The Ashfire King

The expansive middle installment of Abdullah’s Sandsea trilogy explores a sand-swept land of magic, mystery, and lost legacies. Following the dramatic events of 2023’s The Stardust Thief, magic merchant Loulie al-Nazari and her companions—storyteller Prinze Mazen bin Malik and conflicted thief Aisha—have been cast into the Sandsea, the sunken realm of the jinn. Meanwhile, Loulie’s jinn bodyguard, Qadir, once a mighty king, is missing. After helping one of Qadir’s old buddies—the legendary jinn Rijah, also known as the Shapeshifter—this cadre of unlikely allies are swept up in an ancient struggle between jinn factions, one that will determine the fate of several realms. With trust in short supply and powerful foes closing in, Loulie, Mazen, and Aisha must master terrible powers and navigate age-old rivalries to save the Sandsea from a terrible fate. Abdullah continues to cleverly integrate tales from One Thousand and One Nights into her intricate worldbuilding while delivering a heady mix of adventure and romance. With several major threads left tantalizingly dangling, this sets things up nicely for an epic finale. Agent: Jennifer Azantian, Azantian Literary. (Apr.)