The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah

While the cover and the grabby blurb on the back promised an elegant and imaginative retelling of Aladdin, what was given was a disappointing lackluster narrative with characters that didn’t pulled the reader into feeling for their plights. When I learned it was suppose to be based on One Thousand and One Night, I was startled as that is not what is being presented. Even so, within the first 100 pages there is no way to tell what are the main characters goals, dreams, and desires.

Even as I write this, I have a cursory understanding of them and feel no empathy nor attachment to them. The Main female character, Loulie, is uninteresting. The title of Night Merchant is barely touched on before it is quickly stripped away. In fact, Chapter 8 felt like it should have been chapter 1 instead for it had depth and beauty that was lacking every where. I can’t tell if she wants revenge or to continue to live as her father did because her motivations are unclear and her emotions don’t ring through.

Qadir often pulls more attention that Loulie but even he isn’t fleshed out enough to feel real. I can’t even tell you what he looks like other than he is either a lizard or a non-descript man who acts as a bodyguard. For the first 100 pages, I figured they were going to get together till Mazen is introduced and even then I still felt Qadir was it.

Mazen annoys me greatly. It feels like he is half a character and his caged mentality couples with this devil-may-care attitude in a strange way. When the story of his mother comes out, I felt the urge to throw the book at the wall. How could that be what happened yet there is no anger over it? There is just this bland sort of ‘mother believed in x’ so I must follow x. It doesn’t feel universal. It feels like someone purposely stepping on my toe then telling me I shouldn’t feel pain.

Aisha was very fleshed out. I can tell you what she wants, what her goals are, and what she is seeking. Her actions follow these motivations very nicely. There is one part that struck me as odd but I am sure the author has plans for it - the Henna. While I abandoned the book, I hope the author utilizes this later as important.

There is also little to no of world building. I couldn’t imagine the places, clothes, and the like. It is as if the author simply assumes that the readers are going to know what the imagine. Maybe they did, but that shouldn’t be the case. Especially in fantasy, it is important to write out the details.

Overall, it felt like a cobbled together story that could have been better if the narrative and characters were stronger. The premise is amazing, the concepts strong, but it simply lacks the proper execution. As a first work, that makes sense and I put the problem right at the feet of those that didn’t aid the author in getting her story to be the best possible tale it could be.

I read to chapter 14 before abandoning.