I picked this book for the description, and it certainly delivered. de Lange did an amazing job of portraying the setting of 8th century Middle East, it was obvious a lot of research and love went into the pages.

One of the things I liked most about this book was the detail that was put into each place Abdul and his caravan traveled. It felt like you were traveling along with them, facing the same hardships, victories, and experiences. Certain aspects of the culture and time period such as slavery, ethnic cleansing, etc were prevalent throughout the story, but I felt they were addressed as well as could be due to the time period and setting.

The characters I found most interesting were the Caliph and Ali, their personalities and how they were explored and developed through the story make me intrigued.

The prose wasn’t for me personally, but it fits with the way the story is told. I think the best part about this story is the characters in it and how their views change about the world as they experience new ones during the book. Ali’s development was a very good example of this.

Overall, I think this was a fun read and a good dip into the time period.