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mary846's review against another edition
4.0
Another magnificent Benjamin January novel. I was delighted to meet his first wife, Ayasha, in the mystery that took the first third of the book and it makes his feelings of loss at her death more understandable.
Hannibal Sefton, Abishag Shaw and Rose make their usual delightful appearances and are all involved in saving Pasha’s household and proving his innocence.
The resolution of the book involved a number of considerable coincidences, lots of convoluted activity and some unbelievable action (where Benjamin helped Pasha escape from his chains in the bowels of a sea-going vessel) but it was all well written and exciting.
Hannibal Sefton, Abishag Shaw and Rose make their usual delightful appearances and are all involved in saving Pasha’s household and proving his innocence.
The resolution of the book involved a number of considerable coincidences, lots of convoluted activity and some unbelievable action (where Benjamin helped Pasha escape from his chains in the bowels of a sea-going vessel) but it was all well written and exciting.
lacewing's review
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
lian_tanner's review against another edition
4.0
Barbara Hambly is one of my favourite authors, and her Benjamin January series is so very very good. This one was particularly interesting, with the long flashback to January's time in Paris with his first wife Ayasha. Hambly manages to be wildly entertaining, while at the same time giving the reader an entree into a world of prejudice and danger.
miraclemarg's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
threerings's review against another edition
4.0
Not the best entry in the series, or the most original. As far as the characters and world-building it felt like treading water, but the mystery was decent. I didn't really like that this one split between a flashback and current events. It made it feel like two short stories rather than a satisfying novel. I love this series, but this wasn't the best.
archytas's review against another edition
4.5
Really enjoyed this one, which explores muslim relationships, as well as including more detail on January's experiences in France. Ayasha - Benjamin's first wife - comes alive as well, from a perfect memory to an actual person. Hambly simply writes suburbly, evoking place and humanity, and the plotting remained within reasonable-to-follow ground (unlike the last couple).
The timing of this novel - which greatly explores the role of prejudice in detirmining how we understand muslim culture - is interesting. I enjoyed Hambly's take on this - neither skimming over the jail-like conditions of the muslim women, nor demonising it.
The timing of this novel - which greatly explores the role of prejudice in detirmining how we understand muslim culture - is interesting. I enjoyed Hambly's take on this - neither skimming over the jail-like conditions of the muslim women, nor demonising it.
nilchance's review
4.0
It was so good to finally meet Ayasha, after 10 books of Benjamin's stories about her. It added a depth and a wistfulness to the book that I really loved.
catevari's review
4.0
Another delightful outing from Hambly. I was explaining to a friend how I now read so many more new (to me) authors than I ever have, but so many of those books make me forget what a deep, abiding pleasure that reading can be. When I read Hambly, I always find that deeply absorbed, completely immersed pleasure again.
As well, Hambly's one of the few White authors who, to my mind, writes of other races and cultures with lucid mindfulness and a humanist empathy that seemed remarkable before I started reading so widely and now that I do, seems almost completely unique.
This outing gets deeper into Benjamin January's exile in Paris; not just the still-painful memories of his dead wife, Ayasha, but the places and friends he knew so intimately and left behind when he returned to America. It adds fullness not only to Ben's backstory and character, but a greater context of the tragedy of Ayasha's death and how much it cost him to leave that piece of his life behind, regardless of the happiness he's found now.
Because the book goes so quickly into an extended flashback, I was worried that the bulk of the mystery would be set in the past, in Paris, and that the secondary mystery presented in the prologue would end up being an afterthought. I really needn't have worried, though; Hambly did an excellent job of blending those past and present events--and events and characters from the series--into a single, cohesive ans satisfying whole. I'm so pleased Severn House picked up and continues to publish this series; I'll keep buying them as long as Hambly keeps writing them.
As well, Hambly's one of the few White authors who, to my mind, writes of other races and cultures with lucid mindfulness and a humanist empathy that seemed remarkable before I started reading so widely and now that I do, seems almost completely unique.
This outing gets deeper into Benjamin January's exile in Paris; not just the still-painful memories of his dead wife, Ayasha, but the places and friends he knew so intimately and left behind when he returned to America. It adds fullness not only to Ben's backstory and character, but a greater context of the tragedy of Ayasha's death and how much it cost him to leave that piece of his life behind, regardless of the happiness he's found now.
Because the book goes so quickly into an extended flashback, I was worried that the bulk of the mystery would be set in the past, in Paris, and that the secondary mystery presented in the prologue would end up being an afterthought. I really needn't have worried, though; Hambly did an excellent job of blending those past and present events--and events and characters from the series--into a single, cohesive ans satisfying whole. I'm so pleased Severn House picked up and continues to publish this series; I'll keep buying them as long as Hambly keeps writing them.
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