Scan barcode
metalphoenix's review
4.0
I mostly enjoyed this book for two main reasons: the unique composition of the core team, and the unexpected direction the Falcon Prince storyline took in the end.
The characters are definitely the heart of the story. The main group is a weary ghul-hunter who just wants to retire, a warrior torn between his faith and his love for his companions, and the last is a vengeful protector of a destroyed tribe. Add in a Robin Hood figure in the Falcon Prince, and a couple of alchemists, and you've got an intriguing cast with great dynamics.
While most of the book was pretty typical in pacing and plot direction, I was definitely surprised by the ending. The book leans toward an frantic, apocalyptic battle between the heroes and villains. I expected
The world building was a little underwhelming. Ahmed seemed to rely on the novelty of a non-western based world, which was definitely refreshing but could have been more fully realized. We don't get much exploration of the magic system beyond that it works when it needs to, but then sometimes it doesn't. The culture was barely expanded either, except in Zamia's discomfort in the city. I would have liked more in this area, and hopefully future books will flesh out the world.
The characters are definitely the heart of the story. The main group is a weary ghul-hunter who just wants to retire, a warrior torn between his faith and his love for his companions, and the last is a vengeful protector of a destroyed tribe. Add in a Robin Hood figure in the Falcon Prince, and a couple of alchemists, and you've got an intriguing cast with great dynamics.
While most of the book was pretty typical in pacing and plot direction, I was definitely surprised by the ending. The book leans toward an frantic, apocalyptic battle between the heroes and villains. I expected
Spoiler
a more "tragic hero" trajectory for the Falcon Prince, with a stereotypical sacrifice or some other usual fantasy trope. Instead I got a selfish act of self-preservation, at the expense of an innocent. It was fascinating, and a perfect set up for future novels.The world building was a little underwhelming. Ahmed seemed to rely on the novelty of a non-western based world, which was definitely refreshing but could have been more fully realized. We don't get much exploration of the magic system beyond that it works when it needs to, but then sometimes it doesn't. The culture was barely expanded either, except in Zamia's discomfort in the city. I would have liked more in this area, and hopefully future books will flesh out the world.
mary_soon_lee's review
4.0
Summer-reading book review #23: "Throne of the Crescent Moon," by Saladin Ahmed. A fantasy book set in an imaginary city with an Arabian flavor. The setting was my favorite part of the book, closely followed by the character of Doctor Adoulla, a fat and tired man of about sixty, who would rather be sipping tea than fighting ghuls. The book switches between various point-of-view characters, and I wanted to empathize with the two youngest of these more than I actually did. They were admirable, but not quite real to me.
hollowistheworld's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
It's always fun to find a high fantasy that isn't just England with a dragon slapped in, and it's even nicer to find stories that aren't christian-centric. Saladin Ahmed put together a well crafted world with a real-feeling city, full of people who cannot worry about monsters while they're trying to find their next meal. It's rare I'm so pleased with a creator's statements on morality, but Ahmed delivers the finale with a strong statement that no moral code can hold up in the face of the realities of the world. Life is messy and complicated.
It was also a pleasant surprise to learn this book features not one but three main characters who are over 50 and are still living full, adventurous lives and are struggling with the truth of life that you learn of with time. The two teenagers would have bothered me in many other stories, but their certainty against the experience of the elders made for both compelling diaglogue and humorous juxtaposition.And none of them even die! Or their love interests! What a treat that is!
My primary criticism is the 'romance' between Raseed and Zamia, and I put that in quotations because it has no ground to stand on. He was a boy. She was a girl. They haven't had a single conversation more than two sentences long but they're madly in love. It speaks to the quality of the rest of the story that my eye rolling of this little love story wasn't enough to drop my rating below a 3.
It was also a pleasant surprise to learn this book features not one but three main characters who are over 50 and are still living full, adventurous lives and are struggling with the truth of life that you learn of with time. The two teenagers would have bothered me in many other stories, but their certainty against the experience of the elders made for both compelling diaglogue and humorous juxtaposition.
My primary criticism is the 'romance' between Raseed and Zamia, and I put that in quotations because it has no ground to stand on. He was a boy. She was a girl. They haven't had a single conversation more than two sentences long but they're madly in love. It speaks to the quality of the rest of the story that my eye rolling of this little love story wasn't enough to drop my rating below a 3.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Sexism
booktothefuture's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
heroineinabook's review
4.0
At first glance, it's easy to dismiss THRONE OF THE CRESCENT MOON as a typical sword and sorcery novel with not one, but many reluctant heroes in the guise of being presented by multiple points of view. But from the very first chapter, you realise you're in the presence of something much larger, grander, and more indepth than previous versions of this motif. You could read the story for what it is, a tale of an old man and his young charges righting the wrongs of the world, but you'd be missing out on much of what Saladin has to say.
And boy does he have a lot say - THRONE OF THE CRESCENT MOON is an allegorical tale using Saladin's world as the mirror to our own and through his work, he is critiquing the problems that exist in our world. He underscores some of the larger and complex concepts with a very subtle humour that at first read through you miss until you realise what he's getting at -- very Dickensian. His voice is very passionate, very authentic, and very real.
