What do you think?
Rate this book
The Chronicles of Sword and Sand #1.5
The Waters of Eternity
THE CHRONICLE OF SWORD & SAND: Baghdad, AD 790. Caliph Harun al-Rashid presides over the greatest metropolis on Earth, ruler of an empire stretches from China to Byzantium. His exploits will be recorded in Alf Layla or, as we know it, The Book of One Thousand and One Nights. However, The Thousand and One Nights are silent on the deeds and adventures that befell two of the CaliphOCOs subjects: the renowned scholar Dabir ibn Kahlil, and his shield and right hand, Asim el Abbas. For their story, we must turn to the Chronicle of Sand and Sword...
Story listing: IN BYGONE DAYS; THE THIEF OF HEARTS; THE SLAYER'S TREAD; SIGHT OF VENGEANCE; SERVANT OF IBIS; THE WATERS OF ETERNITY; MAKED MAN."
Story listing: IN BYGONE DAYS; THE THIEF OF HEARTS; THE SLAYER'S TREAD; SIGHT OF VENGEANCE; SERVANT OF IBIS; THE WATERS OF ETERNITY; MAKED MAN."
141 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 15, 2011
10 people are currently reading
266 people want to read
About the author
Howard Andrew Jones
68 books370 followersHoward Andrew Jones was an American speculative fiction and fantasy author and editor, known for The Chronicles of Hanuvar series, The Chronicles of Sword and Sand series and The Ring-Sworn trilogy. He had also written Pathfinder Tales, tie-in fiction novels in the world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, published by Paizo. He was the editor of Tales from the Magician's Skull and had served as a Managing Editor at Black Gate since 2004. He assembled and edited a series of eight volumes of the short fiction of Harold Lamb for publication by Bison Books.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 9, 2019
Actual rating: 3.50
January 28, 2012
A collection of short stories about Dabir and Asim -- adventure fiction (scimitar and sorcery?) in medieval Arabia, with a hint of Sherlock Holmes flavor. (Several of the stories have a light element of mystery to them; they're narrated by Asim, who plays Watson to Dabir's Holmes.) Ifrits and ghuls and other Arabian Nights-influenced creatures make appearances from time to time. It's a brief collection, but very enjoyable; it also includes the first several chapters of The Desert of Souls, a full-length Dabir and Asim novel.
May 3, 2023
I loved Jone's book The Desert of Souls and was delighted to see that he has collected these six stories as a prequel to the book.
Unfortunately, the short stories weren't as good as the book, which of often the case, but does not have to be. All we must do is read some Sherlock Holmes for to prove that point. The details are rich, but the stories themselves seem somewhat hurried or simple somehow.
I love the Asim and Dabir dynamic and this is a great way to revisit that, no matter what the mysteries are. I wish that there had been more of a market for them so that we'd have more than the two novels and this collection. However, I'll be grateful for what I've got!
Unfortunately, the short stories weren't as good as the book, which of often the case, but does not have to be. All we must do is read some Sherlock Holmes for to prove that point. The details are rich, but the stories themselves seem somewhat hurried or simple somehow.
I love the Asim and Dabir dynamic and this is a great way to revisit that, no matter what the mysteries are. I wish that there had been more of a market for them so that we'd have more than the two novels and this collection. However, I'll be grateful for what I've got!
June 1, 2017
Nice Arabian flavored sword & sorcery. Dabir & Asim are a classic duo: the wise Dabir and the strong and agile Asim are a cross between Fafhrd &the Gray Mouser and Holmes & Watson.
Compared to the novels the stories are a bit more monster of the week flavored, and the mysteries are not easily solved by the reader, but the prose & atmosphere is top notch. The characters of Dabir and Asim are well-rounded.
Recommended for fans of the Thousand and One Nights, Sherlock Holmes and Sword & Sorcery.
Compared to the novels the stories are a bit more monster of the week flavored, and the mysteries are not easily solved by the reader, but the prose & atmosphere is top notch. The characters of Dabir and Asim are well-rounded.
Recommended for fans of the Thousand and One Nights, Sherlock Holmes and Sword & Sorcery.
March 20, 2017
Very good short story collection. They are perhaps a trifle formulaic, being largely Holmes & Watson-style mystery stories with limited casts and a certain monster-of-the-week styling, but the setting is magnificent, the characters are solid, and the writing is quite good (clear, eloquent, with a strong sense of style). Asim and Dabir aren't going to turn anyone's world upside down, but they make for very pleasant companions alongside a cup of tea on a chilly evening.
