The Steel Seraglio

I was initially under the misapprehension that 'The City of Silk and Steel' was high fantasy. It's actually more like historical or mythic fiction with a few supernatural elements, which I found much more unusual and interesting. The plot centres upon a harem of 365 women, their children, and their maids who are sent out into the desert after their sultan is deposed and murdered by a religious fanatic. Their fight for survival and return to the city they were exiled from are recounted in a sequence of stories, which also emphasise the importance of storytelling itself. The supernatural elements are largely limited to a character that can see the future, although it is of little benefit to her as the branching possibilities are hard to show more follow. Outcomes are not decided by the use of magic but by strategy, collaboration, diplomacy, and choices between compassion and cruelty. I loved the emphasis on the importance of the harem woman forming a community, combining their skills and abilities to achieve great things. Although many of the stories revolve around a few main characters, the reader also sees snapshots of many others, giving a powerful sense of the community as a whole.

I found the plot highly involving, although the polyphonic story approach did make the pace somewhat inconsistent. Nonetheless, there are some spectacular action scenes and brutal battles, not to mention ingenious plans. I was especially invested in Rem the librarian and enjoyed her romance subplot with Zuleika the assassin. Gursoon the sensible and pragmatic leader was likewise a wonderful character. On the other hand, the male antagonists were sadly plausible in their motivations and cruel actions. The tone managed to be convincingly epic, which is no mean feat. I appreciated the combination of second-hand mythologising and first-hand experience of the city of women, achieved via a few strong voices backed by a chorus of others. The city and its surroundings are quite vivid, although perhaps not as much so as the characters. It was a brilliant idea to centre a novel upon a harem retaking their home, which I realised part-way through is also the plot of Mad Max: Fury Road. In effect, 'The City of Silk and Steel' sets the same basic events two thousand years earlier, with a much larger cast and more complex events. It has the same spirit as the film, though, which makes for a very enjoyable reading experience. show less

Do you want to read an epic, action-packed and emotionally rich fantasy novel that centres around amazing women? Do you want to read about lady assassins, oracles, diplomats, soldiers, con-artists, dancers, bakers and librarians kicking ass? Do you like stories about women protecting each other, teaching each other, forming communities, and sometimes having sex and falling in love with each other? And would you like to see a fantasy setting that’s not pseudo medieval Europe but pseudo pre-Islam Middle East, and a cast of hundreds without a single white person in the bunch? Then do I ever have a book for you! This is the story of almost four hundred concubines and illegitimate children who were ordered to be killed when their sultan show more was overthrown, who found a way to not only survive, but thrive, and then take their city back. It’s awesome, and not nearly as well-known as it deserves to be. show less

I would have to preface this review by stating The Steel Seraglio, by Carey, Carey and Carey, is an ambitious work, a literary etude or variation on the legendary collection of Islamic tales we’ve come to know as One Thousand and One Nights. Like its historical counterpart, it is a tale within many tales, complete with unreliable narrator, and with an oblique homage to some of the original characters (al-Rashid and Jafar among them).

The overarching story, that of a discarded seraglio of some 365 concubines, is one that has a very modern, very feminine resonance, and is written with such elegance it is as incisive and horribly fascinating as Margaret Atwood’s A Handmaid’s Tale.

To summarize, a fundamentalist zealot overthrows the show more sultan of the city of Bessa, slaughters the royal wives and children, and turns off the seraglio to a neighbouring grandee. As the seraglio crosses the desert, harbouring one male, royal survivor, the usurping zealot, Hakkim Mehdad discovers the treachery of the seraglio and sends out troops to annihilate them.

What ensues is a cunning escape, a temporary reprieve among desert thieves, and a triumphant recapture of Bessa. The seraglio of perfume and delicacy has become one of steel, and together the women create an economic and political power that becomes legend throughout the lands.

But as with every paradise, there is doom, in this case in the form of the disinherited royal prince, Jafar. This second tale is one of faceted tragedies.

The main story is beautifully realized, intelligent, witty, evocative of the parched heat of the desert and the olfactory indulgence of the spice markets. It lives and breathes.

However—and yes there is an however—some of the supplemental stories, woven throughout, are told with a very modern voice, almost flippant in delivery and so completely foreign to the elegance of the main body of work, that I found these passages intrusive. Indeed, they entirely arrested the flow of the work and the pacing of action. It is for this reason, and this reason alone, I couldn’t give The Steel Seraglio the five stars it would have otherwise merited.

Even so, that one criticism aside, The Steel Seraglio is one of the fine literary novels of 2012. show less

Occasionally I’ll come across a book that’ll have me saying, “Yes, THIS is what I want from the fantasy genre.” The Steel Seraglio is one such book.

When a violent coup shakes the city of Bessa, the sultan’s 365 concubines find themselves in the hands of a religious zealot who has no use for them. They are first exiled and then ordered dead. But the women of Bessa’s harem have their own plans.

The Steel Seraglio sort of feels like Mad Max: Fury Road crossed with Valente’s In the Night Garden. The narrative isn’t always straight forward, but sometimes includes nested tales as in the manner of One Thousand and One Nights. Such tales may be anything from stories spun by one character or another or a look into a central show more character’s backstory. The story isn’t fast paced by any means, but the prose is lyrical and descriptive and the sometimes meandering narrative is tied together by the more straight forward narrative of the community the women form.