And there was something else in this tale that I couldn't put my finger on until I read it on another review: Saladin's work has soul and a heart. A lot of fantasy I've read, and in the larger scope of my canon is actually much less than most, tends to have a hollowness to the world and characters - they seem to be missing their "humaness" about them we often need to make that connection within ourselves. There is certainly nothing wrong with that, not every novel needs to be a treatise on the human condition. But you don't realise how much you miss having a full bodied story until you get your hands on one again.
And boy does he have a lot say - THRONE OF THE CRESCENT MOON is an allegorical tale using Saladin's world as the mirror to our own and through his work, he is critiquing the problems that exist in our world. He underscores some of the larger and complex concepts with a very subtle humour that at first read through you miss until you realise what he's getting at -- very Dickensian. His voice is very passionate, very authentic, and very real.
And there was something else in this tale that I couldn't put my finger on until I read it on another review: Saladin's work has soul and a heart. A lot of fantasy I've read, and in the larger scope of my canon is actually much less than most, tends to have a hollowness to the world and characters - they seem to be missing their "humaness" about them we often need to make that connection within ourselves. There is certainly nothing wrong with that, not every novel needs to be a treatise on the human condition. But you don't realise how much you miss having a full bodied story until you get your hands on one again.
johnayliff's review against another edition
4.0
This must be the most *fun* book I've read in a while. Plenty of action, plot twists, magical peril, and inter-character banter.
The setting is an Arabian Nights-style secondary world, which makes good use of the half-familiarity the reader will have with real-world history and existing Arabian Nights fiction to evoke a fleshed-out setting without many long descriptions. (All we know of the vanished civilisation of Kem, for example, is that it built pyramids and was ruled by Faroes; the reader's imagination supplies their own fantasy counterpart of ancient Egypt.)
The main characters are excellent, especially the initially-introduced pair of Adoulla and Raseed, who make for a very entertaining double-act. The plot is an entertaining sequence of twists, turns, and fight scenes, which made me think in the best possible way of the plots of well-written computer games. There are some scenes that show a great awareness of religion and politics, especially when seen from the point-of-view of Raseed, a sympathetic character who adheres to a strict version of his religion in a world where much evil is done in the name of religion and much good is done without it.
A few minor weaknesses. Firstly, the characters' internal monologues sometimes go on for longer than they need to and feel repetitive, slowing down the action. Secondly, the number of point-of-view characters increases as the book progresses, making the story lose some of the focus it had when it was just Adoulla and Raseed. Lastly, the main villain gets very little screen-time or development and so comes across as a generic evil wizard rather than a fleshed-out character.
I recommend reading the short story 'Where Virtue Lives' (free in either 'Crescent Moon Kingdoms' sampler or Beneath Ceaseless Skies issue 15) before reading the novel, as it shows the entertaining first meeting of Adoulla and Raseed, and its events are referred to a few times in the novel.
The setting is an Arabian Nights-style secondary world, which makes good use of the half-familiarity the reader will have with real-world history and existing Arabian Nights fiction to evoke a fleshed-out setting without many long descriptions. (All we know of the vanished civilisation of Kem, for example, is that it built pyramids and was ruled by Faroes; the reader's imagination supplies their own fantasy counterpart of ancient Egypt.)
The main characters are excellent, especially the initially-introduced pair of Adoulla and Raseed, who make for a very entertaining double-act. The plot is an entertaining sequence of twists, turns, and fight scenes, which made me think in the best possible way of the plots of well-written computer games. There are some scenes that show a great awareness of religion and politics, especially when seen from the point-of-view of Raseed, a sympathetic character who adheres to a strict version of his religion in a world where much evil is done in the name of religion and much good is done without it.
A few minor weaknesses. Firstly, the characters' internal monologues sometimes go on for longer than they need to and feel repetitive, slowing down the action. Secondly, the number of point-of-view characters increases as the book progresses, making the story lose some of the focus it had when it was just Adoulla and Raseed. Lastly, the main villain gets very little screen-time or development and so comes across as a generic evil wizard rather than a fleshed-out character.
I recommend reading the short story 'Where Virtue Lives' (free in either 'Crescent Moon Kingdoms' sampler or Beneath Ceaseless Skies issue 15) before reading the novel, as it shows the entertaining first meeting of Adoulla and Raseed, and its events are referred to a few times in the novel.
lindsayb's review against another edition
4.0
This was a thoroughly fun book to read and exactly what I needed right now. I'm bummed that it looks like Ahmed has abandoned this as a series, though maybe he'll want to adapt it to a comics series. I would read it in any form!
sandin954's review
5.0
Debut fantasy with a different kind of setting (Mid-Eastern), an older main character whose body may not be up to the job of saving his city, and a page count of under 300 pages proving that tightly written and plotted fantasy can be just as entertaining as 700 page door-stoppers. I also loved the cover art.