Throne of the Crescent Moon

By: Saladin Ahmed

Narrated by: Phil Gigante

The Crescent Moon Kingdoms, home to djenn and ghuls, holy warriors and heretics, are at the boiling point of a power struggle between the iron-fisted Khalif and the mysterious master thief known as the Falcon Prince. In the midst of this brewing rebellion a series of brutal supernatural murders strikes at the heart of the Kingdoms. It is up to a handful of heroes to learn the truth behind these killings:

Doctor Adoulla Makhslood, “the last real ghul hunter in the great city of Dhamsawaat,” just wants a quiet cup of tea. Three score and more years old, he has grown weary of hunting monsters and saving lives, and is more than ready to retire from his dangerous and demanding vocation. But when an old flame’s family is murdered, Adoulla is drawn back to the hunter’s path.

Raseed bas Raseed, Adoulla’s young assistant, is a hidebound holy warrior whose prowess is matched only by his piety. But even as Raseed’s sword is tested by ghuls and manjackals, his soul is tested when he and Adoulla cross paths with the tribeswoman Zamia.

Zamia Badawi, Protector of the Band, has been gifted with the near-mythical power of the lion-shape, but shunned by her people for daring to take up a man’s title. She lives only to avenge her father’s death. Until she learns that Adoulla and his allies also hunt her father’s killer. Until she meets Raseed.

When they learn that the murders and the Falcon Prince’s brewing revolution are connected, the companions must race against time - and struggle against their own misgivings - to save the life of a vicious despot. In so doing they discover a plot for the Throne of the Crescent Moon that threatens to turn Dhamsawaat, and the world itself, into a blood-soaked ruin.

©2012 Saladin Ahmed (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

A thrilling adventure!

this story was a lot of fun and I loved the characters. i hope thye have many more adventures together.

Fantastic!

The story was engrossing. Enjoyed the characters. The performance was superb as well. I would highly recommend this title to a friend.

Great narration, mediocre story. Decent fantasy

A little too much "praise be to god the benevolent" for my taste. I get that it's a middle eastern fantasy, but it bothered me that everyone in this fantasy kingdom agreed that there was one god and whom that God is, even 'foreigners'.

The story is far more about interpersonal relationships with only three real fights in the entirety of the book. The stakes were high, but I didn't feel that a while lot of action was necessary to stop the villain.

**Spoilers**

Basically the heroes just needed to know what he was trying to do, then show up and stop him. Maybe the author's message was that knowledge is the real power. When the heroes were ignorant and didn't know about the enemy, then the enemy had the upper hand. As soon as the heroes read a conveniently available scroll, they knew exactly who the enemy was, what he was after and how to stop him. There were sacrifices that the heroes made, but those sacrifices felt a bit like an afterthought.

TL/DR
Decent fantasy story set in a middle eastern caliphate

The Voice Performance is 😙👌

I enjoyed the story and characters. It was very fun to hear a fantasy story set in a different kind of setting. The performance was stellar. I felt the pacing was off, however. Over all a great read!

Such an enjoyable tale

This is the epic hopefully story I’ve needed for so long after decades of grim-dark and post apocalyptic settings. The characters are vibrant nuanced and enjoyable. The performance is utterly engaging and wonderful.

Fantastic story and fantastic narration

This is one of the best fantasy stories I've ever had the joy to experience and the superb narration added that much more to it. The pacing, characters, and conflict were all written with a master craft-person's touch.

The Heavenly Chapters insist you listen to this

This is the most fun I've had with a fantasy novel in a long, long time. The characters are all developed enough for the story but not too detailed, which is a common problem among fantasy novels.

I also really enjoyed that more than half the characters are pensioner-age. It is very nice to have something other than the "young adventurers just starting out" schtick. I understand that some may not enjoy the age of the heroes, but it's nice to have some heroes close to me in age.

I was very happy to have the Islamic(ish) religion in the novel's world. The quasi-pagan religions in nearly all fantasy novels, though fine, are also very overdone. It is a really nice change of pace to have monotheism in a fantasy story.

A ghulish tale

If you could sum up Throne of the Crescent Moon in three words, what would they be?

Good against evil

What was one of the most memorable moments of Throne of the Crescent Moon?

While the book seemingly focuses on the fight of good against evil, really it is a book about introspection. The key characters in the book are all reassessing their lives during their struggle. Their inner struggles trump the outer struggles in my mind. Looking forward to their future adventures.

Which character – as performed by Phil Gigante – was your favorite?

Cannot pick one

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I never want to listen in one sitting

Fun Adventure

The narrator is good. Easy to understand and fun to listen to. The adventure is fun for what it is. If you like Sword and Sorcery type stuff, or need a lighter novel to space between super-long fantasy books, I would recommend this.

Strong first act, awesome setting, doesn't deliver

Would you try another book from Saladin Ahmed and/or Phil Gigante?

I think I would try because the book had good ideas.

What could Saladin Ahmed have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Focus on the main characters he introduced from the beginning, shorten the first act, and strengthen the second and third act.

Did Phil Gigante do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Kind of, unfortunately, I always think it's weird when there's one voice for all of the characters but that can't always be helped.

Did Throne of the Crescent Moon inspire you to do anything?

I love fantasy and I will always read fantasy novels, and the Throne of the Crescent Moon did inspire me to continue to look for novels set in a middle eastern fantasy world.

Any additional comments?

While the book started out strong- awesome ideas, cool characters, and a great setting, the story failed to deliver. The new characters introduced were boring and some of them were cliche. The second act slowed to a screeching halt. The third act quickened a little, but over all, I didn't enjoy the second half of the novel. Honestly, I don't think I would recommend this audiobook. If people are interested in trying the book out for themselves because it does start out pretty great, I would suggest just buying the book or the ebook because it's cheaper. Otherwise, save your credits.