Name: Twelve Kings in Sharakhai
ISBN: 9780756409739

Bradley P. Beaulieu

Best Book of 2015 by Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BuzzFeed * "Promises to be breathtaking." --Robin Hobb The Song of the Shattered Sands: Book One Sharakhai, the great city of the desert, center of commerce and culture, has been ruled from time immemorial by twelve kings -- cruel, ruthless, powerful, and immortal. With their army of Silver Spears, their elite company of Blade Maidens and their holy defenders, the terrifying asirim, the Kings uphold their positions as undisputed, invincible lords of the desert. There is no hope of freedom for any under their rule. Or so it seems, until Çeda, a brave young woman from the west end slums, defies the Kings' laws by going outside on the holy night of Beht Zha'ir. What she learns that night sets her on a path that winds through both the terrible truths of the Kings' mysterious history and the hidden riddles of her own heritage. Together, these secrets could finally break the iron grip of the Kings' power...if the nigh-omnipotent Kings don't find her first.

Twelve Kings in Sharakhai

Took a long time to get there, but got there in the end.

Rob Kaiju

Brad Beaulieu

"Sharakhai, the great city of the desert, center of commerce and culture, has been ruled from time immemorial by twelve kings--cruel, ruthless, powerful, and immortal. With their army of Silver Spears, their elite company of Blade Maidens and their holy defenders, the terrifying asirim, the Kings uphold their positions as undisputed, invincible lords of the desert. There is no hope of freedom for any under their rule. Or so it seems, until oCeda, a brave young woman from the west end slums, defies the Kings' laws by going outside on the holy night of Beht Zha'ir. What she learns that night sets her on a path that winds through both the terrible truths of the Kings' mysterious history and the hidden riddles of her own heritage. Together, these secrets could finally break the iron grip of the Kings' power... if the nigh-omnipotent Kings don't find her first"--Front jacket flap.

The Song of Shattered Sands: Book One

W. J. Long III

As the first arc of an expansive series, Twelve Kings is a slow build. It flips between timelines in an attempt to build Çeda's character in a sympathetic way.

However, it's not until the last 20 (or so) chapters that we really get a feel for her character or the world she inhabits. The book itself is solid with vivid descriptions and breezy prose, but I couldn't shake my personal issues with the pacing.

Still, I'm glad I read it and even now I'm entertaining the thought of picking up the next in the series.

Anyaconda

This is one of the oldest books on my TBR and I finally picked it up this year.
It was extremely slow and boring and I didn't care for Çeda or Emre, the other characters are very flat too. The only thing it had going for it was the culture and world building (A+).
I'm quite sad tbh. I was looking forward to another long epic fantasy series 🙁

But we all know that there's always more to read.

Magnus Dahl

Gillade den, men kommer inte läsa fortsättningen.

Best Book of 2015 by Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BuzzFeed • “Promises to be breathtaking.” —Robin Hobb The Song of the Shattered Sands: Book One Sharakhai, the great city of the desert, center of commerce and culture, has been ruled from time immemorial by twelve kings -- cruel, ruthless, powerful, and immortal. With their army of Silver Spears, their elite company of Blade Maidens and their holy defenders, the terrifying asirim, the Kings uphold their positions as undisputed, invincible lords of the desert. There is no hope of freedom for any under their rule. Or so it seems, until Çeda, a brave young woman from the west end slums, defies the Kings' laws by going outside on the holy night of Beht Zha'ir. What she learns that night sets her on a path that winds through both the terrible truths of the Kings' mysterious history and the hidden riddles of her own heritage. Together, these secrets could finally break the iron grip of the Kings' power...if the nigh-omnipotent Kings don't find her first.

Sheila

More like 3.5 stars rather than 3. 

I went into this book expecting a lot, but I think the characterization fell flat for me. I did love the worldbuilding & obvious Turkish inspirations, as well as the inclusion of other Earth-parallel non-white cultures, but I don't know I just didn't connect with Çeda or Emre or really anyone. I didn't get lost in the back and forth between time periods that happened frequently in the book, & I actually liked that was the way Beaulieu chose to reveal Çeda's history. 

