Saladin Ahmed, Throne of the Crescent Moon

[jurble]

I read this today. Really short.

It's kinda meh. Reads like a Wizards of the Coast book. And Bakker does a better fantasy medieval Arabic culture than this guy. I was definitely hoping for more Arabic influence in the setting and especially in the fantastic elements, but it failed miserably on both counts. At least, I was hoping, this guy would try to introduce the folkloric conceptions of magic in the Arab and Islamic world, but he went for some magic system of his own contrivance.

[SkynJay]

I read this today. Really short.

It's kinda meh. Reads like a Wizards of the Coast book. And Bakker does a better fantasy medieval Arabic culture than this guy. I was definitely hoping for more Arabic influence in the setting and especially in the fantastic elements, but it failed miserably on both counts. At least, I was hoping, this guy would try to introduce the folkloric conceptions of magic in the Arab and Islamic world, but he went for some magic system of his own contrivance.

About half way through, and there are some things that I really like. I love that not every author needs 800 pages to tell the story, and I love the quick pace. But so far it is simpler than I was expecting.

And to your point, and saying this as a white guy in Colorado, I felt there was a stronger feeling of "I am reading about a different culture" in Hurley's books (God's War and Infidel) than this one. It really is reading like every euro-centric fantasy book I have read in setting.

edit: That said, I must say I am enjoying it. I just had a very different expectation.

[jurble]

It really is reading like every euro-centric fantasy book I have read in setting.

mhm

[Stego]

'From your review?'

Come on, man. That's a fucking novel in and of itself. Did you like it? Did you not like it? Then say why in 10 sentences or less.

You need an editor. Gah.

[Larry.]

Philistine! :P

If the word "excellent" doesn't clue you in to my thoughts... ;)

[aidan]

I should post this here, I suppose. From my review of Throne of the Crescent Moon:

Some readers might first discover Throne of the Crescent Moon through a review such as this one, others might be captured by the cover, yet others might hear about it through word of mouth. These are all common ways for a novel to find new readers, to catch the eye of potential fans. Throne of the Crescent Moon, however, has another aspect that might attract readers browsing at their favourite bookstore: the name of the author stretched large across the cover. Saladin Ahmed. In a genre dominated by Georges and Patricks, Robins and Brandons, Ahmed’s starkly Muslim name is an anomaly, a curiousity that promises to be something different, something exciting. Of course, a name is just a name, and the story between the covers of Ahmed’s debut could be a trite rehash of the typical kitchen-boy-saves-the-world novel that we’re all sick of, his ethnic background and religious heritage could have no impact on his novel, leaving readers with a story as prototypical as the cartoony cover art—but just cracking open the novel and reading the first page makes true on those promises. This is something different, something with balls, something worth getting excited about.

Throne of the Crescent Moon is the debut novel from acclaimed short fiction author Saladin Ahmed and follows one of the larger adventures of Doctor Adoulla Makhslood, the last real ghul hunter in the great city of Dhamsawaat who was first introduced to readers in Ahmed’s short fiction, including the wonderful Where Virtue Lives. Throne of the Crescent Moon is a Sword & Sorcery novel planted firmly in the tradition of the works of Leiber and Howard, and throws readers in alongside a cast of damaged, but eminently likeable heroes of sometimes questionable moral character (but always, in the end, with their hearts in the right place) and serves up more action, atmosphere and memorable scenes than many novels three times its length.

[...]

In terms of atmosphere and evocative description, Ahmed can sit with the best that the genre has to offer, and the sense of place in Throne of the Crescent Moon is wonderful, allowing the reader to feel like they’re right there alongside the heroes in the dusty, depraved city of Dhamsawaat (when not, literally, confined to a sickbed alongside one of the characters.)

Of the three main characters, the most interesting isn’t world-weary Adoulla, or mysterious Zamia, though they’re both admirable in their own right, but young, conflicted Raseed bas Raseed, a young dervish who finds that battling his inner demons to be an even bigger challenge than those that threaten with tooth and claw. A mix of brash confidence and all-too-familiar self-doubt provide the foundation for Raseed’s conflict as his ascetic religious side wars with the raging hormones that plague teenagers no matter how strictly they’ve been raised.

These religious elements do not seek to purvey any sort of hidden agenda or message on the part of the author, and Ahmed is not trying to pass any sort of judgement on religion, but God and religion are at the core of the culture and the characters of Throne of the Crescent Moon, and in such a setting, where religion is inseparable from politics, magic and culture, and at the core of every conflict, both internal and external, faced by the characters, it’s impossible to avoid.