The Steel Seraglio is not the story of a single man or woman but instead the story of a community. Combined with the narrative structure, this made it feel like a mosaic, with each piece coming together to form a greater whole. The premise of the book also means that this is a book containing many important women and the relationships between them. I think it may be the first fantasy book I’ve ever read that’s so intrinsically about women working together and forming a community for themselves.

“A question, dear, before we begin. How does a young woman kill three armed men?”
“Clean living and regular exercise, auntie. Also, five years of training in the arts of murder.”

That said, I did grow to love many of the central characters within the span of four hundred pages. Gursoon is an older woman, the de facto leader of the concubines, and possesses a certain wisdom and insight. Zuleika, who after years as an assassin now seeks a greater goal. Anwar Das a thief and bandit who is able to use his wit and gift for lies to benefit the new community. And Rem, a learned seer gifted (or cursed?) by dijnn who can fathom all but her own future.

The Steel Seraglio is not a romance focused book, but the most important romantic relationship was between two women. And neither dies! I was afraid that one would die from the minute the relationship began, and the fact that my fears were unfounded only makes me love the book more.

Oh, and one more reason to love The Steel Seraglio? It contains some beautiful illustrations.

I did have some problems with how the story was constructed. The Steel Seraglio is divided into a Book I and a Book II. Book I felt like it held together better as one story. Book II was only about a hundred pages long and felt sort of like a novella length sequel that’d been added onto the end. I also wonder how the ending matches up with the beginning of the book.

Those comments aside, I can say that The Steel Seraglio is a book I thoroughly enjoyed. Honestly, reading it just made me so happy. I have little doubt that this will end up being one of my favorite reads of 2016. I highly recommend it to those looking for a fantasy book in a non-Western setting or with a focus on multiple female characters. Or anyone who just wants a wonderful book.

Review originally posted on The Illustrated Page. show less

Sentenced to death in the desert, the concubines of a fallen sultan instead free themselves and evade the pursuit of the fanatical new ruler of their city, Hakkim Mehdad. Out of nothing, they and their allies – robbers and storytellers, a librarian, a female assassin – found a new city in the desert, the fabled City of Women.

The three Careys – Mike, Linda, and Loiuse, have written a vibrant, colourful, page-turner of an adventure with passion and care. Filled with drama, romance, and humour, it is overlain with a wry, observational wit that can spare a morsel of compassion for the complex and conflicted enemies of freedom and reason that the women and their male allies must overcome.

I found each character memorable, whole, and show more altogether believable. Mike, Linda, and Louise have created a terrific cast of complex, conflicted heroines and heroes, wicked zealots and self-serving opportunists – and everything in between.

This is a lovely book, magical and earthy, and is beautifully illustrated by Nimit Malavia. The Steel Seraglio is a tale from a once and future Arabia of fountained courtyards, silks, and jewels – and parched lips, burning heat, thieves, honour, and betrayal. A story of love and madness, hate and obsession. At times it feels more as if these stories and people are real rather than invented, and their world a country you could, by taking the right turn at the right place and time, step into.

You might even want to.

Anyone who enjoys well-written fantasy with a human touch will enjoy this delightful book.

It’s great. You really should read it. show less

This was really interesting. I think that stylistically it could have been more engaging; the "collection of tales" format makes the pacing a little odd in some places, and feels contrived in others. However, that style and format fed into the wider ideas and themes of the book, making the core of it all even stronger.

There's a wonderful saturation of place and society and culture. I can't speak to the strict accuracy of the setting, or whether this is a genuine Kay-esque reimagining of historical events around, say, ancient Timbuktu or Gao. But it feels whole and real and genuine and both different and normal (to me-the-reader and them-the-characters respectively) and I have a lot of time for that depth and elegance of world-building. show more The early parts of the book are marked by a resigned and unpleasantly "natural" misogyny, but that also becomes part of the themes and concepts of the book (the overturning thereof, the unthinking of that naturalness).

I couldn't say I really loved or enjoyed this book, but it did move me to tears, and I think it's extremely well done, and saying interesting and worthwhile things. show less

Well, this is a tough one to review. On the one hand, I greatly appreciate the effort. The story is wonderful: a group of concubines takes life into their own hands when forced to it, and decides they like it. They build a new life for themselves, a life in which women rule and are allowed to do something with their lives. They conquer a religious fanatic, they change their lives for the better. A wonderful story! Passes the Bechdel test easily! Great female characters, and a lot of them, including two great lesbian characters. It's such a pity that the authors don't know how to tell a story... It really took me over 150 pages to get into it enough without getting annoyed at the writing style. It is written very distantly, a bit like show more someone is telling stories, or fairy-tales. That makes it very difficult to connect to any of the characters, despite the fact that they are great. And it is very necessary to connect to them, because the first few chapters introduces quite a few of them. And just about every single chapter starts like a story told to toddlers again. By the end of the chapter, perhaps you get into it a bit, and then whoop, new chapter, new shallow, distant fairy-tale. I skipped the chapter where one of the characters is ACTUALLY telling a fairy-tale. He is clearly making up a story about himself, but still the whole chapter is 'and the young man did this', 'the young man did that'. Boring! The middle of the book finally gets a bit better. Then part 2 starts. Yes, for some reason the book is divided in two parts. And the second part reads like a bunch of short stories. As if the authors thought out a few of them, and then decided to stick them at the end. They feel completely random. The last few chapters make more sense again.

Because the story is so great, and the characters are so cool, I'm going with 2.5 stars. Such a pity... show less