The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdulla (published by Orbit) was my June Book of the Month choice and it seems I’m on a bit of a Persian mythology kick this month.

Chelsea Abdulla is an American-Kuwaiti writier who grew up in Kuwait, and thus very familiar with the desert creatures and mythology she writes about. She got her MA in English at Duquesne University before moving to New York. The Stardust Thief is her debut.

In this 1001 Nights retelling, we are first introduced to Loulie al-Nazari, aka the Midnight Merchant, who tracks magical relics with the help of her Jinn bodyguard, and sells them on the black market. When she saves the life of the youngest prince, the Sultan recruits (or rather, forces) her to travel with the eldest prince–the leader of the legendary Forty Thieves–to track down a magical lamp that would rid the world for Jinn once and for all. But all is not as it seems, and told in three different viewpoints, we journey with them across a vast desert, facing harsh sandstorms, devious Jinn, and scheming humans.

The author weaved this narrative together seamlessly in a way that was a tribute to the tradition of oral storytelling. Mazen, the youngest prince, is a storyteller himself, descended from who is supposed to be Scheherazade. In between chapters, there are occasional stories of the legends the book is based on, but these legends are different than how we know them. I think this is what I admired most about the book–while there was clearly homage to the original legends, Abdullah was able to spin it in such a way that I never knew where the story was going, which made it all the more exciting. Sometimes, I would predict what would happen next and be shocked at how wrong I was. The epic fantasy kept me on my toes.


Naturally, reading this story made me more curious about the Jinn in original Persian mythology and after a quick Google search, I could tell that Abdullah crafted the Jinn extremely to the likes of such. I thought she did a good job at keeping these creatures morally ambiguous. Sometimes, they would attack, hurt others, lie. But they also sometimes came to the aid of our heroes, much like the humans of the story. It really amplified the theme that no one–not even a Jinn–is one-hundred percent good or one-hundred percent evil.

There was also a theme of never giving up, even after you lost everything. Each character experienced loss in different ways, but we still saw their development, whether it’s struggling with their own morality, their own weakness, or their own judgements along the way. In some ways, their losses made them stronger.

I appreciated these themes because it brings a fantasy story applicable to the real world. I may never cross a desert in search of a magical lamp, but there will be times in my life I will have to make moral decisions or will have to face loss, and I can learn from what these characters do (or don’t do).

Some downsides to the book could be how long-winded it is–but this is forgivable for how beautifully crafted it is. The language and style of writing was prosaic and brought me to the desert towns Loulie traveled through vividly. I was a bit disappointed from the lack of romance in the book but the premsie of the book never promised romance, and there is a hint of something sparking in the sequel.

Speaking of sequels, The Stardust Thief ended in such a cliffhanger that makes me wish I had the next books in my hands right now. But the next book doesn’t even have a title yet, so I may be waiting a while.

Overall, this was a five star read, and possibly my favorite read of the month!