Fear was my gateway to becoming interested in stories. My nanny growing up, a Scottish expat named Jackie with a fox pelt of red hair and a manic...
Continue »
Gregory, January 1, 2013 (view all comments by Gregory)
Saladin Ahmed's love of fantasy fiction and the conventions of action adventure pulps makes this novel a joy. Heis characters are varies and wonderful twists on recognize able types and his setting is so wonderfully familiar and alien at the same time. Among all the fantasy novels I read in 2012 and most of the books I read this last year easily fall into the fantasy category Throne ranks right up there at the top with Wise Mans Fear by Patrich Rothfuss.
nrlymrtl, January 8, 2012 (view all comments by nrlymrtl)
A very excellent, magical tale that swept me up right away. The author did an excellent job of bringing in each character and then developing that character. The location, the people, the culture, the magics, and monsters were new to me, which I really enjoyed. This is a NEW tale, not a rehash of some European myth.
Even though this is a fantasy tale, the characters were realistic because each was flawed. These were not the average heroes on an average quest. They have inner conflicts, conflicts among themselves, and of course major conflicts with the bad guys. And the bad guys are Real Bad Guys - no qualms about torture and blood sacrifice, etc. That particular fact made the struggle between good and evil all the more tense.
Excellent debut novel from Saladin Ahmed. I will definitely be watching to see what wonder he puts to paper next.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No (1 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
"Publishers Weekly Review"
by Publishers Weekly,
"Ahmed's debut masterfully paints a world both bright and terrible. Doctor Adoulla Makhslood is a professional destroyer of ghuls, clawed creatures whose hissing sounds like 'a thousand serpents rasping with a man's hatred.' He's almost ready to retire when an unheard-of number of the monsters all but wipe out an entire clan of the Badawi people. Hunting the sorcerer who raised the ghuls, Adoulla and his religiously uptight swordsman apprentice, Raseed, are aided by the lone Badawi survivor, a girl named Zamia who can transform into a lion. They soon discover that the mysterious figure plans to cast an ancient sacrificial spell powerful enough to wreck the world. Unobtrusive hints of backstory contribute to the sense that this novel is part of a larger ongoing tale, and the Arab-influenced setting is full of vibrant description, characters, and religious expressions that will delight readers weary of pseudo-European epics. Agent: Donald Maass Literary Agency. (Feb.)" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
"Review"
by Walter Jon Williams, Nebula award-winning author of Deep State,
"Readers yearning for the adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser will delight in the arrival of Adoulla and Raseed. In addition to these two marvelous characters, Saladin Ahmed has given us the wonderful, colorful city of Dhamsawaat, ghuls and demons and manjackals, and the ferocious tribeswoman Zamia, who gives new meaning to the words 'wild girl.'"
"Review"
by Kevin J. Anderson, international bestselling coauthor of Hellhole,
"Throne of the Crescent Moon is colorful, magical, exciting, and moving. Saladin Ahmed delivers a beautiful story of a demon hunter in an Arabian Nights setting. An excellent first novel!"
"Review"
by Elizabeth Bear, Hugo award-winning author of Grail,
"This promising debut offers a glimpse of a dusty and wonderful fantasy city through the eyes of three engaging, unconventional protagonists."
"Review"
by N. K. Jemisin, Locus award-winning author of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms,
"Ahmed is a master storyteller in the grand epic tradition. Swashbuckling adventure, awesome mystery, a bit of horror, and all of it written beautifully. A real treat!"
"Review"
by Scott Lynch, Sydney J. Bounds award-winning author of The Lies of Locke Lamora,
"A genuinely brisk, bold, and colorful diversion....Flashing swords, leaping bandits, holy magic, bloodthirsty monsters, and sumptuous cuisine... what more do you want me to do, draw you a map? Read this thing."
"Review"
by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction,
“Throne of the Crescent Moon is a delight in every imaginable way.”
"Review"
by Publishers Weekly (starred review),
"Ahmed’s debut masterfully paints a world both bright and terrible."
"Review"
by Library Journal (starred review),
"This trilogy launch will delight fantasy lovers who enjoy flawed but honorable protagonists and a touch of the exotic."
"Review"
by Kirkus Reviews (starred review),
"An arresting, sumptuous and thoroughly satisfying debut."
"Review"
by io9.com,
"Throne of the Crescent Moon is the best fantasy swashbuckler of the year so far....If you love smart escapism, don't miss out on this book."
"Synopsis"
by Penguin,
The Crescent Moon Kingdoms are populated by Djenn and Ghuls, holy warriors and heretics, Khalifs and killers, opulent wealth and grinding poverty. The city of Dhamsawaat has reached the boiling point of a power struggle between the ironfisted Khalif and a mysterious Robin Hood figure known as the Falcon Prince. In this world, three heroes are drawn together by a series of brutal supernatural massacres. The companions soon learn that the magical murders and political upheaval are connected, and they race against time to unravel a sorcerous plot that threatens to turn the city — and the world itself — into a flaming, bloody ruin.
Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.
