Day Al-MohamedRezensionen

You know the story, don't you, of Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves? No, my friends you know only what the bride of a King would briefly say to save her life - you don't know the true story. Just as there are intricate gears and movements that work beneath the face of your clock to tell you the time, so there are facets to the story that remain unknown. In fact there is an entire novel's worth of surprises for you. For this is the story of the student of an inventor called home upon the unfortunate passing of his father to a legacy of both artifice and magic. A story of treacherous assassins, airship rides and marvelous djinn. But do not fret, for most assuredly there is also a miraculous cave of treasure and last but not least a certain cadre of forty unsavory thieves. A cocktail of steampunk and arabic lore to delight from two purveyors of fine tales - Danielle and Day.

I received of copy on Netgalley for review.

Oh this book. How I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love a good fairy tale and let me tell you, this is a fine one. It fuses the wonders of a good novel and a good fairy tale into one. Realistic characters and emotions and awesome steampunk with fanciful perfection and happiness.

The main character is really wonderful. He evolves over the book and you can really notice that he's turned from a boy into a man. He's intelligent and wonderful. Earlier in my reading, when I was about half way, I had a qualm and it was that there were no kick-ass female characters. Well, basically, I was later proved wrong (as I had hoped) and everything was wonderful. So if you're worried about that, you might have to wait a bit, but it's definitely worth it.

I really loved the incorporation of the story-style of the fairy tale. The little things that are so interestingly orderly to the point of nonsense. But it didn't detract at all from this book. It was, in fact, part of the immense charm. The title already tells you to expect a fairy tale so it's actually really exciting when you notice the obvious aspects drawn from the style.

A really wonderful book that makes its way to my favourites list. Very happy this exists.

As you should be able to tell from the title, Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn is a steampunk retelling of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, with some magic thrown in. From the synopsis: “In England, far from his desert home, Ali bin-Massoud serves as apprentice to the famed Charles Babbage. One night a mysterious box is delivered by a clockwork falcon and Ali’s world is never the same again. Heartache, danger, and thieves mark his journey as Ali is summoned home at the death of his father.”

I’ve read short story retellings of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves before, but this was the first novel length re imagining of the tale that I’ve encountered. I thought it did some things well. I liked the use of mechanisms and magic, for one. The historical settings were well drawn. The characterization of Ali was good. However, Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn left me unsatisfied in a lot of ways.

The first was that I felt the book had a very slow start. The first half of the novel is mostly Ali being attacked by random, cardboard cut out bad guys and being saved by a mechanical eagle. Part of this time, he’s traveling from England to Arabia. The book doesn’t really get interesting until half way through when he actually gets back home and discovers the cave with the treasure. I definitely think that some of the beginning sections could have been cut or condensed. Better characterization when it comes to the villains is also needed. They were all utterly disposable and forgettable, and I had a hard time keeping them straight.

I mentioned that I liked the use of magic, but I actually would like to know more about it, especially when it comes to the history of the djinn. I felt like there were a lot of elements that were introduced here that were never fully explored. Additionally, there were some unanswered questions about the clockwork eagle. I’m also not wholly comfortable with the power dynamics of the relationship between Ali and the imprisoned djinn. I think the focus was supposed to be on how he’s setting her free, but he’s still the one with the power to do so in the first place. There’s too much of a master slave dynamic for my liking.

Additionally, there was some strangeness in relation to the ending. It felt a lot like deus ex machina, and I would have liked a better explanation.

Finally, I don’t know if it was just a problem with my ebook format, but the novel didn’t include any spaces or ways to mark POV shifts, even when it was jumping between characters in England and Arabia. It was really disorienting to rind myself in England in one paragraph and someplace completely different the next.

Overall, I’m not sure if I would recommend Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn. If you really like fairy tale retellings or want to read steampunk set outside Europe, I might cautiously recommend it.

Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.

I won a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway.

There's a lot to love about this retelling of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, but with a steampunk twist. Foremost is the main character, Ali. He's an artificer and a good sort of guy. I really loved that he was a devout Muslim; it's great to see faith handled in a positive way, especially when it's mixed with magic. The very real character if Babbage plays an important part, though I was disappointed by how that was handled. He vanished for much of the book and didn't end up playing as much of a role as I hoped for.

The book begins in England--with Ali very much out of place--and returns to Arabia. While still in England, Ali is gifted with a mysterious puzzle box that was his father's legacy. As he returns to Arabia by his brother's order, he's under constant threat by people who want to take the box. Ali's brother isn't very nuanced, but he fits in well with the fairy tale vibe. The voice of the book is fantastic and makes it a cozy blend of steampunk formality and fairy tale-style casual storytelling.

One thing that threw me out of the book was how the thieves somehow managed to not know where Ali's brother lived. They track Ali to England but don't know where his family resided in the nearest town. That struck me as rather contrived for the sake of stretching the plot.

I would love to read more set in this world. There's so much potential here with the culture, the mechanical camelids, or even the history of the djinn.

Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over

Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn caught my eye as a perfect crossover of my fascination with Middle Eastern tales and steampunk. I was surprised and dismayed when I had trouble getting into it, though, the blend of non-Western storytelling with a main character steeped in Islamic tradition making the beginning slow. The reader knows more than the main character practically from the start and Ali lets tradition drive his actions with no real sense of self. He read passive even though I understood and recognized the traditions he drew from. Luckily, I persisted because what follows is a rich and fascinating steampunk retelling of the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

There are interesting happenings, a glimpse into the nature of being an Arab in historical England, and gadgets and gears from the very start. Still, it’s not until Ali’s ticket home comes that the story became dynamic, his duty compelling him to act without denying his history or traditions.

