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Parsina Saga #2
The Storyteller and the Jann (Large Print Edition)
Starting on his reluctant odyssey with a small party of friends, the storyteller Jafar al-Sharif must cope with treacherous nomads, a desert djinn, a king of an underground realm and an army of animated corpses as he attempts to save the life of his beloved daughter. This is Book 2 of the Parsina Saga, a journey through a world of djinni, flying carpets and high adventure in exotic realms -- with the fate of the world at stake.
- GenresFantasy
552 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
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About the author
Stephen Goldin
149 books45 followersBorn in Philadelphia in 1947, Stephen Goldin has lived in California since 1960. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Astronomy from UCLA and worked as a civilian space scientist for the U.S. Navy for a few years after leaving college, but has made his living as a writer/editor most of his life.
His first wife was fellow author Kathleen Sky, with whom he co-wrote the first edition of the highly acclaimed nonfiction book The Business of Being a Writer . His current wife is fellow author Mary Mason. So far they have co-authored two books in the Rehumanization of Jade Darcy series.
He served the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America as editor of the SFWA Bulletin and as the organization’s Western Regional Director.
He has lived with cats all his adult life. Artistically, he enjoys Broadway musicals and surrealist art. Philosophically, he is an atheist.
Learn more about him at his Web site. . Many of his books can be bought through his online bookstore, Parsina Press.
His first wife was fellow author Kathleen Sky, with whom he co-wrote the first edition of the highly acclaimed nonfiction book The Business of Being a Writer . His current wife is fellow author Mary Mason. So far they have co-authored two books in the Rehumanization of Jade Darcy series.
He served the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America as editor of the SFWA Bulletin and as the organization’s Western Regional Director.
He has lived with cats all his adult life. Artistically, he enjoys Broadway musicals and surrealist art. Philosophically, he is an atheist.
Learn more about him at his Web site. . Many of his books can be bought through his online bookstore, Parsina Press.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 2, 2022
Stephen Gordin’s 1988 fantasy novel, “The Storyteller and the Jann”, is the sequel to “Shrine of the Desert Mage” and the second book in his Parsina Saga. Overall, the book is mostly harmless, but is lacking in terms of creating tension.Victories feel unearned and it is not enough to sustain my interest.
This review is part of my “Nostalgia” series, where I infrequently revisit a small collection of fantasy novels in my possession—most of which I inherited when I was younger—to determine if they hold up decades later and are worth keeping. While a part of that collection, this book was not one I had read when I was younger.
I should begin by noting that I decided to put the book down, unfinished several weeks ago, rather than invest the time in completing the series. This is a rare decision for me, but one I wrestle with more frequently as I get older (younger me would have been loath to do so). In large part it is because this is one book in a series, rather than a question of completing a single (fairly slim) novel and it needed to justifying the investment of time to read not just this book but what remains in the series. And it did not. It is not a book I hated. That would be an unfair characterization. But it is mediocre in a way that it is not sufficiently engaging enough such that I can happily proceed.
The story itself is fairly standard fare: a main quest to gather pieces of a MacGuffin together and fight a great ancient evil in a battle foretold in prophecy. It is dressed in Arabian Nights costume to give it a more unique aspect, and the composition of the initial party is fairly unusual, but from the get-go things are too easy and resolved too quickly. There is little tension—as the goodness and cleverness of the protagonist seems to win the day almost from the moment a potential obstacle presents itself. It feels rushed and unearned, almost like a fleshed out outline of the story.
I regret a little bit seeing how (or if) the author will stick the promised landings for his main characters—who still remain fairly one note and lacking in much complexity—and a few plot points seem so obvious that I wonder if it is just misdirection, but these curiosities are ultimately not enough sustain the investment of my time.
Ultimately, this is probably more a book and series for someone already fondly disposed to it. It clearly is not meant for me. I go back and forth if this is a one star or a two star book—two stars seems high for a book that did not get me to the end, but one star puts this book in the category of books I truly and actively disliked. As such, I have settled on classifying it as "ok" in the rating system of this site, but a lukewarm one at best.
This review is part of my “Nostalgia” series, where I infrequently revisit a small collection of fantasy novels in my possession—most of which I inherited when I was younger—to determine if they hold up decades later and are worth keeping. While a part of that collection, this book was not one I had read when I was younger.
I should begin by noting that I decided to put the book down, unfinished several weeks ago, rather than invest the time in completing the series. This is a rare decision for me, but one I wrestle with more frequently as I get older (younger me would have been loath to do so). In large part it is because this is one book in a series, rather than a question of completing a single (fairly slim) novel and it needed to justifying the investment of time to read not just this book but what remains in the series. And it did not. It is not a book I hated. That would be an unfair characterization. But it is mediocre in a way that it is not sufficiently engaging enough such that I can happily proceed.
The story itself is fairly standard fare: a main quest to gather pieces of a MacGuffin together and fight a great ancient evil in a battle foretold in prophecy. It is dressed in Arabian Nights costume to give it a more unique aspect, and the composition of the initial party is fairly unusual, but from the get-go things are too easy and resolved too quickly. There is little tension—as the goodness and cleverness of the protagonist seems to win the day almost from the moment a potential obstacle presents itself. It feels rushed and unearned, almost like a fleshed out outline of the story.
I regret a little bit seeing how (or if) the author will stick the promised landings for his main characters—who still remain fairly one note and lacking in much complexity—and a few plot points seem so obvious that I wonder if it is just misdirection, but these curiosities are ultimately not enough sustain the investment of my time.
Ultimately, this is probably more a book and series for someone already fondly disposed to it. It clearly is not meant for me. I go back and forth if this is a one star or a two star book—two stars seems high for a book that did not get me to the end, but one star puts this book in the category of books I truly and actively disliked. As such, I have settled on classifying it as "ok" in the rating system of this site, but a lukewarm one at best.
April 19, 2012
I received a copy of this book by the "Shut up & Read" goodreads group for a honest review.
To be honest I did not finish this book. I found myself skipping pages and at 42% I just quit. I was a huge fan of book number one, my review can be found here http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
However, the first four chapters of this book was, in my opinion, a recap of everything that happened in book number 1. So basically you can skip that one and start with this one. However, there was too much 'fill' in this one. Just words on the page that were not necessary. I am so disappointed about this one, and that's why I did not finish it.
To be honest I did not finish this book. I found myself skipping pages and at 42% I just quit. I was a huge fan of book number one, my review can be found here http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
However, the first four chapters of this book was, in my opinion, a recap of everything that happened in book number 1. So basically you can skip that one and start with this one. However, there was too much 'fill' in this one. Just words on the page that were not necessary. I am so disappointed about this one, and that's why I did not finish it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews