Paperback, 400 pages
English language
Published April 22, 2008 by Eos.
Having long indulged himself in daydreams more exciting than his mundane life as a carpet merchant, Abdullah unexpectedly purchases a magic carpet and his life changes dramatically as his daydreams come true and dangerous adventures become daily fare.
This sequel to Howl's Moving Castle doesn't have the same charm as that first book, and gets bogged down by heavy inspiration from One Thousand and One Nights. It has decidedly problematic portrayals of middle eastern people and a heavy dose of fat shaming. Those few good bits of adventure don't have the chance to shine amid the glaringly poor choices.
This should be a 4-star. I liked the characters, I liked the adventure, I liked the writing. But it was just so awkwardly Orientalist. White British lady writing this was...
This should be a 4-star. I liked the characters, I liked the adventure, I liked the writing. But it was just so awkwardly Orientalist. White British lady writing this was...
After re-reading Howl's Moving Castle, which I turned out not to have remembered practically at all, I decided to read the sequel. I had not read it previously, possibly because it did not seem to be much of a direct sequel. I decided to read it, and Howl and Sophie do eventually appear.
I loved the new characters and different type of fairytale world. It reminded me a bit of The Horse and His Boy in the Chronicles of Narnia, where the book starts out with a character in a very different place, but it does give some information on your main characters from the previous books eventually.