[...]

For all of Throne of the Crescent Moon’s excitement, however, and the density of the storytelling in its slim page count, it still feels like the prologue to a larger work, establishing the characters, the world and an overall plot conflict for a much broader story. That said, this novel stands well on its own in that it presents a full story arc with a beginning, a middle and an end, but readers will be desperate for the sequel to experience the repercussions of some monumental events in its final chapters. Presumably, given its roots in traditional S&S, Ahmed’s series will continue to move its overall plot forward through a series of similarly stand-alone novels featuring reoccurring characters, conflicts and set pieces.

There’s a wonderful soul to Throne of the Crescent Moon and, with all the skill and eloquence he showed in his short fiction, Ahmed has brought to life a wonderful cast of characters and introduced readers to a thrilling and interesting new world to explore. Despite some minor reservations about pacing, Ahmed’s Throne of the Crescent Moon is a confident debut that, alongside contemporaries like N.K. Jemisin (The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms), Nnedi Okorafor (Who Fears Death) or Howard Andrew Jones (The Desert of Souls), isn’t afraid to take Fantasy from the comfortable realms of faux-Europe and push against the staid boundaries of the genre. I expect big things of Ahmed in 2012 and look eagerly forward to his future stories in this setting, whether long-form or short.

In all, I loved it and was pleased, despite my high expectations for Ahmed's first novel. Highly recommended.

[Ebenstone]

I'm about 50 pages in (damn the Kindle and it "% done" instead of page numbers) and I love it. It's really very, very good. I blogged about it because it's a story that I feel I could've written, and I mean that as a compliment.

[Datepalm]

I'm a bit lazy so i'm just going to copy-paste my Goodreads review...(Its ok! Its short!)

Not bad but a bit too much on the Sword & Sorcery, pulpy side for my tastes. The setting, which was something of the selling point, doesn't really work, unfortunately. It starts off well and theres the occasional arresting image (I liked the man with the robe that is never clean) but doesn't ever build up to a really solid sense of place. The older characters work well and give the book a bit of weary self reflection, but the young'uns are just annoying. The plot has a nice kind of retro D&D sillyness on at times - fighting the palace guard! secret passages! - but mostly it doesn't add up to much and theres only so much of that kind of thing one can take before it gets dull.

Important stuff comes a bit out of nowhere and while the brisk pace was one of the books redeeming features, it might have been a bit too brisk - the political players could have stood to get a little more development and nuance. Finally, this just barely avoided my ideologically-annoying tag for it's reflections on violence - theres definitely an attempt to examine it's influence and the rightness of the heroes, but it never goes far enough, never actually takes the step of making the heroes in the slightest at wrong to the reader, and so the ultimate effect, for me at least, was that self doubt is something that just needs to be gotten over.

Anyone want to take up the cultural angle then? I'm torn on whether the D&D meets Arabian nights pastiche could be said to actually have a non-western morality/sensibility here, and further on whether its any detriment to the book that it isn't. (and I could go and muse on whether there is actually such a thing as a dichotomic western/non western morality, but thats a slightly larger cup of cardammon tea.) Anyway, theres some characters - particularly Raseed and Zamia - who are acting out of a religeous or tribal mindset, but then the book really criticizes them quite unmercifully. That kind of behaviour, from the older characters perspective, which the text takes up - is an ugly aberration amongst the religeous street thugs, and a youthful foible they really should grow out of already when it's the heroes.

[Megazver]

This is basically a novel-sized short story, a slight slight thing. Most aspects of writing that author already honed writing short stories were pretty good - prose, dialogue, exposition. Everything that separates a novel from a short story and isn't mere length was underdeveloped. I'm looking forward to the author's next novel and I think he has the potential to become a dang good writer in another book or two, but this book left me with a feeling of "... is that it?" in the end.

[sologdin]

D&D meets Arabian nights pastiche could be said to actually have a non-western morality/sensibility here

well, phrased like that, there's really no debate--for the great gygaxian assimilatory & quantificatory impulses are at the core of imperialism, aye?

[Datepalm]

Actually, the book eschews the psuedo scientific post enlightment rationalist (ie, western) logic of most fantasy "magic systems", delivering instead a vague divine reliance. Clearly, the western gaze strips the setting of its intellectual vigour, reducing the rich academic and scientific history of the real Arab world into an orientalized mish mash of potions and spells and single lines of poetry, no more than exotic background for the fundamentally western mode of storytelling.

