BookFabulous
  • Home
  • THE Blog
  • Meet the Author
  • Beyond The Blog
  • About

bookFabulous

Female culture vulture & unrepentant book addict on a mad quest to unlock the universal power of words one book at a time while in constant battle with the bathroom scales

‘Scream of the Tasburai’ by Rehan Khan – A Review

8/4/2017

1 Comment

 
by Rana Asfour
Picture
‘Scream of the Tasburai’ by Rehan Khan is the second instalment of the Tasburai Chronicles trilogy. Book one ‘Last of the Tasburai’ was released in 2015.  

‘Scream of the Tasburai’ opens with a flashback to a battle scene in which a much younger Suri-Yi, the last of the Tasburai, is in battle with the Magrog who have crossed the Black Sea to seize hold of Avantolia. Followers of the trilogy will remember that this is the battle that eventually cements the Tasburai Order’s rule who then go on to establish the Republic of Avantolia. What readers find out now though is how exactly the victory was secured.
 
Suri-Yi we learn is the guardian of a secret weapon known as ‘The Scream’. It is a powerful sound wave that rises up through the belly of its executioner to ‘pulverize flesh, ground rocks to dust, scald grass … like a tidal wave, engulfing everything’ and leaving nothing in its wake. Ordered by the late Naram-Sin to unleash the power she carries inside her, she realizes when it’s over that she is forever changed. Burdened with immense guilt, she vows that she will do everything in her power so as never to have to unleash it again.
 
And so, with no unnecessary perambulation, the book’s first chapter jumps straight into where it left off in book one. Apprentice of the Tasburai Order Adan is still reeling from the discovery of an evil all-powerful dominating presence inside him who he blames for the killing of his childhood companion; Desperate to be rid of it, despite the fact that it would mean a diminishing of his powers, he has arrived to seek the advice of a Shufi who instructs him to travel to the dangerous land of the Magrog, the vicious bloodthirsty people who have again crossed the Black Sea to attack the lands of Avantolia. There he is to find the only person who can help him: the Magus. Believing that what he carries inside him is a gidm by the name of Vega, he sets out on his quest oblivious of the horrifying revelation that he will soon uncover.
 
Readers of book one know that the demon masters of the Magrog, their sister tribe the Yagrog and their terrifying partners the Xettin have crossed the Black Sea into Avantolia. Suri-Yi is convinced that victory against such a force can only be secured through a United Front made up of The Republic, Krakonite, Kronnoburg, and neighboring Pathan (the map at the forefront of the book is a big help). What she also knows is that such a move entails teaming up with some of Avantolia’s worst enemies. Additionally and while initially unknown to many of the characters including Suri-Yi, is the fact that setting its sight towards Avantolia is a new menace in town known as the Mogithrak; the creature ‘who smears filth upon the land; The concealer, the liar, the enchanter, the gilder’ who will not hesitate to burn the entire region to the ground.
 
And so as Suri-Yi heads with a force of ten thousand from Kronnoburg under the command of Olaf the Generous, to parlay with Avantolia’s chief enemy General Volek at Krakonite, the confrontation is anything but amiable and again alliances are reconfigured as Suri-Yi battles for her survival against an enemy that wants nothing more than to destroy her.
 
The valiant Captain Rikard from book one is now an army Major. Suri-Yi dispatches him East to personally petition the neighboring Maharaja of Pathan to join forces. We find him and his men, Brynjar the Blade, Bolt and Thord the Tracker in caves on the mountainous route of Kronnoburg about to encounter a troupe of hostile Xettin. At the last minute they are saved by the Alappahoe, a people who wear face paint with bodies smudged with a green powder that gives off a luminous glow when close to firelight. In return for ensuring the company’s safe passage through their terrain they ask that one of Rikard’s men stay behind. The choice falls on Bolt who as a reader I found so little mention of in this book that I’m slightly worried the author might forget all about him when book three comes along.
 
Ylva, daughter of Olaf the Generous, we now find  pining to become a Tasburai warrior despite the wishes of Suri-Yi and her father. Her task is to lead the women, elderly and children to safety towards the fortress outside the Forbidden Quarter; A place where all the treasures of the ancient world are kept under guard by the Farheet against the Magrog and the Yagrog. Once there, it is not long before Ylva’s curiosity gets the better of her and she steals the keys to the forbidden doors to find out what exactly lies behind them. But the Farheet are expecting her and she finds out that it is she alone of the ‘pure heart’ that wields the weapon capable of destroying the advancing Mogithrak.
 
