Book Review :: The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah
ISBN: 0316368865
Series: The Sandsea Trilogy #1
Published by Orbit
on 27 December 2022
Pages: 512
Goodreads

Neither here nor there, but long ago . . .

Loulie al-Nazari is the Midnight Merchant: a criminal who, with the help of her jinn bodyguard, hunts and sells illegal magic. When she saves the life of a cowardly prince, she draws the attention of his powerful father, the sultan, who blackmails her into finding an ancient lamp that has the power to revive the barren land—at the cost of sacrificing all jinn.

With no choice but to obey or be executed, Loulie journeys with the sultan's oldest son to find the artifact. Aided by her bodyguard, who has secrets of his own, they must survive ghoul attacks, outwit a vengeful jinn queen, and confront a malicious killer from Loulie's past. And, in a world where story is reality and illusion is truth, Loulie will discover that everything—her enemy, her magic, even her own past—is not what it seems, and she must decide who she will become in this new reality.

Last updated on 13 February 2023

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase with one of these links, I recieve a small commission at no additional cost to you. Read the full Affiliate Policy.

What is The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah about?

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah tells the story of Loulie al-Nazari aka the Midnight Merchant, and her quest across the sands to find a magical lamp. She didn’t mean to go on this adventure though.

Loulie is a criminal who uses her jinn bodyguard, Qadir, to hunt and sell illegal magic. When she saves the life of a prince, she is forced by his father, the sultan, to find a powerful lamp that can revive the land but would sacrifice all jinn. She has little choice, but to go.

She sets out with the sultan’s oldest son, Omar, and one of his Forty Thieves, Aisha, to find the artefact. Along the way, however, they must face ghoul attacks, a vengeful jinn queen and a killer from Loulie’s past. As the story plays out, Loulie discovers that nothing is as it seems, and she must choose who she will become in this new reality.

My thoughts on The Stardust Thief

The Stardust Thief was an enjoyable read, for the most part. I really enjoyed the setting and the world that has been crafted so beautifully by Abdullah (see below for more), but there were a few things that brought it down a star or two for me. I’ll get into that in a moment.

The story is told from multiple perspectives: Loulie herself, Mazen (another of the sultan’s sons) and Aisha.

“Some people hide their scars; I prefer to wear mine like badges. They remind me of everything I survived, and of who it is I must seek revenge against.”

The things I loved

The book weaves mythology and legend with brilliant settings. The Stardust Thief was inspired by stories from One Thousand and One Nights, which is a collection of folk tales from the Middle East. The story from that book that I’m most familiar with is the stories that inspired Aladdin, though according to a bit of research at my end, I believe those stories were added to the book later on.

But the inspiration was so evident in this book, and Abdullah did a stunning job at pulling together some of those elements (I imagine – I haven’t read One Thousand and One Nights) and creating a story that felt so foreign to me and yet so familiar somehow. Fantasy does that!

The magic system in The Stardust Thief was well thought out, and I really liked how it played out in the lives of the characters.

Speaking of which.

A few things I didn’t love so much

While Loulie was captivating at the beginning of the story, and even throughout (though to a lesser degree), I didn’t love many of the other characters. I found that Mazen was a bit weak and I didn’t really care for the way I thought I perhaps should. I found Aisha really annoying, despite her character growth and her journey, too, and becoming a bit cooler by the end. They were mediocre characters for me, and I have to admit that I had to look up their names to remember who they were when writing this review.

The best relationship in the book, in my opinion, was that of Loulie and her Jinn bodyguard, Qadir. I thought it was beautiful and played out really nicely. All others? Meh. I could leave the lot of them, to be honest.

“Some things are out of our control. You know that just as well as I. All we can do is make choices based on the cards the fate deals us. But so long as fate allows me to stay with you, I will not leave you Loulie. That is a promise.”

Other bookish elements in this book

• Map: It has a map! I love a good map, you know this. And The Stardust Thief has a really nicely designed map at the front (shout out to Tim Paul, who designed the map).
• Legends: Throughout the book, there are a few pages (printed inside the book to make it look like it’s on a scroll) that share a legend or a tale from the world. These are the myths and stories that the characters and their families would have told and known. While I didn’t love reading these, and actually skimmed some of them, I do think additional stories like this are a really nice touch.

Other books in the series

This is the first book in a trilogy entitled The Sandsea Trilogy. The first in the series is The Stardust Thief, and the second is called The Ashfire King. The latter is due for release in late 2023, whereas the third is untitled (as of Jan 2023) and has no release date yet.

I might keep reading this series, as overall, I did enjoy the book. But it won’t be one I’m desperate to get my hands on.

Have you read The Stardust Thief? What did you think? 

---

I received this book from Hachette Publishing NZ in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.