The Princes of the Golden Cage (Prince Amir Mystery Series)

Mallet has created a medieval Arabian setting reminiscent of the tales of Scherezade in the 1001 Arabian Nights. In fact, as the story is written, it could have been one. Amir relates the events from his own perspective, and the reader almost gets a sense of him relating the story of these events to us over a campfire years later. Mallet has a conversational style of writing that leads the reader to feel that Amir is talking to us, giving us the play by play of the narrative. This made the reading light and easy. Its first person perspective is a help, not a detriment, as it also allows Mallet to keep a sense of mystery in the story, as the reader only knows what Amir knows. Nathalie Mallet provides several surprises and plot twists that I, an avid reader of both mysteries and fantasies, did not see coming. Yet she gave me all the clues I needed to solve the murders long before the solution was actually given. Her weaving of the clues into the story was well done. Fans of fantasy will enjoy the Arabian Nights feel of the story. If you have enjoyed the Dabir and Asim stories of Howard Andrew Jones you will like this tale as well. I highly recommend this debut adventure / mystery tale. The Princes of the Golden Cage is a well crafted and enjoyable story.

Nice work. Engaging characters, exciting action and suspense, a few deft comic touches. I'm already looking forward to the next chapter in Amir's story.

In a land where the many sons of the Sultan fear for their lives, Prince Amir and his brothers must live in a golden cage. But the fear of assassination comes from among the brothers themselves, until one of them is named Sultan in their father's place. As a mysterious death begins to attack the princes, one-by-one, in a way that seems to be magic in origin; Amir takes it upon himself to discover the source of these slayings. Even though Amir tries not to draw much attention to himself, he is known to be a scholar and seemingly magical endeavors. Because of his interest in sciences that others don't understand, Amir also becomes a suspect in the murders. As he begins to form a friendship with his brother Erik, Amir soon learns that Erik has his own secrets. The Princes of the Golden Cage is a fantastic mystery. And as the mystery dominates the story, I'd consider it more of a mystery than fantasy story. Though there are definitely elements of the fantastic with the magic-related deaths and supernatural monsters. With a good mystery, you need strong and vivid characters, which this story does not lack either. Prince Amir is relatable and likeable. And while other characters may also be likeable, Mallet does a great job keeping everyone seem a little suspicious. The final, climactic revelation is a superb whodunit with quite a few interesting surprises! Fans of both mystery and fantasy will enjoy this exciting novel.

I recently finished reading Nathalie Mallet's book The Princes of the Golden Cage that will come out from Night Shade Books later this month (August 2007). This is their first mass-market, and I think it's a great choice. This book was given to me with great enthusiasm by Jeremy Lassen at Wiscon this past May. It took a while before I had the free time to read the book, but now that I have, I will say that I really enjoyed it. And I think that's the point of it. It's a FUN book. It tells the story of Price Amir and his brothers, the princes of the golden cage that title comes from. Their father, the sultan, has his sons placed in a sequestered part of the palace. Every day a list of succession is updated and posted within the cage. The brothers constantly scheme against each other in an effort to attain the top of the list. Amir has worked to be invisible to his brothers so that he can study his books in private. And then something starts killing the princes and Amir is enlisted to help find the killer due to his perceived knowledge of the dark arts. (Amir has a number of 'magical' books in his library) Now, not only is Amir in the public eye of his brothers, but just like them, he is in danger of this unknown killer. Of course, to make things worse, one of his brothers (born from a foreign-born sultana) has a cousin who is betrothed to the next sultan and Amir falls in love with her. So while he should be keeping a watchful eye on the other princes as well as searching for the killer, Amir is distracted by this fair-skinned beauty from the north. The book has some nice intrigues and sub plots, and a good number of twists and turns as Amir learns more about his brothers, the sultan, magic, and love. Amir is a good narrator for the reader; one who leads without pulling and experiences revelations around the same time the reader does. This book should appeal to anyone who likes smartly written character-driven fantasy. The exotic setting lends a further air of mystery to the book. Now I read an advance copy of the book, and I'm very interested in seeing what the final version of the book looks like. The cover shown above is different from what was on the ARC, and I think it reflects the book and its audience better. This isn't the type of book I would normally pick up based on its cover, but having read it, I know that this book is one I would regret passing on. Don't miss it.