The Pomegranate Gate by Ariel KaplanMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I saw this one on the shelf at Powell’s and ordered it right away at the library, not realizing it was about a year old and the sequel was just about to drop too. None of the libraries here have the sequel yet, though I’ve at least gotten in line for the ebook at Multnomah County Library when it’s available. I’m glad it won’t be too long a wait, because at least I’ll be able to jump into the next book relatively quickly. While waiting for Shannon Chakraborty’s long delayed second adventure of Amina Al-Sirafi, this book does for Jewish legends what The City of Brass did for Islamic legends. It’s set in an alternate history and geography, based on Spain in the time of the Inquisition and Reconquista, which with two protagonists both trying to escape to a free country while also dealing with the supernatural power struggles of the Mazikim, whose world is accessible via several gates all throughout the Mediterranean region, as well as deeper into Europe and Africa where the most far flung Jewish diaspora had gone at the time. Admittedly I’m here much more for the history than the characters, although Toba is an interesting one due to her immense linguistic skills. Thankfully, it won’t be long before I get to read the next one…
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