June 20, 2012
This ebook collects most of the Dabir and Asim short stories by Howard Andrew Jones. Being a fan of both sword & sorcery (a genre Jones has made a valiant effort through articles at Black Gate, etc., to revive) and the Arabian Nights, I picked up this volume so as to learn about the characters before moving onto his debut novel, The Desert of Souls.
Dabir and Asim make an interesting pair of sword & sorcery heroes, very different from the genre's other notable duos, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser and Elric and Moonglum. Dabir is a wise scholar, while expert swordsman Asim acts as the brawn. They're a bit like Holmes and Watson in that respect. Trusted by the caliph, they're called upon by a variety of people in need. In the stories collected, the premise most often involves some supernatural mystery or a threat on an important figure's life.
True to the genre, the stories are fast-paced, with swashbuckling action and strange creatures. The mystery elements are interesting, but Dabir often reaches conclusions with very little evidence, or at least none that's shared with the reader. As a result, these "brilliant deductions" can seem a little contrived. They'd ring a bit more true if Jones took more time placing hints beforehand.
The Arabian Nights atmosphere is a bit low-key, but there's enough flavor to distinguish these stories from standard Western fantasy. It's interesting to note that both Dabir and Asim are good Muslims, so while they encounter a variety of sword & sorcery temptresses, dancing girls, and femme fatales, there's no Conan-style wrenching to be found.
The book concludes with a sizable excerpt from the first Dabir and Asim novel, The Desert of Souls. This seemed superfluous to me, however, as most people likely to pick this book up have either read the novel and want to read Dabir and Asim's previously-published adventures, or those like me, who want to read these stories before moving onto the novel. I'll be buying Desert of Souls, so I skipped this excerpt entirely.
I look forward to reading more about Dabir and Asim's exploits. While sword & sorcery lends itself well to shorter formats, novel-length might be a better match for Howard's style. Perhaps the extra room will give Howard more time to develop his mystery plots, as well as treat the reader to a bit more Arabian atmosphere.
Dabir and Asim make an interesting pair of sword & sorcery heroes, very different from the genre's other notable duos, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser and Elric and Moonglum. Dabir is a wise scholar, while expert swordsman Asim acts as the brawn. They're a bit like Holmes and Watson in that respect. Trusted by the caliph, they're called upon by a variety of people in need. In the stories collected, the premise most often involves some supernatural mystery or a threat on an important figure's life.
True to the genre, the stories are fast-paced, with swashbuckling action and strange creatures. The mystery elements are interesting, but Dabir often reaches conclusions with very little evidence, or at least none that's shared with the reader. As a result, these "brilliant deductions" can seem a little contrived. They'd ring a bit more true if Jones took more time placing hints beforehand.
The Arabian Nights atmosphere is a bit low-key, but there's enough flavor to distinguish these stories from standard Western fantasy. It's interesting to note that both Dabir and Asim are good Muslims, so while they encounter a variety of sword & sorcery temptresses, dancing girls, and femme fatales, there's no Conan-style wrenching to be found.
The book concludes with a sizable excerpt from the first Dabir and Asim novel, The Desert of Souls. This seemed superfluous to me, however, as most people likely to pick this book up have either read the novel and want to read Dabir and Asim's previously-published adventures, or those like me, who want to read these stories before moving onto the novel. I'll be buying Desert of Souls, so I skipped this excerpt entirely.
I look forward to reading more about Dabir and Asim's exploits. While sword & sorcery lends itself well to shorter formats, novel-length might be a better match for Howard's style. Perhaps the extra room will give Howard more time to develop his mystery plots, as well as treat the reader to a bit more Arabian atmosphere.
August 28, 2012
I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. I like short stories and I like these characters, and this collection really delivered the goods. The flavor of the Arabian Nights is present, and, well, these were just fun reads.
March 17, 2018
I was going to be reading the Hazel Wood right after Markswoman but I thought I would like a small change of pace instead, then Honour Among Thieves came out and I’m most certainly reading Rachel Caine’s book first.
───────────────────
Unlike the big continuous adventure, I had with the duo in the first book, The Desert of Souls, this book is merely snippets of their adventures afterwards. Now the stories are way shorter than I expected them to be, some even felt like they were wrapped up pretty quickly so naturally not all of them were as entertaining to read. Out of the 6 of them I think I enjoyed two and was okay with the others, not that they were bad per say but felt lacking in some way.
Thanks to the almost identical way the first half of each story starts, there isn’t that much to gain when I try to take it into that big of perspective but luckily there was a different type of thing in every second half that it got me engaged to a bigger degree than the starts, so I’ll take that as a plus regardless.