The story is salted (if you’ll excuse the pun) with elements of traditional Middle Eastern folklore from puzzle boxes, the many levels of djinns, and the use of salt itself. I loved how it incorporates both historical and steampunk elements to provide a complicated blend of reality and fantasy in both the people and events. For example, Ali apprentices to none other than Charles Babbage, a connection that results in more than one clash between faith and materialistic perspectives. That there is a lovely dose of philosophy and human weakness thrown in makes it all the stronger.

Between the non-Western storytelling and non-Western values, some aspects of Ali’s character might be difficult for Western readers to grasp at first, but he’s not portrayed as a perfect follower of Islamic traditions either. He might be above the simple weaknesses of lust for gold, but he has his own flaws that carry a risk almost as great.

I did have some difficulty with some of the things he took responsibility for while it seemed few others in the story held to the traditions, but that didn’t weaken the story and added to the sense of frustration for his sake. Besides, we got to meet a wonderful cast of people, had harrowing adventures, and got to see the creation of all manner of wonderful things. Despite the slow beginning, this is very much worth the read, and I say this having consumed who knows how many versions of the Ali Baba tale, up to and including a farcical play called Ali Baba and the Four Tea Thieves. This is not a story for very young children as some of the events depicted are graphic, but older children and adults could definitely enjoy the visit to a non-Western philosophy wrapped in a tale of danger, adventure, and even love.

P.S. I received this title from the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

"The tale of Ali Baba and the forty thieves is retold in a world replete with difference engines, mechanical falcons, and airships. " You can read the rest of my review here

Thank you to the publishers for providing this ebook in exchange for an honest review. This did not alter my review in any way.

Trust and Treachery is an anthology of short stories, showing some of the best and worst of human nature. Stories of betrayal and mislaid trust abound in this collection that spans across a variety of authors, genres and worlds. One moment you are reading about intergalactic space travel between planets and the relations between their inhabitants, the next the double life of a travelling salesman. This book has got it all, providing something for everyone. But individually, it will probably only have a little for you.

Diverse books are great. But the problem with having such diversity in one anthology means that not every story will have an appeal. I stopped reading at one point in the middle of a story and didn't pick it up again for two days because I just lost interest and had other things to do. Others I really enjoyed and wished I could have read more of. In this sense, it was a good introduction to new authors. But as a whole it made the book hard to get through all at once. Breaking this book up and reading only a couple of stories here and there would have been a better way for me to enjoy this book.

My favourite stories included Neighbour from Hell by Edoardo Albert, Missing Persons by Ann L. Kopchik and Oathbreaker by Kate Marshall, while honourable mentions go to Lunar Epithalamion by Calie Voorhis, for blending the magical and the scientific, and Short Dark Future by Marian Allen because I enjoy seeing idiots outsmarted by intelligent people - a win for everyone ever labelled a 'nerd' or a 'geek'. I had never read anything from any of these authors before, this anthology has brought me to some new writers I look forward to reading more from. I also enjoyed the parts of the story right before the big reveal, when you're anxious and waiting to find out the betrayer and scrambling in your head to work it out before you read the words. Always makes for a fun read! A fairly enjoyable one at 3 stars, although in a collection this wide you're always going to stumble across some you don't enjoy.

Thank you to the authors for providing me with a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Let the record show – I read an e-book! I know, it is sacrilege. I read it on my tablet, which was a bit awkward, and I will be honest, this did impact on my reading experience. But sometimes there are some opportunities that we don’t want to miss out on. This was one of those.

Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn is based on the tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves from the Thousand and One Arabian Nights – with a twist. Among the magic of Arabia and its djinn and other beings, the tale has been reimagined to include a steampunk element. This was new for me as I had only read one other steampunk book and didn’t like it, however I am willing to admit this may have been the book as opposed to the genre. So I resolved to read this book while ignoring my previous misgivings.

This book had all the magic of the original tale and the addition of the mechanical aspect may seem to contradict the wonder inspired by the faerie tale element but instead I found it to contribute to the originality of the retelling. We begin in England, a fairly traditional location for steampunk, where we meet Ali bin-Massoud, an apprentice in the craftsmanship of machinery and artifice. As the second son in his family, he wasn’t to inherit into the family business of trading, which was left to his elder brother. When an unforeseen circumstance delivers a gift and also tragic news, Ali must return home to his native Arabia (via an airship – literally a ship in the air!). It is here in Arabia that magic fills the air and the story really comes alive. Reading this truly feels like a magical faerie tale.

I have some qualms, though. I find it hard to sympathise with, at times, a rather pitiful main character. Ali did not show a great deal of purpose or direction except when he was making things and he did not have a strong sense of character. There were a few things that happened a bit too quickly and were glossed over, causing me to go back a paragraph or even a page to try and work out when that happened. I also find it hard to sympathise with a character when they appeal to any sort of god, blame them for their fates, etc. rather than shouldering than blame or assigning it the person it belongs to – or even acknowledging that sometimes, bad things happen. It’s just life. However, I understand how the belief in Allah is important to the culture for those who reside in those lands. The only other thing was some of the phrasing seemed clumsy, however I did not mark any examples to use in this review (it never occurs to me to do that).

This book has taken the polar opposites of magic and machinery, thrown them together in a mix of wonder and intrigue, danger and thrills, adventure and of course, love – where would any faerie tale be without love!

3.75 stars.½

Not a review. Includes my story "Sanctified Ground."