Scan barcode
cynicalraven's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Gaslighting: the book.
Okay, so. You read this book essentially just for one reason, you don't exactly look for books and randomly find this one and decide it was worth a shot.
So of you're here expecting something along the lines of "safety and peace" "your presence here will deliver us both" I suggest you go back.
Let me start by saying that mysogyny and racism prevented me to enjoy this book fully, but I should've probably expected it considering it's set in the 11th century.
I gave the book 2 stars but it should have been one because the book is just badly written: the majority of characters have no purpose and do not to move the plot forward. It's not one stars because I find Seyduna funny and he's a great antagonist (also main character?).
Seyduna is the chief of Alamut's castle. He founded a cult and posed himself as the prophet, and we see him recruiting boys for his cause and indoctrinating them.
The book starts with Halima, a young (13?14?) girl who finds herself in a garden surrounded by other girls like herself, being thought literature and music.
This covers like 8 damn chapters in which absolutely nothing happens. It also leads you to think that she's going to be, if not the main character, at least someone with a relevance. Wrong. The "main" female character turn out to be Miriam, who takes Halima under her wings. Unlike Halima, Miriam is capable of thinking with her head and of putting 2 + 2.both completely useless because they both kill themselves. If Halima's death was somewhat understandable -or maybe not because she falls in love with someone who basically rapes her and consequently kills herself for love- Miriam's death happens simply because the author did not not what do with her character Halima specifically serves absolutely no use to the plot. You could remove her from the books and event would still happen in the same way they did. Which makes the whole initial third of the book completely useless. it's also worth noting that every single female character in the book is a sex slave. I'd say sex worker but they are forced and brainwashed to do it, so.
In the first third of the book we are also introduced to ibn Tahir, who is the real main character for most of the book. He's brainwashed into the cult and becomes the best soldier/adept.the realizes he was tricked, decides to kill the Seyduna, the Seyduna basically tells him he sees him as a son -despite actually having a biological son: he gets him decapitated. Ah, fatherhood. - gives him some money and sends to India to study, despite confessing being the reason of ibn Tahir's friends' death. Tahir accepts and is never seen again. and again, at a certain point of the story he vanishes just because the author did not know how to resolve his storyline.
People in the book are so stupid it's funny, or maybe it's just the power of brainwashing.
Another thing that infuriates me is anachronism, because there are quite a few. At a certain point the book mentions atoms, except that the whole thing is set during the eleventh century.
Also, I don't know if the Italian translation is that bad or if it is the book that is that bad, but every black character is described with the n-word. Fitting for the time? Racism? Just be careful if it something that bothers you.
Okay, so. You read this book essentially just for one reason, you don't exactly look for books and randomly find this one and decide it was worth a shot.
So of you're here expecting something along the lines of "safety and peace" "your presence here will deliver us both" I suggest you go back.
Let me start by saying that mysogyny and racism prevented me to enjoy this book fully, but I should've probably expected it considering it's set in the 11th century.
I gave the book 2 stars but it should have been one because the book is just badly written: the majority of characters have no purpose and do not to move the plot forward. It's not one stars because I find Seyduna funny and he's a great antagonist (also main character?).
Seyduna is the chief of Alamut's castle. He founded a cult and posed himself as the prophet, and we see him recruiting boys for his cause and indoctrinating them.
The book starts with Halima, a young (13?14?) girl who finds herself in a garden surrounded by other girls like herself, being thought literature and music.
This covers like 8 damn chapters in which absolutely nothing happens. It also leads you to think that she's going to be, if not the main character, at least someone with a relevance. Wrong. The "main" female character turn out to be Miriam, who takes Halima under her wings. Unlike Halima, Miriam is capable of thinking with her head and of putting 2 + 2.
In the first third of the book we are also introduced to ibn Tahir, who is the real main character for most of the book. He's brainwashed into the cult and becomes the best soldier/adept.
People in the book are so stupid it's funny, or maybe it's just the power of brainwashing.
Another thing that infuriates me is anachronism, because there are quite a few. At a certain point the book mentions atoms, except that the whole thing is set during the eleventh century.
Also, I don't know if the Italian translation is that bad or if it is the book that is that bad, but every black character is described with the n-word. Fitting for the time? Racism? Just be careful if it something that bothers you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Torture, Trafficking, Toxic friendship, and War
Minor: Animal death, Child death, and Pregnancy
stephbe96's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
clocktrotter's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
shahdm895's review
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sergeus's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
This book was first brought to my attention as a potential inspiration for the Assassin's Creed video game series. Before starting it, I did wonder how clear that inspiration would be. So I had to laugh when at the top of the very first page after the title, before even the first chapter header, "Nothing is true, everything is permitted" is written large at the top of the page.
But the actual narrative didn't turn out to bear much resemblance to the games. I could definitely see it as a kind of "motif inspiration". Though in the games, the assassins are clearly "the good guys" and Hasan and the Ismailis are much more ambiguous. There's no Altair here, though Masyaf does make a very quick cameo.
