Throne of the Crescent Moon - review

I finished Saladin Ahmad's "Throne of the Crescent Moon" last night.

Easily one of the most fun novels I've read in a while. I haven't enjoyed characters such as Ahmad's in what feels like ages. I found the story sucking me in with the same sort of infectious intensity of Patrick Rothfuss or Jim Butcher (two authors who have that sort of effect on me).

The story is set in a faux-"Arabian Nights" world, complete with monsters of every stripe. There's high magic, noble heroes, crafty scholars, daring outlaws, and vile villains.

For all that, the heroes are very human, complete with flaws and quirks a'plenty.

In a rarity for these sorts of novels, I found the villains to be far less-interesting than the heroes. Ahmad's villains in "Throne" are very one-dimensional and under-developed. Though that statement really needs to be qualified by which characters I'm labelling "villain".

Aside from that very minor quibble, I found the narrative very easy to read and the story flowing in a fun, easy pace. I wasn't bored at any point.

My only other quibble is that I found the ending a little rushed and a tad anticlimactic, but that may simply have been my disappointment in realizing the ride was over.

It's clearly set up for more stories in the series. I can't wait for Ahmad's next offering!