The Throne of Ledang

I'm low-key mad at this book.

On the one hand, what a great premise! Iskandar Al-Bakri had an interesting take on the Puteri Gunung Ledang legend, and married it to historical figures known in the era and another well known mythology that you won't even associate with old Malaya. I'm so onboard for stuff like this, especially with it's local.

On the other hand, it reads like a simplified history textbook... or as another reviewer mentioned, an info dump. I wasn't sure if I was reading a novel or a fancily-dramatized secondary school history lesson. The so-called main characters didn't even engage until nearly the end of the book. There was far too much “Character used fancy silat move which is called [this] because of [reasons].” Educational, but lost the momentum there.

I think this novel would have benefited from a sharp editor with an ear for historical fantasy. Having said that, I don't hate the book. It's a good example of how you can take something well known and run off in another direction with it.