THE BLOODPRINT

If you’re reading this section, chances are you’re on board with the idea that words have power. It’s a notion that’s central to this intriguing, Islam-inspired fantasy debut.

With a scripture called the Qur’an (literally “reading”, or “recitation”), whose first revealed word was the command “iqra” (“read!”), it’s fair to say that Muslim culture has always been keen on books. In Ausma Zehanat Khan’s tale, an honoured elite commit the surviving remnants of “the Claim” to memory, reciting its verses to work magic. Meanwhile, a vicious new sect seeks to eradicate the written word from the shattered lands of Khorasan, burning books and executing scribes so that no-one can challenge their bastardised version of the Claim.

The ruined cities of central Asia make an evocative setting for a fantasy story; the world-building is dense with lore, architectural detail, and allusions to history (Tamerlane’s towers of skulls, Genghis Khan, etc). But the narrative style – an omniscient third-person that only ever dips briefly and selectively into the protagonists’ heads – makes it hard to get to know the characters in any depth, and while the tale as a whole moves along at a fair clip, individual scenes are often sluggishly staged. There’s bags of potential on show here, but it’s more admirable than likeable. Nic Clarke