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Le Lion Du Caire (2012)

by Scott Oden(Favorite Author)

3.89 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

2352946212 (ISBN13: 9782352946212)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Bragelonne

series

Emir of the Knife

review 1: The cover intrigued me when this book was recommended to me by a friend. It took me a while to get around to reading it but when I did, I was hooked, that is until I left it in my mother-in-law's car door! For a month I was itching to get it back and start reading it again, and once I had it back, I read it within a week... all whilst dealing with the flu.I have never read Men of Bronze, Mr Oden's first novel, but with his talent for conjuring up the streets of Cairo in the 12th century, I will be on the look out for it.Reading this book was like walking through the streets of Cairo today, except of course with, shall we say a few more buildings? I knew the factual places he writes about, I could very easily imagine the rest. I could smell the smells he describes and ea... moresily identify the paranoia and tribalism that still rings true today in modern day Cairo. This may well have been set in the 12th Century, but not that much has changed. I dare say this is true for much of the world, but here in Egypt, post Mubarak regime and 100 plus years of dictatorships, the struggle for power, the inability to trust, right down to the galabeya's and market places nestled between twisting, winding streets of over-crowded neighbourhoods (which are described intricately) this could have easily been set in modern day Cairo... replacing the assasins with some of the lower class clans with their machetes, on the hunt for family honour. The story flowed extremely well and although I was a tad confused due to the many names mentioned and trying to follow who was linked to who, it made me chuckle because that is just how it is today... everyone is linked to everyone by the six degrees of seperation. The intricate network of tunnels within the palace walls; the harem of women; the eunuchs loyalty to the vizier rather than the Caliph, the identification of people by their nationality rather than their name; the sinister and murderous actions of the assassin and the heretic all add to the excitement of this novel with all its twists and turns of divided loyalties and ultimate honour.A fast paced book, with a powerful story line and a complete joy to read. This may only be his second book, but Mr Oden is a very talented writer and this book is most definitely worth a read.
review 2: Firstly, I believe in supporting good authors, especially when they're relatively new: I quickly bought two copies as gifts after enjoying a reading by the very gracious author, Scott.Secondly, I thought this book was exceptionally well researched—it reminded me of the better books by Piers Anthony in the verisimilitude achieved for the various Arabian/Saracen/Egyptian flavors within. It flowed well, kept you in suspense, and had a twist or two before the end. What else could you ask for? After all the western/medieval/elven stuff these days, this transport into Arabia was very refreshing for me. It made me want to finally pick up and read 1001 Arabian Nights — which I did, for free, from Project Gutenberg. I also Netflixed and enjoyed a 2000 movie called "Arabian Nights" starring Dougray Scott and Mili Avatal as Scheherezade. A fair amount of activity ... inspired by reading this book and therefore wanting more. I'm surely going to follow the sequels.( I know, I know: in respect for the late great Leslie Nielsen, I'll stop calling him 'Shirley' :-) ) less

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