The Collector of Worlds by Iliya Troyanov

The Collector of Worlds

Iliya Troyanov

Reading this book felt like being in the middle of the Arabian Nights and I really enjoyed all the colour and noise and the exotic smells and tastes. I found the story fascinating - and the servants, guides and teachers were amazing characters - so vividly drawn and such a contrast to the enigma of Richard Burton.

Extract
Now they fell in with a party of Wahhabis led by a kettledrum and a green banner that bore the profession of faith in resplendent white letters. They rode in double file and were the picture of wild mountain men in the imaginations of coastal dwellers; dark- skinned, ferocious stares, hair twisted into thick braids, each armed with a long spear, a matchlock or a dagger. They sat on rough wooden saddles without cushions or stirrups. The women emulated the men, riding their own dromedaries or sitting on little saddle cushions behind their husbands. They spurned the veil and gave no suggestion of being the softer sex.
Parallels
  • The Arabian Nights by -
  • This Thing of Darkness by Harry Thompson
  • Kim by Rudyard Kipling