Throne of the Crescent Moon

4++ stars. The greatest strength of this book is the depth of it

4++ stars. The greatest strength of this book is the depth of its characters. Saladin Ahmed created characters with crystal clear points of view. Each characters' history, motivation and words have a ring of consistency and logic. This 274-page hardcover is shorter than many of its kind but the tale is nonetheless complete and no less satisfying. The writing is fluid and the pace deliberate. Saladin Ahmed makes revelations purposefully and leaves the reader always one step behind the mystery and eagerly reading on. Within its pages, it contains humor, philosophy, faith, politics, love and more. Obviously, I very much enjoyed this book and look forward to the next installment.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

This was recommended to me by an author friend and it looked int

This was recommended to me by an author friend and it looked interesting enough to put on my wish list for Christmas. I'm extremely glad I did because this is a wonderful book and not to be missed!

Mr. Ahmed has created a world that draws on the mythology of the Middle East, but he takes it a step beyond and populates his world with lovable characters, grotesque monsters, and a plot that is like being caught in a swift river and pushed inexorably to the rousing conclusion. The people are completely believable and the story develops organically from the culture it portrays. Adoulla (the hero) and his friends are endearing and you want to see them succeed - you are cheering them on at every turn and when something bad happens you really feel their pain and frustration. The world of the Crescent Moon Kingdoms is completely believable and a fantasy setting worth revisiting! Mr. Ahmed's does for a fantasy version of the Middle East what Ernst Bramah's Kai Lung stories did for a fantasy version of the Far East and his writing is as evocative as Bramah's (although a bit less embellished).

Throne of the Crescent Moon is a quick, exciting read: do yourself a favor and get this as soon as you can! And although it is completely self-contained, it is billed as the first in a series and I can hardly wait for the next book. (Plus I'm buying as much as I can find by Mr. Ahmed: he has a unique creative voice!)

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

This was great!

The characters were rich, the story was exciting, the setting was not what I'm used to and intriguing. Well written, well paced, loved it. Looking forward to the next book by this author.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

This strong debut by the Nebula- and Campbell-nominated author b

This strong debut by the Nebula- and Campbell-nominated author breathes fresh air into the Sword & Sorcery genre.

Ahmed weaves an enchanting web of worldbuilding around headstrong, stubborn characters that bloody their nose struggling against their assumptions and trying to do the right thing, deciding where to cross their own lines and for whom. Throne of the Crescent Moon hearkens back to Fritz Leiber, Robert E. Howard, but also Scheherezade's tales in the 1001 Nights. The world is lived-in, well-realized, and deliciously distinct.

When my main complaint upon finishing a story is 'I want more!', I know I've had a great ride. I hope you will, too.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great Debut Novel of a Promising New Fantasy Series...

Saladin Ahmed's first book, Throne of the Crescent Moon, was quite a fun romp in a Middle Eastern Fantasy locale. I enjoyed it quite a bit and found myself enjoying the unique location and cultural trappings it provided. This book was a good start for a promising series with book two schedule for some time in 2013.

I did find the first third of the book to be a bit loose. Not sure this is the best word for it, but I felt dropped in the middle of a situation with characters I was finding hard to connect with. This was corrected by the time I reached the middle of the book where a small band of old, and some young, ragtag heroes licked their wounds, preparing for the finale. This section is where Ahmed does a nice jab of developing his characters and making you care about them. This dynamic helped provide some punch for a rousing endgame that turned what would have been a three star review into a four star review.

I think Ahmed is a promising young author and I'm looking forward to reading more of his books in the future.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I really enjoyed the grit and sand of the world and the flaws an

I really enjoyed the grit and sand of the world and the flaws and frustrations of the characters. Shape-shifting, sword fighting, and sorcery were highly entertaining elements. The tea house has a warm little spot in my heart too. A really great read!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Nice!

I'm not really a review-writer, but thought enough of this book to change that. I feel like the fantasy genre has stagnated lately, with the truly good books coming only from a select few writers. A friend of mine recommended this book, and I nearly passed it up, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that this isn't your typical fantasy book. The setting is unique, the characters personable and memorable, and, while it is a Sword and Sorcery book, the plot isn't predictable. All in all, a very good read. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a new fantasy author to follow.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Fantasy Story Filled with Friendship, Love, and Humor!

This story was what I expected, what I wanted, and more. While I was a bit thrown off by the cover for the book…I thought it was meant for children, my boyfriend looked at it and said for an older crowd cause kids don’t want fat dudes in their books. So, I guess it was just me – but I went into it thinking that it was meant for a younger crowd and thus was surprised with the few curse words thrown around here and there. That said most times cursing was used it was perfectly placed and these “fat dudes” were freaking awesome.

