Jinn Hunter: The Jinnslayer

tags: adventure, fantasy, jinn

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From Amazon

Oddball and loner Oliver Quinn was raised by his uncle, the proprietor of Ozymandias & Son, New York's most bizarre emporium of Oriental rugs.

Through a series of what he believes to be coincidences, Oliver discovers a portal in the basement of the shop - a portal to a magical world called Zonus.

Gradually, Oliver begins to understand that everything he'd ever considered fact is fantasy, and that if he is to survive, he'll have to start thinking in an entirely new way.

In reality, our world is nothing but a backwater in a colossal multiverse, where every permutation is not only possible, but certain. With the veil lifted, Oliver is introduced to the parallel life form with which we share the multiverse - the mysterious and all-powerful race of jinn.

Far from the loveable blue-skinned giants projected by Hollywood, jinn are capable of wreaking terror on an unknown scale. When they go rogue, as they frequently do, they must be captured and incarcerated in the Prism, a vast penitentiary. Trapping rogue jinn is a perilous task entrusted to the Jinn Hunters, the bravest fraternity of warriors in existence.

Having been accepted into the Cadenta, the training academy of Jinn Hunters, Oliver is pitted against the gravest new reality: the fact that Nequissimus, the most evil jinn in all existence, has just escaped...

Born into the hallowed ancestry of the Jinnslayers, Oliver Quinn is the only man alive with a chance at defeating the great jinn, and returning him to his cell in the Prism.

A cross between The Thousand and One Nights and Men in Black, THE JINNSLAYER is the second awe-inspiring novel in Tahir Shah's much-celebrated JINN HUNTER series.

One of the most original books of its age, it lures the reader into a twilight zone conjured from pure imagination.

The second of 3 books in this Jinn Hunter series was published in December 2020 but in paperback only. I had to wait more than 1 year for the Kindle edition which came out May 10, 2022. It's almost 2 years but the wait is worth it. Tahir Shah has written an exciting fantasy adventure with bits of philosophy and plenty of laughs.

Paris Syndrome

PARIS SYNDROME

Book Description

On the morning of her fifth birthday, Miki Suzuki’s aged grandfather gave her an unusual gift – the fragment of a story. The tale told of a magical realm where all the women were beautiful, dressed in the finest gowns, and where the men had the looks of movie stars. The trees were covered in ivory-white blossom all year round, and everyone was joyful and proud. This place, young Miki learned, was a city in far off Europe – a city called Paris. 
The story took seed in Miki’s mind and, over twenty years, she became quite obsessed with the French capital. Having studied its history, language, and traditions, she vowed that one day she would venture there. 
Winning a competition at her work, where she sold low-grade beauty products door-to-door, Miki embarked on the journey of a lifetime to her dream destination.
Feverishly excited, and exhausted after a long flight, she hit the ground running, in her desperation to see every last tourist sight in town. But, as the others in the tour group looked on in horror, the telltale signs of a rare condition began to manifest themselves – a condition known as ‘Paris Syndrome’. 
Made crazed by a stream of unfavourable events, Miki went on a riotous rampage, which ended in her mooning the sales clerk in Louis Vuitton – an assault that gripped the French nation. And so began the treatment in the most bizarre of clinics – a refuge for fellow sufferers of Paris Syndrome. All this set against a backdrop of vigilante groups, trade wars, bounty hunters, and true love. 
Both hilarious and toe-cringing, Miki Suzuki’s psychological rollercoaster ride gets under the skin like nothing else, as the novel explores the real condition that afflicts dozens of Japanese tourists each year. 

I must admit, Tahir Shah has been on my top 10 favorite authors list since reading the nonfiction travelogue THE CALIPH'S HOUSE and this "tragicomedy" novel affirmed his rightful place.

I loosely place the book in the tragicomedy category. It certainly has the elements: absurd, satiric, funny, semi-tragic, happy ending. The book description says it all and I feel I don't need to add anything else except I love it and will reread as soon as possible.

Highly recommended.