This is not a Paizo book, but a book by the Author of Plague of Shadows. If you have not read Desert of Souls I would advise you to read no further. This thread is to discuss the book and maybe tempt the author himself to get involved in the discussion.
I just finished reading this and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is an adventure spanning hundreds of miles. There are sorcerers, djinn, artifacts, swordfights, undead, fortune tellers, romance, revenge and more.
I had a couple of questions about the book though, and was wondering what other thought.
Question 1:
Spoilers!!:
In the Desert of Souls itself, as Dabir casts the spell on the grid, the Djinn changes from a beautiful serpent into an ugly decrepit snake. At the same time, Asim loses his "superpowers" (for lack of a better way to put it). Was this what the Djinn really looks like? Or is it just what he looks like on the Material Plain? What do you think was going on here?
Question 2:
Spoilers!!:
The staff that Dabir takes from the caliph's treasury was from one of Solomon's magicians. Fair enough. But then they tell Asim that it was handed down to David. King David (the one who kills Goliath with a sling and a stone) was the father of Solomon. Is this staff traveling through time in reverse like Merlin? Are they talking about a different David? Or is there something in Islam where they believe that the Hebrews got their history wrong? Or was it simply an author's error?
Question 3:
Spoilers!!:
Was anybody else really sad when Hamil died? I loved that he saved Asim and Dabir one last time in the Desert of Souls, but he was fast becoming a favorite character of mine.
Feel free to discuss these and any other questions/thoughts you have about the book!!