The Bloodprint
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3.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
The author of the acclaimed mystery The Unquiet Dead delivers her first fantasy novel — the opening installment in a thrilling quartet — a tale of religion, oppression, and political intrigue that radiates with heroism, wonder, and hope.
A dark power known as the Talisman has risen in the land. Born of ignorance and persecution, it is led by a man known only as the One-Eyed Preacher. A superstitious patriarchy, cruel and terrifying, the Talisman suppresses knowledge and subjugates women. And it is growing.
But there are those who seek to stop the oppressive spread of the Talisman. A resistance formed of the Companions of Hira – a group of rebels versed in the power of ancient scripture, a magic known as the Claim – believe they have discovered the key to destroying the One-Eyed Preacher and his fervid followers: The Bloodprint.
Reviews
‘The Bloodprint is somewhere between N.K. Jemisin and George R.R. Martin. You’re going to love it’
Saladin Ahmed, author of Throne of the Crescent Moon
‘Sweeping its readers up for a fantastical journey across a broken yet beautiful Silk Road, The Bloodprint is extraordinary. The book is wonderfully written; its poetic prose and mix of history, faith, and adventure reminiscent of a post-apocalyptic Odyssey…this time with a pair of women warriors at the helm’
S.A. Chakraborty, author of The City of Brass
‘One of the year’s finest fantasy debuts’
B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy
About the author
AUSMA ZEHANAT KHAN holds a Ph.D. in International Human Rights Law with a specialization in military intervention and war crimes in the Balkans. She is the award-winning author of The Unquiet Dead. She is a former adjunct law professor and was Editor-in-Chief of Muslim Girl magazine, the first magazine targeted to young Muslim women. A British-born Canadian, Khan now lives in the USA with her husband.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Inspired by Middle Eastern history and legends, this ambitious but often muddled opening volume of the Khorasan Archives heroic fantasy series (a departure from Khan's debut, the mystery novel The Unquiet Dead) uneasily attempts to address several weighty issues, including religion, the rights of women, and the age-old conflict between heart's desires and duty's claims. Arian is First Oralist of the Companions of Hira. The companions preserve the sacred heritage of the Claim, scripture that encompasses both religion and magic. For 10 years Arian has rejected the love of handsome Daniyar, aka the Silver Mage, instead devoting herself to rescuing caravans of women from slave traders in a desert land overrun by the cruel Talisman, a male-dominated movement loosely patterned after today's repressive Taliban. During many adventures in pursuit of an artifact called the Bloodprint, Daniyar saves Arian and her apprentice, Sinnia, from horrifying tortures, and Arian comes to realize her quest is more personal than political. This colorful narrative is distractingly strewn with foggy capitalized concepts (eventually codified in an extensive glossary) and weighed down with religious excerpts from the Claim. It denounces harsh religion-based restrictions, deplores a growing disregard for the written word, and tangentially memorializes historical real-world massacres. A deep discussion of whether one sacred word can mean both "peace" and "submission" encapsulates the confusion of both Khan's heroine and her sympathetic, occasionally perplexed readers.
