The Stardust Thief

Chelsea Abdullah

Hachette

Otago Daily Times, August 6th 2022

Before there were humans, there were jinn. Now humanity rules the land, building their civilisation from using the jinn’s own blood, which can turn sand to water and make the desert bloom. It is against this backdrop, redolent with the sights and sounds of the Middle East that Chelsea Abdulla’s clever reimagining of One Thousand and One Nights plays out.

Mazen bin Malek is a storyteller like his late mother, the Lady Shafia, whilst his older half-brother, Omar, a cruel and ruthless warrior, takes after their father the Sultan. But where Omar and his band of forty thieves range far and wide in search of the few remaining Jinn, Mazen is confined to the palace, longing for adventure – dreams that become all too real when Omar is dispatched to recover a lamp containing the spirit of a Jinn king. Having plans of his own, Omar casts an enchantment swapping the brothers’ appearance, and Mazen finds himself deep in the desert accompanied by renowned relic-hunter Loulie al-Naziri, her companion – and disguised jinn – Quadir, and the brightest of Omar’s thieves, Aisha bint Louas. As their quest progresses, the three humans learn that the legends of the jinn are not a complete history, and as danger piles on danger, they are forced to work together to survive.

After starting slowly, The Stardust Thief builds to a frenetic pace, producing a narrative as exhausting and diverting as the tale to which it is heir and culminating in a moment of stasis perfectly poised for a sequel.