THE STARDUST THIEF

Book Review

- David West

RELEASED 19 MAY 468 pages | Hardback/ebook/ audiobook Author Chelsea Abdullah Publisher Orbit Books

Forget Disney’s Aladdin, in this opening salvo of The Sandsea Trilogy, Chelsea Abdullah breathes new life into the quest for a magic lamp, creating a memorable cast and vivid desert landscapes.

The heroine of the tale is Loulie, the Midnight Merchant, who collects magical relics to sell with the aid of her best friend and bodyguard, a jinn called Qadir. Loulie cherishes her independence, and so bristles when ordered by the Sultan to retrieve a fabled lamp said to contain the most powerful jinn. The Sultan’s sons are a study in opposites; the brash Prince Omar leads the Forty Thieves, who hunt jinn that prey upon humans, yet it’s his bookish younger brother Mazen who finds himself accompanying Loulie on her mission.