Traitor to the Throne

This is the sequel to Rebel of the Sands, which I read several weeks ago. The conclusion to the trilogy, Hero at the Fall, came out in March, and I'm waiting patiently for a copy from the library. (Okay, so maybe it's impatiently, but I'm waiting!)

I love so much about this book. I always love non-western style fantasy, and this one is definitely middle-east inspired, with its djinni and deserts and fancy khalats. (A khalat is a loose, long-sleeved silk or cotton robe worn over the rest of your clothing.) The Demdji - the children of djinni and humans - are all fascinating, with interesting powers. And fantasy politics, at the highest of possible levels!

Amani is a fascinating main character, with her control over sand, her personal ethics, and her personal conflicts. She's the daughter of a djinni, and we actually meet djinni for the first time in this book! I liked her love story better in Rebel of the Sands - it seemed very muted in this book, but they did spend most of the book apart. I am eager to see where that part of the plot goes in HatF.

There were a couple of twists that surprised me - who the titular traitor was, for one. The book was full of traitors of one kind or another. I also really liked seeing palace and harem life; the first book focused on desert backwaters and outlaws, so this was quite a change, and I liked it. I'm still half in love with Prince Ahmed, though we meet his half-brother Rahim in the palace, and he's growing on me. The Sultan himself also surprised me; I expected a villainous, power-mad ruler, and he is not that. He seemed to surprise Amani, too.

I was excited to see the djinni actually make an appearance; I'd expected them to stay an abstract idea for the entire trilogy! They certainly never showed up in the first book. I mean, it was obvious they still came to humans, or Demdji couldn't exist, but no one, even the mothers, ever spoke about seeing or interacting with them. Even to their half-djinni children. I'm hoping this means they'll play a bigger role in the third book, because after the small glimpse we get here, I really want to know more about them!

Like most of the other reviews I've read, I agree that this wasn't as strong as the first one, but middle books in trilogies rarely are. It is a solid volume, though, with lots of plot advancement and world-building and politicking. Can't wait to get the concluding book!

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.