Queen Elsta of Kronnoburg, now dethroned and sold into slavery, is coming to terms with her demise. Angered and seeking to claim what is rightfully hers she is intent on fleeing captivity in order to seek out Chancellor Sargon who she believes will help her to set matters right. And so with the aid of her new friends, the handmaiden Sally and the sprightly clever Ode, she hatches her plan with confidence. Besides, with the seal of the house of Kronnoburg still in her possession as proof of her identity, what could possibly go wrong? Her journey as a character in this book is particularly interesting for although it starts as one born out of shock and a need for revenge, it also becomes one of empowerment, confidence and self-growth.
 
‘The Scream of the Tasburai’ is extremely good. It succeeds not only in creating a bridgeway to the third and final book but also for living up to the success of its predecessor. In fact, it trumps it. The writing in book two is stronger, more mature, with tighter chapters and a solid unwavering plot and subplots. There is an elevated level of tension through multiple unpredictable twists and turns as the characters get into place for a final showdown – locations shift, alliances change and truths blur. Loved characters die, old ones make a comeback and new ones are so superbly constructed and fleshed out that they fit in seamlessly without so much as a hiccup in the plotline.
 
The key behind the success of this middle book, I believe, lies in that the author has managed to strike the exact balance between giving background information for readers new to the trilogy and small reminders for those who have read book number one allowing the entire plot and subplots to unfold and move forward with ease. That said I am hesitant to recommend either book as a standalone novel for I personally believe that as a general rule maximum enjoyment and engagement is garnered when a trilogy is read in its proper sequence particularly so with regards the Tasburai Chronicles.
 
As with the first book, Khan masterfully manages in ‘Scream of the Tasburai’ to allow each and every one of his characters - the major players and the secondary ones, the familiar and the new - to enjoy a breadth of space that allows them to grow and develop in interestingly individual ways. In this book we learn more about some of our favourite characters’ histories and challenges, particularly Suri-Yi giving her not only more depth but revealing a vulnerable, more humane side that was missing in book one.
 
And just when followers of the trilogy think they have figured out how a story line might go, the author with deft genius turns everything on its head, changing the game in the process goading his readers on with something new with every turn of the page; Not only does this prove the strength of these characters to carry the weight of the story but they manage to hold the attention of the reader through and through.
 
And so, by the end of book two it’s anyone’s guess how it will all turn out for our valiant and villainous once book number three of the Tasburai chronicles comes into existence. I personally cannot wait to find out!

Picture
Rehan Khan, was born in Wimbledon, in 1971. His parents' home was close to the quintessential All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and a bike ride away from Wimbledon Common. As a child he loved listening to swashbuckling tales of heroism and valour, as well as dabbling in science fiction. His debut novel was 'Last of the Tasburai'.

As his day job, Rehan is the Regional Consulting Director in the MENA region, for a FTSE 100 corporation. He has more than twenty years of experience in consulting, strategy, business planning, innovation, customer experience, marketing, product management, proposition development and business transformation. Rehan has worked across a number of industries including: telecoms, media, technology, real estate, private equity and executive education. He is also a professor at an international business school. Between 2009-10, Rehan was a business columnist for 'The National' newspaper in the UAE. Rehan holds a Master’s degree in applied social and market research, as well as an MBA in strategy. He lives in Dubai, with his wife and two children.

1 Comment
Quickbooks Support Phone Number link
7/7/2017 02:02:15 am

Quickbooks Support Phone Number,
Quickbooks Tech Support Number,
Quickbooks Support Number,
Quickbooks Technical Support Number,
Quickbooks Tech Support Phone Number,
Quickbooks Technical Support Phone Number,
Quickbooks Customer Service Phone Number,
Quickbooks Customer Service Number,


http://www.quickbookssupportphone-number.com/

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Professional Reader
    Challenge Participant
    Paperblog

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    August 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    January 2018
    September 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    October 2013
    June 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    October 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    May 2011
    January 2011
    September 2010