The more I rehash what happened in the book and the characters that were part of it the more I realize how much I enjoyed this story. For something that could have simply been a dark and devious tale with ghuls, death, and destruction, it was so much more. Love was a part of the story, even if it wasn’t in your face the entire time. Friendship was one of the biggest parts and the friendship these characters had was simply divine – especially that between the main character Adoulla and his two friends that help him on his quest to save the world. The humor was probably one of my favorite things that I didn’t expect in the story. It was sprinkled throughout the story in bits and pieces and lightened the story from the despair that was the central focus. I want to reread this one again as I am sure there were plenty of things that I didn’t absorb or let sink in enough to appreciate them.

Reviewed by Jessica for Book Sake.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Highly recommended for fans of sword and sorcery, fantasy and general readers alike!

An amazing debut with fun, well drawn characters, strong plotting and well written action sequences, good use of culture and invention. A delightful read, but not one of those fantasies that's so long or involved anyone would hesitate to make the investment.

The story of a ghul hunter, his dervish apprentice and their friends taking on a gruesome magical threat to the Crescent Moon kingdoms, this is tightly, concisely written with a good flow and very enjoyable as a gateway to a new writer or into sword and sorcery or Arabic fantasy for anyone new to it.

The magical elements and themes fit well within the Arabic cultural fantasy world, Ahmed weaves together seemlessly with a blend of fact and fiction. His switches POV characters flawlessly as well for such a short novel and therefore develops all of his major characters more richly and deeply than many other novelists might even for such a short book.

His transitions between chapters and characters are seamless and they often provide just the right insight to keep the story moving forward in both pace, plot and character arc.

Recommended highly.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Liked the world created and the story line but...

I found that I did not connect to the characters as much as I could have. I kind of felt that they were too one flat. I did not have the emotional connection to them as with other stories. Also..they defeated the bad guy..but I feel like his motivations or who he was not fully explained or fleshed out...so defeating him had no satisfaction or suspense. So overall...it just did not pull me in

I found this novel refreshingly different

I wouldn't say that I have a large amount of experience with fantasy works. But even I found this novel refreshingly different. It feels like a good episode of genre television. Instead of some long grand quest to do something important to save the whole world, our heroes are concerned with preventing this week's horrible event from destroying their city.

It's not perfect. When scenes get replayed with the focus on a different of our leading characters, it feels a little like an attempt to pad things out. It's also a little heavy on the filling and emptying of stomachs. Actually, with the frequency with which characters seem to lose their lunch, I'm willing to accept the need to include meals to show they've reloaded, so to speak.

I am definitely looking forward to the next episode

Interesting

An intriguing combination of religion--of some sort--and magic. It's not quite what I was expecting from this book, and I'm not convinced that's a bad thing. Sure, one expects to see certain things going into a fantasy novel... and one expects not to see certain things, too. I think Ahmed does a fine job of upending those expectations without getting pretentious and in-your-face about it. The story remains fun, and even if it's not outright exciting page after page, it is thoroughly solidly plotted and keeps your interest with a nice range of well-realized characters--including some excellent and capable ladies!

Excellent

Unique and rivetting. Historically genuine sword and sorcery.

I only wish there was more to read

I'm not going to lie: I was REALLY excited about this book before I read it. And it totally lived up to its hype! It's refreshing to read a Fantasy book and not automatically think of Middle Earth, or Medieval England. The world building was done very well with little need for exposition, the characters were drawn fully enough that you could both identify with them and still be in awe of what they could do, and the plot (though it felt a bit rushed) was gripping enough to keep you guessing. The prose of the book is poetic and flowing, the magic is easily accessible, but still mysterious to the extent that you weren't surprised by the odd "leaping", "wafting", or "sword" magic that, if otherwise not vague enough, might have seemed just thrown in. I highly recommend it, especially if you love not-so-standard world settings, creepy supernatural baddies, and some really good character and story development. My only complaints: I could have done with a fewer "Damned-by-God"'s as it came off a bit too much like "Frak" (you know what I mean). Also, I wasn't too keen on how quickly the romance sub-plot between two of the characters progressed: it seemed a bit too quick at first, but, in the end, actually slowed down as these characters (or at least one of them) had to step back and question their motives (I liked that part). And I would have liked to have seen more of the bad guys in the story. I heard that there are supposed to be other books in this series, but it seems like it might be hard to follow some of the same characters as they sort of split in the end (don't worry, not much of a spoiler). A fast-paced story expertly written, and a very quick read. Good, old-fashioned Sword & Sorcery with an epic scope. Enjoy!

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No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.