Throne of the Crescent Moon by

15 April 2013


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Book one of The Crescent Moon Kingdoms

In the city of Dhamsawaat Doctor Abdullah Makhslood is the last real ghul hunter left. He and his assistant Raseed have destroyed many ghuls and the men who created them over the years. But on their latest adventure they come up against more ghuls than any one man should be able to raise. And much more powerful ones. But supernatural foes are not the only ones out there. In the city itself the Khalif is succeeding in turning the people against him and a man calling himself the Falcon Prince has in recent years taken to “righting wrongs”. Is rebellion and war going to destroy the city and its inhabitants?

I’m not sure where I first heard about this book. I know I’ve been sing it mentioned here there and everywhere for a while now. And while it certainly is a fantasy novel, and so fits in with my Once Upon a Time reads, it certainly isn’t your usual quasi-european epic fantasy. It felt somewhat similar to Aliette de Bodard’s Obsidian and Blood, but I think that is just because the two books are set in worlds that, although based on real worlds are very unfamiliar to me. The writing styles aren’t too similar, but both feature a hero who isn’t hugely respected in their own cities, but who try their best to fight evil and do good. Although de Bodard’s Acatl is probably higher in society than Abdullah. Abdullah is respected by those he has helped but the powerful in the city probably haven’t even heard of him, let alone think of him.

Throne of the Crescent Moon is a great fun read. It if full of action and adventure, but it also has some great characters. And although the points of view switch from one character to another there is never any confusion over who is telling the story. I loved Raseed and his trying so hard to stay dutiful. And Zamia, the Angel-touched lion-warrior is great too.

All in all it is a great fun read, and I look forward to reading more in the series.

Other reviews : Neth Space ; Little Red Reviewer ; A striped armchair

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4 Responses

  1. Aarti says:

    Glad to hear you enjoyed this one. A good friend of mine reviewed it last year for the A More Diverse Universe tour and while she loved that it was written by a POC and set in a non-European place, she said that it was a bit too stereotypical of women. Would you agree?
    Aarti´s last blog post ..I can tell you’re Hazara just by looking at you

    • Fence says:

      To be honest all the characters were a bit on the stereotypical side. The world-weary old man, the young idealistic warrior, etc., but for all that they were still well-drawn, if that makes sense?

      One of the two main female characters was a healer, which I guess is a typical female occupation, but the other is a lion-warrior who has taken on a male role in her family as the Protector of the clan.

      There is an acknowledgement of the more traditional female roles but it is never simply accepted as being right.

  2. Rachel says:

    Glad you enjoyed it! I was eyeballing this book yesterday – wondering if I should put it on my TBR list – and I was trying to remember where I'd recently seen a review of it in the blogoverse. Here it is! :)

    • Fence says:

      It has been in quite a few places I think :)

      I have heard a couple of complaints that the characters are very stereotypical and cliched, and while yes, they do fit into archetypes I found them to have enough personality of their own to work well.