Shortlisted for Book of the Month Selection
Fictional Drama
11th Century
Spain
Set in the very early 11th
century, The Ring of Flames is the third instalment in Ms Fallon’s books about
the Moorish kingdom al-Andalus, at the time rent apart by civil war as various
factions struggle for control over the weak and inept ruler, the Khalifa. Once
again, Ms Fallon’s knowledge of the period shines through in everything from
her descriptions of the political chaos to the small details of everyday life,
such as the blue turban Christians are expected to wear to what people eat and
wear.
While
the Khalifa, Al-Hisham, plays a pivotal if passive role in the novel, this is
principally the story of the falconer Ahmad, his brothers Qasim and Rafiq, and
their lives in Córdoba, capital of Al-Andalus. At the time, Córdoba is not a
good place to be in. Repeatedly the city is overrun and sacked, as first one,
then the other faction gains the upper hand. Ahmad and his extensive family do
what they can to keep themselves and their friends safe, which is how a Jewish
girl and an Anglo-Saxon monk find refuge with them.
Things
go from bad to worse when Córdoba is besieged. Two years behind their walls and
the citizens have eaten their horses, their goats, the children reduced to
stick-like waifs, the soldiers taxed with defending the walls constantly
exhausted due to lack of food. Somehow, Ahmad must find a way to guide his
family—and the weak Khalifa—to safety before the besieging Berbers enter the
city. But how is he to do that, when the enemies have formed a ring of flames
around the city, making it impossible to sneak out through the gates?
I
thoroughly enjoyed this read, immersing myself in Ms Fallon’s descriptive
writing. The first few chapters are, I have to be honest, a little slow — and a tad confusing as new
characters are introduced at a furious pace — but once Ms Fallon settles into her
story she takes me along on an educational and exciting journey through a world
I knew little about prior to reading her books. I soon found myself entirely submerged in
the long-ago Córdoba, running side by side with Ahmed and his family. It is
therefore with some surprise I close the book to discover I am not, in fact, in
the hot and dusty Al-Andalus — testament to Ms Fallon’s skill as a writer.
© Anna Belfrage
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