I think what I liked more in these stories is Jones’s research resurfacing once again with the way he writes about the locations, the cultural aspects and the religious aspects of the setting. I really appreciate it when authors go further into any setting and try to incorporate as many real life angles to it as possible. However, there seems to be a misconception of sorts with his understanding to some words/phrases and how he uses them vs what they actually mean and how they’re supposed to be used. I noticed it in the Desert of Souls as well but I let it go thanks to the bigger plot line, in here though, it was kind of hard to ignore.
Overall it was a nice quick read and gave me the change of pace I needed, I can’t really go in depth here because spoiling the stories would be super easy and no one needs that.
Final rating: 2.5/5
───────────────────
Unlike the big continuous adventure, I had with the duo in the first book, The Desert of Souls, this book is merely snippets of their adventures afterwards. Now the stories are way shorter than I expected them to be, some even felt like they were wrapped up pretty quickly so naturally not all of them were as entertaining to read. Out of the 6 of them I think I enjoyed two and was okay with the others, not that they were bad per say but felt lacking in some way.
Thanks to the almost identical way the first half of each story starts, there isn’t that much to gain when I try to take it into that big of perspective but luckily there was a different type of thing in every second half that it got me engaged to a bigger degree than the starts, so I’ll take that as a plus regardless.
I think what I liked more in these stories is Jones’s research resurfacing once again with the way he writes about the locations, the cultural aspects and the religious aspects of the setting. I really appreciate it when authors go further into any setting and try to incorporate as many real life angles to it as possible. However, there seems to be a misconception of sorts with his understanding to some words/phrases and how he uses them vs what they actually mean and how they’re supposed to be used. I noticed it in the Desert of Souls as well but I let it go thanks to the bigger plot line, in here though, it was kind of hard to ignore.
Overall it was a nice quick read and gave me the change of pace I needed, I can’t really go in depth here because spoiling the stories would be super easy and no one needs that.
Final rating: 2.5/5
May 1, 2019
Eminently worth reading
This was an entertaining collection of short stories featuring Dabir and Asim, Jones's characters from his novels The Desert Of Souls and The Bones Of The Old Ones. While it isn't necessary for one to have read the novels first, it does enrich one's reading exoerience. In any case, Jones provides an enjoyable visit with characters I have grown to love.
Jones' prose is polished and his characters live and breathe on the page, bringing new life to the world of the famous tales of The Thousand And One Nights. It was good to go back - U'd been too long away.
This was an entertaining collection of short stories featuring Dabir and Asim, Jones's characters from his novels The Desert Of Souls and The Bones Of The Old Ones. While it isn't necessary for one to have read the novels first, it does enrich one's reading exoerience. In any case, Jones provides an enjoyable visit with characters I have grown to love.
Jones' prose is polished and his characters live and breathe on the page, bringing new life to the world of the famous tales of The Thousand And One Nights. It was good to go back - U'd been too long away.
April 9, 2013
I started reading this while waiting in the doctor's office and ended up not minding the hour-long wait at all.
I've previously read The Desert of Souls, which highlighted the same duo who feature in this set of short stories: Asim (narrator, not terribly bright but a fantastic soldier) and Dabir (scholar extraordinaire). It's an effective combinations as the two battle both the supernatural and baser human motivations in their quest to help good folk entangled in big problems. I think the pair stands alone without any prior reading, though.
They might draw comparisons to another literary crime-solving couple, Sherlock Holmes and Watson, but here the mysteries are only a symptom of the characters' true issues, and at their heart always lies a very human problem. Is an efreet threatening the family or it is the disgruntled nephew (or both)? Could an old flame be interested once again, or is she consumed by jealousy? I can see why some people would complain that these stories are too simple, but I found them appealing for their directness and refusal to hide under an absurd number of layers.
Also, Dabir is a far kinder and more honorable man than Holmes ever was. And Asim gets to showcase his skills with the sword in totally non-gratuitous action scenes. It's a true partnership, rather than a great man and his observer.
One of the highlights of Jones's writing is the humor, sly and none too subtle:
Recommended for those who want a little swashbuckling with heart, and especially for those tired of Medieval Euro-based fantasy worlds.
I've previously read The Desert of Souls, which highlighted the same duo who feature in this set of short stories: Asim (narrator, not terribly bright but a fantastic soldier) and Dabir (scholar extraordinaire). It's an effective combinations as the two battle both the supernatural and baser human motivations in their quest to help good folk entangled in big problems. I think the pair stands alone without any prior reading, though.
They might draw comparisons to another literary crime-solving couple, Sherlock Holmes and Watson, but here the mysteries are only a symptom of the characters' true issues, and at their heart always lies a very human problem. Is an efreet threatening the family or it is the disgruntled nephew (or both)? Could an old flame be interested once again, or is she consumed by jealousy? I can see why some people would complain that these stories are too simple, but I found them appealing for their directness and refusal to hide under an absurd number of layers.