However, I'm also not here just to review a 1938 Slovenian adventure novel through the lens of Assassin's Creed.
This book was also relatively hard to find a copy of! The English translation is from 2004, but all of the copies I could find in Europe were in French. In the end, the copy I got was from the US (thanks, Mom!).
The pacing of this book took me by surprise. It's like there are two completely separate styles of narrative progress. For the first 75% of the book, it was slow. I'm someone who reads books that have a lot of detail, but even I was surprised by how minute-by-minute, blow-by-blow the writing went through what was happening as the main characters were trained and plots were hatched.
I was looking at how much was left in the book and wondering how it could possibly wrap up. The book isn't part of a series, so are we really going to get to the end without seeing any <i>hashashin</i>? And then the final stretch happens. Suddenly the narrative is jumping to only cover important strokes, and all of the plots from earlier in the book whirl together.
In that rush, some characters are surprisingly endearing with their limited screen time. Overall, everybody makes a lot of mistakes, though several of them don't recognize it. There are definitely no "good guys".
I can see where Hasan's coming from, but he's also a monster. I'm a bit disappointed in ibn Tahir. I'm surprised by Abu Ali (by what he didn't do). And I feel sorry for Miriam and Halima.
All in all, Alamut feels well grounded in its time. It is slow going to get started, but pays off. You'll enjoy it if you like a good Machiavellian scheme.
But the actual narrative didn't turn out to bear much resemblance to the games. I could definitely see it as a kind of "motif inspiration". Though in the games, the assassins are clearly "the good guys" and Hasan and the Ismailis are much more ambiguous. There's no Altair here, though Masyaf does make a very quick cameo.
However, I'm also not here just to review a 1938 Slovenian adventure novel through the lens of Assassin's Creed.
This book was also relatively hard to find a copy of! The English translation is from 2004, but all of the copies I could find in Europe were in French. In the end, the copy I got was from the US (thanks, Mom!).
The pacing of this book took me by surprise. It's like there are two completely separate styles of narrative progress. For the first 75% of the book, it was slow. I'm someone who reads books that have a lot of detail, but even I was surprised by how minute-by-minute, blow-by-blow the writing went through what was happening as the main characters were trained and plots were hatched.
I was looking at how much was left in the book and wondering how it could possibly wrap up. The book isn't part of a series, so are we really going to get to the end without seeing any <i>hashashin</i>? And then the final stretch happens. Suddenly the narrative is jumping to only cover important strokes, and all of the plots from earlier in the book whirl together.
In that rush, some characters are surprisingly endearing with their limited screen time. Overall, everybody makes a lot of mistakes, though several of them don't recognize it. There are definitely no "good guys".
I can see where Hasan's coming from, but he's also a monster. I'm a bit disappointed in ibn Tahir. I'm surprised by Abu Ali (by what he didn't do). And I feel sorry for Miriam and Halima.
All in all, Alamut feels well grounded in its time. It is slow going to get started, but pays off. You'll enjoy it if you like a good Machiavellian scheme.
bookeared's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
tawfek's review against another edition
4.0
لا أنصح بإقتناء نسخة دار الجمل من الرواية فهي خالية من التدقيق اللغوي حيث عانيت في الكثير من الأحيان بسبب تركيب الجمل الغير منطقي بالمره بهذه الترجمة تستحق الرواية ثلاثة نجوم و لكن لا أريد أن أبخث حق المؤلف
ترجمة دار ورد مختلفة و بها تدقيق لغوي فرصة ان تكون الترجمة أفضل من هذه بمراحل عالية جدًا
علي غير المتوقع عندما تقرأ عن الحشاشين أن يكون ما تقرأ يمثل بطولة
و لكن هذا ما نحن بصدده في هذه الرواية
فهي رواية بطولة الحشاشين
هذه رواية حالم و هو حسن الصباح و تحقيقه لحلمه و هو القضاء علي خلافة الأتراك للدولة الإسلامية
*** لا شئ حقيقي كل شئ مباح ***
في هذه الجملة تتلخص عقيدة الإسماعيليين
و لكن بالنسبة للعامة فهم من الشيعة يؤمنون بخليفة آخير من نسل علي و هو إسماعيل و هنا أصل تسميتهم
أما إسم الحشاشين فهو يعود للمادة المغيبة المخدرة الحشيشو هي ما كان يستخدمها حسن الصباح ليقنع فدائييه بفردوسه
لنعرض بعض الحقائق التاريخية
تاريخيًا قتل نظام الملك علي يد الحشاشين و لكن و هو في ركب السلطان علي يد فدائيي يتقمص دور السائل/الشحات
و هذا ليس أقل فداحة من ما حصل في الرواية و هو أن نظام الملك قتل بين جيشه
و هنا لا داعي لأخذ جانب معين من الروايتين الحقيقة فمن الممكن أن يكون فلاديمير طوع هذا الحدث من أجل روايته
و لكن الحدث التاريخي الأهم و هو قتل السلطان السلجوقي الملقب بجلال الدولة ملك شاه
فالنسبة للتاريخ المدون و المعروف بالنسبة للسنة علي ما اعتقد فان ملك شاه مات اثر جرح بعد عودته من رحلة صيد و جميع قراء التاريخ يعلمون ان هذه الكذبة ذكرت كثيرًا علي ملوك كثيرين اغتيلوا من أجل عدم إثارة الذعر و الرهبة بين العامة
و ما حدث في رواية بارتول و في الغالب هو ما سيكون منتشر بين جميع الكتب الشيعية ان السلطان مات علي يد الحشاشين
و هذا ما اميل الي تصديقه
و بهذا يكون حسن الصباح قد حقق حلمه
هذا الحالم هذا الفيلسوف هذا القائد العظيم
هذا المجرم بمقاييسنا جميعًا و الذي لا نستطيع سوي أن نعجب به
*** في الحقيقة ، إن الإنسان لأغرب مخلوق في العالم يتمني أن يطير كالنسر ، لكنه لا يملك أجنحه ، يتمني أن يملك قوة الأسد ، لكنه لا يملك مخالبه ، كم خلقته ناقصًا أيها الرب ! و لكي تعاقبه منحته العقل و ملكة إدراك بؤسه ... ***.
