Loulie and Qadir’s relationship is beautiful, these are two people who essentially are lost, they run from their past in the hopes of escaping the pain, escaping their memories. Qadir’s destiny leads him to find Loulie, cowering and clutching desperately to her father’s mysterious compass, and from that moment their lives become entwined. Her entire tribe murdered, she was left as the sole survivor amidst all the bloodshed. This prejudice against jinn was fuelled as tales of their merciless killing of humans circulated through generations, but what of the humans’ cruelty to jinn? What of their suffering? They are after all living legends, do they not too deserve a place in this world? Abdullah poignantly reflects this notion through the rich and layered history of her world, and her characters show that all is not as history tells and there are some who sympathise. A luscious garden filled with scented flowers and waterfalls may have been a sight to marvel over but it would signify the death of a jinn. Jinn were murdered with iron swords for their silver blood which miraculously brought nature to barren lands. Magical relics were a commodity both bargained and sought after, illegally traded or gifted to the sultan. The jinn were feared and hunted because of their immense power, yet the humans exploited that power at every opportunity. What follows from there is a thrilling journey into the perilous Sandsea desert, where Loulie, Qadir her bodyguard, the sultan’s oldest son and his most trusted warrior-thief Aisha, face attacks by ghouls, a fearsome ancient jinn and The Hunter in Black.Ībdullah presents a world where beauty and horror coincide.

After her capture he offers her a choice, be executed or agree to embark on a quest to find the rarest of relics- a magical lamp with the power to restore nature to their lands by annihilating all jinn. That is until one day unbeknownst to her, she saves a prince from jinn possession and her location is revealed to the sultan himself. Loulie al-Nazari, the Midnight Merchant, Layla to some, is the infamous seller of rare jinn relics, a criminal by rights, but one who by the help of her jinn bodyguard has managed to elude the attention of the sultan’s soldiers.

In a barren land where jinn are hunted for their life-giving blood, where their magical relics are made illegal to possess, a merchant of many names reluctantly embarks on a journey where if she succeeds it will both save and destroy all that she loves. The Stardust Thief is a spectacular debut novel by Chelsea Abdullah.

Neither here nor there, but not so long ago a tale of jinns, magical relics, desert landscapes, ancient ruins and characters on a perilous quest captivated me whole. “Let us speak of lies and truths, and of the story hidden between them.”

The stardust thief chelsea abdullah