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Reviewed by Aricia Publisher: Dreamspinner Press A jinn (think genii, but forget the bottle) on a mission ... an outcast prince on a quest to recover his kingdom ... a master sorcerer from a higher dimension ... a harsh and forbidding landscape in which trust is scant and betrayal hides in ambush behind every boulder. The classic elements of fantasy across the ages are in place, and author Shira Anthony has enormous fun playing with them. Dream of a Thousand Nights is a rather charming fantasy in a quasi-historical setting -- a quick read, and very light, rescued from the realms of “fluff” by some clever invention which, at least to me, is fresh -- and one can’t often say that of any recreational reading these days. The exact location and time frame are never hinted, and the setting is an alternate universe Arabia where homosexuality is not a capital crime. ’Nuff said: let slip the imagination and enjoy. The story is straightforward, and right out of The Arabian Knights: the young prince is cheated of his inheritance, barely escapes with his life, and for many years in exile foments a smoldering desire both to be avenged and to free his people from the yoke of tyranny. The plot thickens when it’s not a human youth but a young jinn who rescues Prince Neriah from imminent and violent death; and we discover that the jinn, Tamir, has been sweet on Neriah for a long, long time. But there are celestial laws about this kind of business, and Dream of a Thousand Nights is at its best when Shira Anthony is developing the social structure of an alternate, transdimensional society. She sets down specifically that the jinn were “created,” though she does not suggest by whom, or when; they were likely created by a process of magic which is analogous of our own genetic technology, for the sole purpose of “serving” humans. One recalls the replicants of Blade Runner. In fact, whole dimensions of possibility opened up on this bit of free invention, and I was hoping much more would be made of it. One can always hold out for a future story in which this act of creation by some elder, possibly transdimensional, race is explored -- to me, this was the big fascination, and something of a missed opportunity, since the author chose to “take the low road” and pursue the much more timeworn story of the exile’s journey back to the throne. The result is a satisfying enough morality tale, but -- oh, the novel that might have been! Sequel, anyone? As with most m/m, the romance is front and center and, after the usual round of angst and respite, resolves happily. A pleasant surprise is that the relationship at the core of the story is a sweet romance -- in fact, it flirts with being too sweet at intervals, while at other times one’s brow must pop up at scenes involving bondage and elements of masochism. These have absolutely no bearing on the plot and were surely added purely for titillation. It’s a shame this must be done; however, m/m as a genre is a literary form where plot is frequently the undesirable bridge used to rush between the abundant sex scenes that are the mainstay. (I once watched a reader flicking through pages on her Kindle, muttering, “Plot, plot, plot...” as she worked her way through to the next juicy bit!) I’d guess Ms. Anthony knows her readership: what they want, how they want it, and when; and a yard or two of rope and a heavy caning at that exact point in the story was integral to the recipe. (Meanwhile, folks like self scratch the head and wonder how one could remain enamoured of a guy who tied you up and hit you with a stick -- but this is what makes horse races. Whatever floats your boat, right? Right.) A number of high points brighten Dream of a Thousand Nights, punctuated by darker scenes hinting at cruelty and depravity, and some inescapable technical hitches. Overall, the balance between plot and sex, sweet romance and gloomy stuff is quite agreeable, and the book moves along at a good pace. At only fifty thousand words or so, a quick reader can finish in a sitting or two -- In fact, the book is a little too abbreviated in places. Shira Anthony uses the time-honored erotic romance technique of sketching a plot the size of Lawrence of Arabia in a few paragraphs of synopsis, then investing several pages in the delicious canoodling -- which is to say, the work is crafted for the readership! But here and there the method actually works against the story. The denouement sometimes lurches from ‘point a’ to ‘point z’ without enough exposition or explanation to make subsequent plot events involving, or fully credible. The body of the book would have profited from another ten or even fifteen thousand words of exposition, which might have made it really fly. The extra passages would have been easy to map out: simply invest as much wordage in critical plot developments as in romantic interludes, and develop them fully. It may easily be that Dream of a Thousand Nights was a debut story, and the author was still growing into her full suite of skills –- certainly, this is suggested by the narrative line, which is sometimes lyrical, sometimes a tad clumsy, and occasionally a pale shade of purple. If Dream of a Thousand Nights was indeed an early work, well, even Mozart had to start somewhere, and Shira Anthony will be a writer to keep an eye on in future. While I can only give Dream of a Thousand Nights three stars due to its technical problems, at the same time I’d also like to give a strong recommendation. Many readers don’t notice errors of technique, and this story is entertaining. The characters are simply and clearly drawn: when a vast story is compressed into a quick-read there’s little time to develop nuance, and falling back on archetypes is a writer’s standby strategy simply because it works. And as I said above, the world building is so loaded with potential, how I wished Shira Anthony had taken the daring, inventive route home rather than the predictable road; and even so, the massive hints at a celestial toymaker must fire the reader’s imagination. The sex is raunchy enough to satisfy staunch erotic romance readers and at the same time phrased in the genteel language of euphemism. So –- Recommended for the fantasy fan who likes a hot romp with a happy ending, with lashings of angst and magic along the way. |
THE DREAM OF A THOUSAND NIGHTS by Shira Anthony