Engraved on the Eye

S.A. has definitely become an author on my “purchase immediately when anything new comes out” list.

There's some good stuff in here, but too much that is uneven, lightweight, or reads like a novel extract instead of standing on its own. I wish Mr Ahmed had waited till he had a few more stories under his belt and then cherry picked the very best.

A nice little collection of short fiction from Saladin Ahmed. Like his other work, it's mostly fantasy, and features concepts drawn from Middle Eastern myth NAND folklore. Sometimes poignant, sometimes wondrous. always entertaining, Engraved on the Eye is one of those rare short fiction collections where I enjoyed every single one of the stories. Bonus: the first meeting of Doctor Abdouhl and Raseed bas Raseed!

Saladin Ahmed's “Engraved on the Eye” offers a nice sampling of Ahmed's short fiction. Collected in this volume are three short stories set in the same world as his first novel, The Crescent Throne, as well as a western, sci-fi, bunnies with swords, and an urban fantasy. Readers unfamiliar with the Crescent Throne will find the stories a good starting point, while fans of Saladin Adhmed's will enjoy the additional background on a certain ghul hunter and his blue clothed dhervish.

Tying the eight stories of this volume are two themes existing fans will find familiar: the fantastical, told with a heavy Middle Eastern influence. If Bradbury had been Arabic and living in middle America, this is what his first story collection might have looked like, ghul's, djenn, and demons included.