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A review by onthesamepage
The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
You know that feeling when you're reading a book, and you're so immersed in the story, and when it ends there's nothing you can think of that would have made it a better reading experience for you?
Yeah, that's this book.
We follow three different POVs: Loulie, the Midnight Merchant, who finds old relics and makes a living selling them on the black market, Mazen, the prince who longs for the adventures he hears about in stories but is stuck in the palace, and Aisha, one of the infamous forty thieves. All of the perspectives are interesting, and I never found myself wanting to skip over one of the characters so I could get more of a different one. The pacing of the story is great, even though the book is on the large side, and the stakes get really high. I had a few "oh, shit" moments while reading this. The quality of the writing is excellent too. I also loved the short stories within the story, where we get to learn more about the folklore surrounding the jinn. Overall, I'm really impressed with this debut.
All the characters quickly endeared themselves to me, although it took me a bit longer to warm up to Aisha. I loved the dynamic among them, but my favourite was always going to be the bond between Qadir and Loulie. There were so many moments that made me want to hug them, and the book. The other notable thing is the lack of romance. The only whiff of it is between Loulie and Ahmed bin Walid, a side character, but it's very slight, which was honestly refreshing, even though I liked their relationship as well.
The shining star of this book is the setting and the Arab representation. Chelsea Abdullah doesn't coddle anyone, and that made me so happy. Characters frequently use Arabic phrases, the food was familiar, the garments were familiar, and she even spells Arabic words out in the Arabic alphabet! Not to mention the hints of 1001 Nights sprinkled throughout, from references to the king of the forty thieves, to the jinn in the lamp. Even though it was a fantasy world, it felt comforting, and a bit like home.
Despite the presence of jinn in the story, there are no references to Islam in this world (although one character is named Ahmed, which is a Muslim name, but I guess that on its own doesn't necessarily mean anything).
You know that feeling when you're reading a book, and you're so immersed in the story, and when it ends there's nothing you can think of that would have made it a better reading experience for you?
Yeah, that's this book.
We follow three different POVs: Loulie, the Midnight Merchant, who finds old relics and makes a living selling them on the black market, Mazen, the prince who longs for the adventures he hears about in stories but is stuck in the palace, and Aisha, one of the infamous forty thieves. All of the perspectives are interesting, and I never found myself wanting to skip over one of the characters so I could get more of a different one. The pacing of the story is great, even though the book is on the large side, and the stakes get really high. I had a few "oh, shit" moments while reading this. The quality of the writing is excellent too. I also loved the short stories within the story, where we get to learn more about the folklore surrounding the jinn. Overall, I'm really impressed with this debut.
All the characters quickly endeared themselves to me, although it took me a bit longer to warm up to Aisha. I loved the dynamic among them, but my favourite was always going to be the bond between Qadir and Loulie. There were so many moments that made me want to hug them, and the book. The other notable thing is the lack of romance. The only whiff of it is between Loulie and Ahmed bin Walid, a side character, but it's very slight, which was honestly refreshing, even though I liked their relationship as well.
The shining star of this book is the setting and the Arab representation. Chelsea Abdullah doesn't coddle anyone, and that made me so happy. Characters frequently use Arabic phrases, the food was familiar, the garments were familiar, and she even spells Arabic words out in the Arabic alphabet! Not to mention the hints of 1001 Nights sprinkled throughout, from references to the king of the forty thieves, to the jinn in the lamp. Even though it was a fantasy world, it felt comforting, and a bit like home.
Despite the presence of jinn in the story, there are no references to Islam in this world (although one character is named Ahmed, which is a Muslim name, but I guess that on its own doesn't necessarily mean anything).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Murder