Book Review: The Stardust Thief (Sandsea Trilogy #1) by Chelsea Abdullah (four stars)
“Neither here nor there, but long ago…”
Excellent medieval desert adventure fantasy.
Excellent medieval desert adventure fantasy. Compelling storytelling. Aladdin reimagined with gender swap of the major players. Loosely focused on a generation after a Scheherazade-type queen.
Aladdin reimagined with gender swap of the major players. Loosely focused on a generation after a Scheherazade-type queen.
“I hope you didn’t plan on using me to find the lamp only to throw me into the Sandsea.”
Three point of view characters, though clearly tagged, make for a spaghetti plot. Complex and gritty. Abdullah explores self-image, motivation, betrayal, and redemption. Narrative dumps straight into second book after a satisfying climax in this initial volume.
“It is not weakness to rely on others for help.”
Reflection: Golden Age of Islam pruned of Islam. Linguistic and geographic references build verisimilitude, but little Islamic culture remains. Vestiges of nativist polytheism.
“And we shall finally talk, [redacted], of stars and stories.”