I recently came across an old issue of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) Bulletin, and saw that it featured the 2012 Nebula nominees and winners. Lately, I have been reading a lot of young adult works, since that is the genre I want to break into. So, I thought reading the Nebula nominees would be a good way for me to get back into mainstream science fiction and fantasy.
The first book on the list was Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed. It is the story of an old ghul hunter, Adoulla Makhslod, his assistant Rassed, and the lion shapeshifter Zamia, whom they meet along the way. In the city of Dhamsawaat, a man calling himself the Falcon Prince, a Robin Hood-type character, is wreaking havoc among the nobility, while at the same time, there is a supernatural danger to the land that only Adoulla (also known as the Doctor) and his friends can conquer.
I found this a very interesting book, easy to read, and very rich in that it took multiple perspectives throughout. It starts out with an action scene, has two or three in the middle, then a large, explosive one at the end. The rest of the book seems to be these three and two other friends (Dawoud and Litaz) planning their strategy (much to Zamias disappointment). Further complications are the feelings growing between Rassed (a dervish sworn to celibacy) and Zamia (who only wants revenge on the fiend who murdered her tribal band) and Adoulla’s realization that he may be getting too old for this type of work. Much internal conflict is generated by these situations, and this, paired with the external conflicts of evil they must face, keeps the book interesting.
Though I, like Zamia, would have preferred more action and less talking, The Throne of the Crescent Moon is definitely worth a read. Ahmed writes well and knows how to tell a story. I would pick up another book by him in an instant.
This post was originally published on the writing group site Write Here Write Now, which is no longer active.