(...etc. Sorry, I spent half the morning reading bourgeoise Palestinian english language pop journalism*. I could do this all day.)

*ie, "Time Out Palestine" (or the equivelant who's exact name i've forgotten) while waiting for coffee in East Jerusalem.

[jurble]

Anyone want to take up the cultural angle then? I'm torn on whether the D&D meets Arabian nights pastiche could be said to actually have a non-western morality/sensibility here,

There isn't. The sensibility (and morality) is entirely western.

and further on whether its any detriment to the book that it isn't.

It would have been interesting for the author to write something with Arabic folklore, with the characters espousing traditional Islamic morality (though in the traditional Fantasy-Counterpart-Culture sense), but why would the burden of that have to fall on Saladin Ahmed? Just because of his name? The man set out to write what he wrote, not something deeper.

The Fanim are better Muslims and the Kianene are better Arabs.

[Datepalm]

It would have been interesting for the author to write something with Arabic folklore, with the characters espousing traditional Islamic morality (though in the traditional Fantasy-Counterpart-Culture sense), but why would the burden of that have to fall on Saladin Ahmed? Just because of his name? The man set out to write what he wrote, not something deeper.

I don't think that it does. I'm perfectly happy with the Oriental D&D thing. (Well, i'm not, since it's not my usual favorite fare, but i'm perfectly happy with its existence.)

However, taking a step away from the book itself, within the context of the oft stormy debate about the lack of representation of non western cultures in secondary world fantasy (It may be a small teacup, but its ours) how does this rate? OTOH, non western culture galore, not a knight in sight. OTOH, its firmly rooted in very western conventions, characters and motivations, to the detriment of the setting. Are we happy?

[Sci-2]

I think there was an expectation for something more Islamic and/or Middle Eastern given Ahmed has written on the subject of Islamic/Arab depiction before.

I am sort of surprised by the lack, but I can understand it. I think it might be hard to sell a book that veers so strongly from the D&D-esque expectations of fantasy.

[Arthmail]

I went to chapters to buy this book, and found a very slim hardcover. I did not buy it. Perhaps its just me, but i think it would be hard to set up a secondary world and characters and plot in so short a length of time.

As for him not going into traditional Islamic morality, or what have you, that should be fine. If he had gone traditional, then it would probably polarize readers more one way or the other.

[Galleymac]

Caveat: I have not yet read the book.

I think there's something to be said for the fact that Saladin Ahmed is Arab-American, which is a different thing from a Middle Eastern Arab. When you're hyphenated, chances are you're a bit of a melange. Could concessions be made on that score?

A similar argument came my way back when Avatar: The Last Airbender was new -- a good friend of mine (British Muslim of North Indian parantage, highly highly HIGHLY lapsed religious-wise and not guilty about it) made the claim that since there were plenty of Asians already doing things like it (both the film and the series) that "AtLA" was superfluous. The rest of the conversation went something like "Okay, that's true, but Asian-American kids exist, with a different world view -- their own unique one; different experiences; and even different accents, and they have a right to see themselves (or an expy/approximation of themselves) on television too."

Me -- I'm a person of color, but I'm also Western -- sometimes I wanna lace up a bodice and go to Renfaire, y'know? :-)

(Repeat Caveat. This post is more of a question than a statement.)

[Rob B]

I went to chapters to buy this book, and found a very slim hardcover. I did not buy it. Perhaps its just me, but i think it would be hard to set up a secondary world and characters and plot in so short a length of time.

I guess I can see your point, but he sets up the world fairly well. Nothing is superfluous, and most of the energy of the novel (for me) comes from the characters and the action. The world just sort of filters out of that, and for me that worked very well.

[pat5150]

The author addresses the lack of Islamic-ness in an interview we did here.

Cheers,

Patrick

[delete this account pls]

I think this one fits in fairly well with the recent trend in fantasy of throwback-adventure type fantasy stories. I get the same 80s fantasy vibe from this that I get from Brandon Sanderson or Patrick Rothfuss. And quality wise I think it's about the same - fairly average but enjoyable in parts.

[aidan]

New on Ahmed's next two novels, the sequels to Throne of the Crescent Moon, has surfaced.

The later books will explore a fair amount of the map included with THRONE. Specifically, Rughal-ba and the off-map ‘Warlands’ will become hugely important. [They] will move toward epic fantasy in scale and scope, even as they maintain a sword-and-sorcery flavor. The main conflict of Book III will be a classic epic fantasy ‘clash of the big ol’ armies’ which is also a kind of Crusades analogue.