The other issue I had with this was that the timing for the action sequences were all off, so they didn't impact me as strongly as they might have if there had been the right amount of intense build-up for each major event. Some came too soon to have much of an impact, others came after far too much exposition and/or rambling. It was only until about 85% of the way through that the plot really started picking up for me, & it's a good thing for this book because it means it managed to salvage enough of my interest to warrant me wanting to read the next book when it comes out.

Bradley Beaulieu

In the cramped west end of Sharakhai, the Amber Jewel of the Desert, Çeda fights in the pits to scrape a living. She, like so many in the city, pray for the downfall of the cruel, immortal Kings of Sharakhai, but she's never been able to do anything about it. This all changes when she goes out on the night of Beht Zha'ir, the holy night when all are forbidden from walking the streets. It's the night that the asirim, the powerful yet wretched creatures that protect the Kings from all who would stand against them, wander the city and take tribute. It is then that one of the asirim, a pitiful creature who wears a golden crown, stops Çeda and whispers long forgotten words into her ear. Çeda has heard those words before, in a book left to her by her mother, and it is through that one peculiar link that she begins to find hidden riddles left by her mother. As Çeda begins to unlock the mysteries of that fateful night, she realizes that the very origin of the asirim and the dark bargain the Kings made with the gods of the desert to secure them may be the very key she needs to throw off the iron grip the Kings have had over Sharakhai. And yet the Kings are no fools-they've ruled the Shangazi for four hundred years for good reason, and they have not been idle. As Çeda digs into their past, and the Kings come closer and closer to unmasking her, Çeda must decide if she's ready to face them once and for all.

Song of the Shattered Sands

Twelve Kings

Nickie Mohler

Twelve immortal kings rule Sharakhai. They are cruel, ruthless, and they control everything. 

Ceda hates the kings. She has vowed to kill them one day. 

This book is fantastic! I loved every minute. The world is fascinating. I love the characters, especially Ceda and Emre.

If you like fantasy, you will love this. I will definitely continue on with the series.

Heather

New favorite author / series. 

Look! I didn’t think I could find an author I enjoy more than Sanderson, but ... I think I did ! 

I loved everything about this book, EVERYTHING. 
- The plot/story line
- The world building / magic
- The pacing
- The protagonists
- The ending
So let’s talk each point because OMG this book deserve it ! 

 The plot/ story line: 
 “Sharakhai, city jewel of the desert where surrounding nations come to trade, fight in the pits or start new life. Ruled since centuries by twelve immortal Kings known for their ruthlessness. Sharakhai and their inhabitants are full of mysteries, prophecies and simmering rebellion. 

Çeda, child of the city, fighter of its pits, has vowed to kill the Kings, avenge her mother death and uncover the mysteries surrounding her life. Little does she knows how far will she have to go and sacrifice to get to her goal.”  

The story is full of twists and puzzle that I was trying to decipher are I was reading. This first volume let me with a feeling of fullness and craving for more. 

 The world building / magic: 
I am realizing that I am an atmospheric reader. 
I love feeling like I am part of the world I am discovering. I could close my eyes and hear the sound of the traders in the streets, smell the spices from merchants and feel the city vibrant will all its activities and people. And Beaulieu deliver exactly that, and what a delight is was to read. 

The world feels real, full, ancients, with a long forgotten history. 
The people are everywhere, like an anthill in the desert. They are also diverse and culturally different. 
The city was my favorite thing to read about. I could read a paragraph about a certain delicacy or hummus and bread and my belly would gurgle ! 

 The pacing:  
The pacing was good, I didn’t feel let down at any point. Beaulieu writing is beautiful, poetic and gripping from start to finish. And I hope the second volume will be the same. 

 The protagonists: 
All Beaulieu’s characters are so distinct from each other. They all have their own voices, their own quirks, little things that are annoying but make you more attached to them and make them feel like real people. 

There are diverse character arcs, some for better, some for worst. 

 The ending: 
So good, solid, I bought the second installment right away, I am so impatient to know what is going to happen !!!


Overall:  The Song of the Shattered Sand promises to be an amazing fantasy series. Beaulieu work needs to be more talked about and read.