a fantasy story that isn’t set in good old medieval Europe, where everyone is blond and blue eyed and any exotic cast members have to be repeatedly singled out for their exoticness. Throne of the Crescent Moon takes place in a Middle Eastern setting, but Ahmed instantly makes it feel like home by walking us into a tea house with Dr. Adoulla Makhslood, who initially appears to be the main protagonist. Adoulla is, by no means, a typical hero. He is an older, lar...