UK Release: “Throne of the Crescent Moon” by Saladin Ahmed (Gollancz)

A new voice in adventure sword & sorcery, finally gets a UK release

The Crescent Moon Kingdoms, home to djenn and ghuls, holy warriors and heretics, are at the boiling point of a power struggle between the iron-fisted Khalif and the mysterious master thief known as the Falcon Prince. In the midst of this brewing rebellion a series of brutal supernatural murders strikes at the heart of the Kingdoms. It is up to a handful of heroes to learn the truth behind these killings.

Doctor Adoulla Makhslood, “the last real ghul hunter in the great city of Dhamsawaat,” just wants a quiet cup of tea. Three score and more years old, he has grown weary of hunting monsters and saving lives, and is more than ready to retire from his dangerous and demanding vocation. But when an old flame’s family is murdered, Adoulla is drawn back to the hunter’s path.

Raseed bas Raseed, Adoulla’s young assistant, is a hidebound holy warrior whose prowess is matched only by his piety. But even as Raseed’s sword is tested by ghuls and manjackals, his soul is tested when he and Adoulla cross paths with the tribeswoman Zamia.

Zamia Badawi, Protector of the Band, has been gifted with the near-mythical power of the lion-shape, but shunned by her people for daring to take up a man’s title. She lives only to avenge her father’s death. Until she learns that Adoulla and his allies also hunt her father’s killer. Until she meets Raseed.

When they learn that the murders and the Falcon Prince’s brewing revolution are connected, the companions must race against time—and struggle against their own misgivings—to save the life of a vicious despot. In so doing they discover a plot for the Throne of the Crescent Moon that threatens to turn Dhamsawaat, and the world itself, into a blood-soaked ruin.

I’ve already written a review of Ahmed’s Throne of the Crescent Moon, so I won’t reproduce the whole thing here again. But, I thought I’d offer a compressed version of my earlier review, picking up on a couple of important things (in my opinion) – mainly Ahmed’s style and the world. I didn’t find the novel perfect (as is often the case with me, the issues lay in some pacing anomalies). Overall, though, this is a very strong debut novel, set in an interesting world populated by three-dimensional characters.

The Week in Review (Mar.4-10)

Here we go with the week’s links round-up… (Although, I must apologise for not paying too much attention to things in the second half of the week.)

“Locke Lamora Read-Along Bonus #1: It Came From Burger King” by Scott Lynch

This is a blog-post that I actually caught same day I posted the previous Week in Review, but I wanted to share it nevertheless. After Lynch discovered that some blogs are doing Lies of Locke Lamora read-alongs, he decided to put together some bonuses as a thank you. This is the first. Locke Lamora was the novel that got me back into fantasy, and I really must read it again sometime. If you haven’t read it yet, then I STRONGLY recommend you do so. It’s fantastic, as is its sequel, Red Seas Under Red Skies.

Iceberg Ink: “Interview with Dave Duncan”

An author I’ve not managed to read anything by, but I enjoyed the interview, so I think I’ll have to try to pick something up at some point.

Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf & Book Review: An Interview with Martha Wells

An interesting interview with an author I really wish I had the time to read! I’ll do my best to check out her novels.

Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf & Book Review: “A. Lee Martinez on Supervillains”

Another great post from Michael’s blog this week. The title’s pretty self-explanatory, so I recommend you just go over there and read it. Go on! Git!

Wired: “Michael Chabon Attacks Prejudice Against Science Fiction”

Thanks to Ellen Wright for tweeting the link to this (would probably have missed it otherwise). Chabon is one of those authors on my “Why the hell haven’t I read them yet?” – in particular, his novel Kavalier & Clay, which Alyssa and Emma both have badgered me about reading. I may well get around to it in the next month-or-so, as I’ve been intentionally reading beyond SF/F just to keep things fresh (for me and the blog). Chabon also wrote a number of nice pieces about super-heroes, which I’d recommend as well: for example, in the New Yorker.

Far Beyond Reality: “Throne of the Crescent Moon” by Saladin Ahmed (Review)

Great, in-depth review. Read my own, here.

I know I missed some, so feel free to share in the comments.

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And this week’s content from Civilian Reader: a review of Kill Alex Cross by James Patterson (a good return to form for the insanely successful author), a video interview with Adam Baker, a review of Paul S. Kemp’s Hammer & the Blade (maybe the first? Not really sure about that…), guest post on the Soulborn Saga by Kevin Breaux. Overall, a pretty good week.

Next week, I’ve got at least one review (Stuart Woods’s 2000 novel, The Run), two interviews (Gail Carriger and Gaie Sebold), more comics reviews, and hopefully a couple of graphic novel reviews.

“Throne of the Crescent Moon” by Saladin Ahmed (DAW)

An intriguing debut, from a great new voice in fantasy

The Crescent Moon Kingdoms, land of djenn and ghuls, holy warriors and heretics, Khalifs and killers, is at the boiling point of a power struggle between the iron-fisted Khalif and the mysterious master thief known as the Falcon Prince. In the midst of this brewing rebellion a series of brutal supernatural murders strikes at the heart of the Kingdoms. It is up to a handful of heroes to learn the truth behind these killings: Doctor Adoulla Makhslood, Raseed bas Raseed, Zamia Badawi.

Together with a handful of allies, they learn that the murders and the Falcon Prince’s brewing revolution are connected. The companions must race against time – and struggle against their own misgivings – to save the life of a vicious despot. In so doing they discover a plot for the Throne of the Crescent Moon that threatens to turn Dhamsawaat, and the world itself, into a blood-soaked ruin.

The buzz surrounding Throne of the Cresent Moon has been going on for quite some time. I had planned on reading and reviewing the novel much sooner than now, but I accidentally forgot it at home when I went on holiday. Needless to say, it was the first book I read upon my return, and I found it to be quite satisfying. It’s a different type of fantasy, with a different focus and style to what you might be used to. It remains, however, very well-written and engaging throughout.