Throne of the Crescent Moon is a fantasy novel written by American writer Saladin Ahmed. It is the first book in The Crescent Moon Kingdoms series. The book was published by DAW Books in February 2012. The book was nominated for the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novel, 2013 David Gemmell Morningstar Award for Best Fantasy Newcomer and the 2012 Nebula Award for Best Novel. It won the 2013 Locus Award for Best First Novel.
Review of 'Throne of the Crescent Moon' on 'Storygraph'
3 stars
This has to be one of the most disappointing books I’ve read since Name of the Wind. I have been wanting to read it for years but what a letdown. The setting and characters were initially very interesting and I enjoyed the whole ‘Islamic fantasy story’ aspect but the author was just not up to the task I think. The other reviews seem to have nailed it so I’m not going to repeat but I’m just left with the feeling this could have been extraordinary in the hands of a competent author
Review of 'Throne of the Crescent Moon' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
A reasonable enough fantasy trifle. I suspect it was only on the Hugo and Nebula nominees list due to the relative rarity of the setting. There certainly isn;t enough in the characters and plot to justify being on those lists. That being said it was a pleasant enough page turner.
Review of 'Throne of the Crescent Moon' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
Ahmed's strength is in action sequences. You don't see that often in fantasy, I've staggered through some painfully slow, confusing, and awkward fight scenes in otherwise brilliant novels. Ahmed's masterful at packing spare but essential detail next to perfect pacing – he got me looking forward to fights, which for a person who usually dozes off during explosions in movies is a real feat.
The in-between-fight-scenes often became bogged down in reiterations of the characters' feelings – I'm pretty sure we understood how horny/afraid/in love the teenagers were the first five times they looked at each other – and ended up reading as if they'd been artificially lengthened in order to pad out the book. But the storytelling really blossoms the moment a ghul shows up. I'd say breaking 'Throne' up into three episodic novellas (with more travelling and action!) in one volume would probably have worked better for both …
Ahmed's strength is in action sequences. You don't see that often in fantasy, I've staggered through some painfully slow, confusing, and awkward fight scenes in otherwise brilliant novels. Ahmed's masterful at packing spare but essential detail next to perfect pacing – he got me looking forward to fights, which for a person who usually dozes off during explosions in movies is a real feat.
The in-between-fight-scenes often became bogged down in reiterations of the characters' feelings – I'm pretty sure we understood how horny/afraid/in love the teenagers were the first five times they looked at each other – and ended up reading as if they'd been artificially lengthened in order to pad out the book. But the storytelling really blossoms the moment a ghul shows up. I'd say breaking 'Throne' up into three episodic novellas (with more travelling and action!) in one volume would probably have worked better for both the style and pacing overall.
Five stars for the action sequences, three for everything in between, and here's hoping that Ahmed packs more of the former into his next novel! :)