ترجمة دار ورد مختلفة و بها تدقيق لغوي فرصة ان تكون الترجمة أفضل من هذه بمراحل عالية جدًا
علي غير المتوقع عندما تقرأ عن الحشاشين أن يكون ما تقرأ يمثل بطولة
و لكن هذا ما نحن بصدده في هذه الرواية
فهي رواية بطولة الحشاشين
هذه رواية حالم و هو حسن الصباح و تحقيقه لحلمه و هو القضاء علي خلافة الأتراك للدولة الإسلامية
*** لا شئ حقيقي كل شئ مباح ***
في هذه الجملة تتلخص عقيدة الإسماعيليين
و لكن بالنسبة للعامة فهم من الشيعة يؤمنون بخليفة آخير من نسل علي و هو إسماعيل و هنا أصل تسميتهم
أما إسم الحشاشين فهو يعود للمادة المغيبة المخدرة الحشيشو هي ما كان يستخدمها حسن الصباح ليقنع فدائييه بفردوسه
لنعرض بعض الحقائق التاريخية
تاريخيًا قتل نظام الملك علي يد الحشاشين و لكن و هو في ركب السلطان علي يد فدائيي يتقمص دور السائل/الشحات
و هذا ليس أقل فداحة من ما حصل في الرواية و هو أن نظام الملك قتل بين جيشه
و هنا لا داعي لأخذ جانب معين من الروايتين الحقيقة فمن الممكن أن يكون فلاديمير طوع هذا الحدث من أجل روايته
و لكن الحدث التاريخي الأهم و هو قتل السلطان السلجوقي الملقب بجلال الدولة ملك شاه
فالنسبة للتاريخ المدون و المعروف بالنسبة للسنة علي ما اعتقد فان ملك شاه مات اثر جرح بعد عودته من رحلة صيد و جميع قراء التاريخ يعلمون ان هذه الكذبة ذكرت كثيرًا علي ملوك كثيرين اغتيلوا من أجل عدم إثارة الذعر و الرهبة بين العامة
و ما حدث في رواية بارتول و في الغالب هو ما سيكون منتشر بين جميع الكتب الشيعية ان السلطان مات علي يد الحشاشين
و هذا ما اميل الي تصديقه
و بهذا يكون حسن الصباح قد حقق حلمه
هذا الحالم هذا الفيلسوف هذا القائد العظيم
هذا المجرم بمقاييسنا جميعًا و الذي لا نستطيع سوي أن نعجب به
*** في الحقيقة ، إن الإنسان لأغرب مخلوق في العالم يتمني أن يطير كالنسر ، لكنه لا يملك أجنحه ، يتمني أن يملك قوة الأسد ، لكنه لا يملك مخالبه ، كم خلقته ناقصًا أيها الرب ! و لكي تعاقبه منحته العقل و ملكة إدراك بؤسه ... ***.
marspeck's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
kajasversion's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This book sucks ass. Bartol is incapable of getting to the point without repeating the same thing a minimum of five times for the life of him. The whole dragged on for so long and it was absolutely unnecessary, it could’ve been reduced to 150 pages in my opinion. The way the author talks about women in this novel is just blatant misogyny, even beyond the point of just cultural context and a different time period. You can tell the views in the book are definitely a reflection of the author himself. There was also a lot of racism remarks made about black people, which were absolutely not relevant to the plot, they were there for the sake of being there ig. Overall the story itself had a good premise, but Bartol`s attempt at its execution is laughable at best and pathetic at worst. Would not recommend, it put me to sleep more times that I can count.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and War