    Categories

    All
    Abu Dhabi
    Adrian Mole
    A Humument
    Akhil Sharma
    Ali Smith
    Amman
    Andrew Thompson
    Annabel Kantaria
    April 2019
    Arabic Books
    Arabic Releases
    Arab Reading Challenge
    Archie
    Archie Comics
    Armenia
    Armenians
    Art Exhibitions
    A Song For Issy Bradley
    Author: Aaron Vlek
    Author: Abdo Khal
    Author: A.D.Miller
    Author: Ahdaf Soueif
    Author: Alastair Reid
    Author: Becky Wicks
    Author: Caitlin Moran
    Author: Carys Bray
    Author: C.J.Moore
    Author: Cynthia Ozick
    Author: Dale Carnegie
    Author: David Walliams
    Author: E.L.James
    Author: Emma Straub
    Author: Gail Tredwell
    Author: George Saunders
    Author: Helen Smith
    Author: Howard Curtis
    Author: JoJo Moyes
    Author: Kay Burley
    Author: Liane Moriarty
    Author: Mark Haddon
    Author: Martin Suter
    Author: Michael Morpurgo
    Author: Patrick Sfeir
    Author: Paul Craig
    Author: Rabih Alameddine
    Author: Rhonda Byrne
    Author: Ruth Field
    Author: Sabina Mahfoud
    Author: Sarah Waters
    Author: Sayed Kashua
    Author: Simon Montefiore
    Author: S.J. Watson
    Author: Stacy Gregg
    Author: Steven Galloway
    Author: Susan Hill
    Author: Tahir Shah
    Author: Tara Palmer Tomkinson
    Author: Terii Guiliano Long
    Azazeel
    Banipal
    Ben Lerner
    Book Awards
    Book Crawl
    Book Events
    BookFabuSNAPPED
    Book Recommendations
    Book Reviews
    Books In Arabic
    Bookstores
    BritCrime 2015
    Burning Man
    Cancer
    Children's Literature
    Chloe Combi
    Chris Ewan
    Circassians
    Claire Fuller
    Colm Tóbín
    Comics
    Coming Home
    Competition
    Cookbooks
    Costa Coffee
    Country: Jordan
    Crime Novel
    Dark Tides
    Dave Eggers
    David Lagercrantz
    Dawn Anahid MacKeen
    DC Metro Area
    Diana Morgan Hill
    Dr Seuss
    Dubai
    Dystopian
    Egypt
    Emirates Festival Of Literature
    Emma Healey
    Events
    Features
    February 2015
    Fiction
    Film
    Fiona Neill
    Fitness & Health
    Folio Prize
    Funny
    Genocide
    Granta
    Hala Malhas
    Hope
    Imagine Science Film Festival
    Independent Bookstore Day
    Inspirational
    Interviews
    In Time For The Weekend Reading Picks
    Issy Bradley
    Japan
    Japanese Literature
    Jenny Offill
    Jesus Of Arabia
    Jesus Of Arabia Review
    Jocelyn Henderson
    Julia Miles
    Justine Crow
    Katarina Bivald
    Laurie A Nelson
    Laurie Nelson
    Lebanese Authors
    Lebanese Films
    Let Our Fame Be Great
    London Literature Festival
    Mandarin
    Margret Atwood
    Marlon James
    Marsh Award
    Miriam Toews
    Nadine Labaki
    New Book Release
    New Releases April 2015
    Non Fiction
    NYU Abu Dhabi
    NYU Events
    Oliver Bullough
    Orange Prize For Fiction
    Patrick Dalton
    Paul McKenna
    Peter Swanson
    Poetry
    Politics
    Rachel Cusk
    Ragnar Jonasson
    Rana Asfour
    Reading Campaigns
    Reading Year
    Real Men Read
    Refugees
    REVIEWS/Fiction
    Reviews/Non Fiction
    REVIEW/Young Reader
    Saheer Asfour Habash
    Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize
    Saira Shah
    Samar Barraj
    Saudi Arabia
    Self-Help
    Self Publlished
    Sex And The Citadel
    Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid
    Shereen El Feki
    Shereen Malherbe
    Simon Callow
    Snowblind
    Sophia Ledingham
    Sreyus Palliyani
    Suleiman Al Hattlan
    Summer Exhibition 2015
    Summer Reads 2015
    Susan Barker
    Sylvia Plath
    Talks
    Terrorism
    The Ambassador's Wife's Tale
    The Date Night Manifesto
    The Desmond Elliott Prize 2015
    The Folio Prize
    The Girl In The Spider's Web
    The Good Girl
    The Gulf Wife
    The Hundred Year Walk
    The Little Book Of Nits
    The Millennium Trilogy
    The Samuel Johnson Prize 2015
    The Uncommon Type
    Thrillers
    Tom Hanks
    Virginia
    Wang Ting-Kuo
    Weekend Choices
    Women's Prize For Fiction 2013
    Writing Competition 2016
    Writing Tips
    Year Of Reading 2016
    Year Of Reading UAE
    Yosri Fouda
    Young Fiction
    Youssef Zeidan

Search Engine Submission - AddMe
Local Business Directory, Search Engine Submission & SEO Tools
Proudly powered by Weebly
Photos used under Creative Commons from byzantiumbooks, Dmitry Karyshev, GalacticWanderlust, quietlyurban.com
  • Home
  • THE Blog
  • Meet the Author
  • Beyond The Blog
  • About