Achmed Abdullah (1881–1945)

Interesting for its Indian setting, but marred by the fact that the whole story (basically a long chase scene) is told by one character to another - with virtually no characterization and way too much over-the-top breathless pulp fiction writing. Nevertheless, Abdullah is much better at this sort of thing than most others. He never sinks to the level of drivel and he remains literate throughout.

“Pico review” written for the fanzine OtherRealms (SF review zine by Chuq Von Rospach, June 1989): The first volume in the Starblaze Classics series of illustrated novels is an Arabian fantasy originally written in 1924 and long out of print. It is the novelization of the silent film of the same name and one of the earliest movie novelizations written. The prose style is like nothing you'll find now - every sentence in a paragraph long, adjectives and adverbs travel in packs, never in show more less than groups of 10 – flowery only just begins to describe it. But the story is great fun, fast paced with rambling breaks into the "historical" sources. For those interested in the fantasy of an earlier and decidedly different time and place. show less

A thief tries to win a princess.

This is essentially a Disney movie, minus the singing.

Concept: B
Story: C
Characters: D
Dialog: D
Pacing: C
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: D
Music: C

Enjoyment: C plus

GPA: 2.0/4

Best story in this collection is THE HAUNTING THING