Throne of the Crescent Moon

Throne of the Crescent Moon is a fantasy novel by Saladin Ahmed, Book One of The Crescent Moon Kingdoms. The book was published by DAW Books in February 2012. The book was nominated for the 2013 Hugo Award for best novel and the 2012 Nebula Award for Best Novel. It won the Locus Award for Best First Novel.

The book follows Doctor Adoulla Makhslood, an aging ghul hunter based in the city of Dhamsawaat, who would really like to retire from having adventures and quietly drink cardamom tea. Events rapidly transpire to force the Doctor and his assistant, Raseed bas Raseed — a Dervish warrior sworn to a holy path — to face a dark sorcerer. To aid them in this, the Doctor recruits his two old friends Dawoud and Litaz. Dawoud is a mage whose spells draw upon his own life energy and Litaz (his wife) is a highly skilled alchemist. The final member of their band is Zamia, a young Badawi tribeswoman who has been gifted with the ability to take a lion's shape and whose band has been slain by the sorcerer. In addition to the magical plot, there is political trouble brewing in the city as the mysterious Falcon Prince foments revolution against the Kalif.

Because it uses legends from the Middle East as source material, the novel has drawn attention for being different from the typical Euro-centric fantasy novel.Annalee Newitz concludes her review of the book for io9 saying: "What really makes this book shine, however, are the characters and utterly riveting worldbuilding."