Review of The Saffron Runners

[Itz Savaga]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Saffron Runners" by Beth Grace Fox.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Suleiman Farkhari is the newly elected horse master of the Farkhar brothers —the highest title of accomplishment and power in their village, after his father’s death in a raid by Persians where the love of his life, Nadia, was taken captive along with many other women. The Saffron Runners by Beth Grace Fox follows this character together with the Farkhar brothers. Suleiman journeys to the far ends of Persia to the palace of the prince of Omin to avenge the death of his father and rescue his precious Nadia from the clutches of the Persians before she gets violated. Through his travels, his leadership and battle IQ will be tested. With the faith his twenty allies have in him waning every second, Abbas, his most elderly companion and one of the Six in the inner circle, proved to be their most valuable asset on many occasions as he was Suleiman’s father’s companion and advisor when he was alive. Searching for Nadia, the Persian colonel, food and the disappearing trust among his comrades, Suleiman must become the leader his father wanted him to be upon his death and bring his brothers safely back to Farkhari, Afghanistan.

One of the major things this book got right for me was the culture and tradition that reverberated through the characters in the story. The author built and moulded them as a society with their virtues, vices, culturally accepted norms, and social standards. The passion and respect the Farkhari’s had for their horses and mares was nothing short of admirable, and you could barely tell if it was something the author simply thought of or had experienced before through stories and his ancestors. Suleiman being vulnerable and struggling through his journey also depicts some realism. Most stories like this tend to paint the protagonist who has just been catapulted into the spotlight with no prior experience as someone that just seems to get everything right, someone extremely talented and without a sliver of doubt or fear. I didn’t notice this in Suleiman’s character at all; in fact, during his battle with the colonel that tried to rape him, with all his rage and conviction, he still lost terribly to the colonel in battle and barely escaped with his tail between his legs for the mistake the colonel had made. This put fear in him, and he later admitted it to the better swordsman, Yousef.

I didn’t particularly like the over-description of certain scenes; it often felt like those scenes needed to just get to the point of what the author was trying to say. Child marriage was heavily practised among the cultures here, so that might annoy some people, but it didn’t take too much out of the reading experience as this was their culture, after all. The characters also seemed to have a ton of luck throughout the series. Some things just made me question their possibility. I asked, “how’s that even possible” under my breath a couple of times, and it wasn't in an inquisitive manner. In essence, some parts of the book seemed unrealistic.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. It helped that I found just two errors in it, so it was professionally edited. The culture portrayed in the book was very fascinating to experience; it was a breath of fresh air. It was apparent good effort was put into the lore and characters. It was moderate-length and didn’t feel drawn out in any way. The story progressed smoothly. I removed a star following the points in the third paragraph of this review.

I recommend this book to anyone looking for a romantic thriller with references and respect to this Islamic religion. It is also a perfect fit for male youths as it teaches many lessons on leadership and perseverance through Suleiman and his struggles with the unpremeditated responsibility he found himself with from the start and throughout the entirety of the book.

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The Saffron Runners
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[Amy Luman]

I'm not really a fan of the romantic part, but the thriller part appeals to me. It is a plus that the culture is depicted correctly.

[abstactlemon]

This sounds like my type of book with romance and action. I particularly like the title, The Saffron Runners is so intriguing. I think I'm going to enjoy Suleiman's journey a lot. Great review.

[NetMassimo]

Romance is not my thing but the thriller set in an "exotic" culture seems engaging, also thanks to the development of some important themes. Thank you for your great review!