Debut novel by Saladin Ahmed, a traditional sword-and-sorcery story but refreshingly not set in a medieval Europe feeling setting, more of an Arabian Nights feel. The spell systems are interesting and seem well-thought-out, and have a lot of variety. There is clearly a lot of alchemy-based magic, but also magic cast at the cost of shortening the lifespan of the caster, magic derived from the gods, shape shifting in the form of a were-lion, and of course evil dark necromantic magic of various degrees. The most common"monsters" we encounter are ghuls, animated creatures of various varieties (bone, water, sand, etc) which the main character Doctor Adoulla Makhslood has dedicated his life to fighting. But of course there's a big baddie who serves the Traitorous Angel (a Lucifer-figure) and his right-hand servant. Reminded me a little of some of Guy Gavriel Kay's settings.

The protagonist characters are interesting and I would have liked a bit more background on some of them, in particular the Falcon Prince, a Robin-Hood-like thief-hero. Most striking was the age difference between the main characters, split between Adoulla and two allies in their 60s and two young fighters in their teens; the hero as a tired man who longs to retire isn't a character we often meet in books.

A quick and entertaining read, intended to be the start of a series but ending satisfactorily with no cliffhanger. A little more shallow in some places than I'd have liked but I'm looking forward to the next book and expecting the author will only continue to improve.