Review Detail

A THOUSAND NIGHTS is a retelling of the Arabic tale, "A Thousand and One Nights." It's a tale of Scheherazade and a sultan. I have mentioned this tale in my review of THE WRATH AND THE DAWN, but I'll tell it again. Scheherazade was clever, and she, to avoid death, told a story to the sultan every night and ended it on a cliffhanger. The next night, she will finish the story and tell a new one. And she will end it on a cliffhanger. The same thing will happen again and again, and the sultan will not execute her out of fear that he will never know the story's ending. Scheherazade does it for one thousand and one nights. (Title drop!)

The writing style is something I really have to point it. It stands out so well that it shines brighter than everything else... Brighter than plot, story, and characters. It's beautiful, and I can pull a lot of quotes from the story. (But that's not important in this review.) The words really flow, and the author uses tons of flowery language.

The world building is set in the desert and Lo-Melkhiin's home. The book doesn't dive too deeply into the setting, and it isn't really necessary, because it is the story that matters. The story is dreamy, and it is dark. It's not quite like THE WRATH AND THE DAWN even though both books are inspired by the Arabic tale. In fact, after reading the story, I realize that these two stories are pretty different. While THE WRATH AND THE DAWN is perfect for those who love forbidden love, A THOUSAND NIGHTS is for those who love to look beyond the page and read between the lines.

And there is the main character. She is unnamed, but her character speaks louder than her name ever could. For now, we'll just call her "Scheherazade." (And no, that is not her name.) Her words spin stories, and there is power in her sentences. She alone has the force to defeat Lo-Melkhiin, and after surviving night after night, she starts digging into her husband's past and attempting to discover the terrifying truth. You can't help but root for her.

The ending is perhaps the strangest part of the entire book. It doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the book, but it does fit. The ending works yet also doesn't. If you read and start analyzing the book, the ending works. But if you only see what's on the surface, it doesn't.

In conclusion, A THOUSAND NIGHTS is great for those who love reading between the lines and those who enjoy writing metas/analysis about multi-layered stories. Fans of fairy tales would love this thought-provoking retelling.

Rating: Four out of Five