Also, Dabir is a far kinder and more honorable man than Holmes ever was. And Asim gets to showcase his skills with the sword in totally non-gratuitous action scenes. It's a true partnership, rather than a great man and his observer.
One of the highlights of Jones's writing is the humor, sly and none too subtle:
"And there was a message?" Dabir prompted.I'm not an expert on the culture by any means, but it gave the grounded sense of another world that feels wholly real and consistent; standards of society differ but never feel alien, for example. Small details evoke the physical setting beautifully. And the mythology is woven in deftly without feeling like stock creatures.
"There was. If I did not leave the amulet on the courtyard steps at sunset tonight, my third daughter, the light of my home, should be carried off as a bride of Iblis!" He wrung his hands. "If only he would carry off my first wife..."
Recommended for those who want a little swashbuckling with heart, and especially for those tired of Medieval Euro-based fantasy worlds.
May 29, 2014
Howard Andrew Jones has made a name for himself both as an editor of new and classic Sword & Sorcery fiction and as a talented author in his own right. The Waters of Eternity is a collection of his short mysteries featuring Dabir and Asim who live during the Abbasid Caliphate in the twelfth century Middle East. If these stories were set today they would probably be called urban fantasies for the world of Dabir and Asim differs from our historical one primarily in that supernatural threats are very real.
There are six stories in this collection, each a quick read with a good balance of mystery and action. Dabir is reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes while his companion is a hard driving action hero—loyal, strong and skilled in battle. My favorite of these tales is the titular story which both touches the reader with deft characterization and surprises and disturbs through skillful plot twists.
Jones always provides a good story. Four Stars.
There are six stories in this collection, each a quick read with a good balance of mystery and action. Dabir is reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes while his companion is a hard driving action hero—loyal, strong and skilled in battle. My favorite of these tales is the titular story which both touches the reader with deft characterization and surprises and disturbs through skillful plot twists.
Jones always provides a good story. Four Stars.
March 3, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed Desert of Souls, so was really looking forward to this. Unfortunately it doesn't live up to expectations - it's just too slight a work. At 175 pages (on my e-reader) and about a third of these being a preview of the earlier novel, the book merely gives you a taste of Asim and Dabir's adventures. Don't get me wrong, the stories are enjoyable, with plenty of sword-play, mysteries, and monsters, all in a well-written and believable setting, there's just not enough of them. Still, the next novel-length adventure should be out later this year, so I shall hope that provides a more satisfying read.
June 14, 2013
I love Dabir and Asim, so I'm glad I finally got the chance to finish reading this short story collection. I bet you are wondering why I haven't given this book five stars if I'm such a big fan of these adventures. Well, one of the stories involves a giant [spoiler] and a mass of writhing [spoiler] that are [spoiler]. This story contained some of the most awful images that have ever burrowed into my brain. I think I will be having nightmares for the rest of my life. So, Mr. Jones, you get a star taken away for being such a good writer, that you may have mentally damaged me. Ironic, huh?
June 16, 2013
Dabir Ibn Khalil and Asim el Abbas go up against magical nemeses of various hazard in several more or less unrelated tales. Jones has come up with a winning formula for these adventures, and I hope he writes lots more.
Money quotes: "Here a knife was used, to pry out the eye."
"'In most marriages,' I said, 'the murder attempt comes after the vow.'"
Money quotes: "Here a knife was used, to pry out the eye."
"'In most marriages,' I said, 'the murder attempt comes after the vow.'"
December 26, 2025
★★★★★ — 4.95/5
I know, I know - its a Novella of sorts, not a full book, but damn if these 3 are not the greatest combo of Sherlock & Watson meets Middle Eastern Fantasy; so so bummed we lost HAJ - a great author and sadly, even greater man. I plan to read and record a review for any (might be all?) of his 5 star standard writes.
I know, I know - its a Novella of sorts, not a full book, but damn if these 3 are not the greatest combo of Sherlock & Watson meets Middle Eastern Fantasy; so so bummed we lost HAJ - a great author and sadly, even greater man. I plan to read and record a review for any (might be all?) of his 5 star standard writes.
December 28, 2011
Read on my nook. This is a short collection of entertaining short stories featuring the heroes of the Desert of Souls. If you're a fan of Desert you'll enjoy seeing your friends from that novel again, but I'd recommend reading that book before this one.
March 12, 2014
The Waters of Eternity is a good filler of the the adventures of Dabir and Asim. It has three really great short stories with a few average stories mixed together. Three stars because i liked it without loving it!
February 24, 2014
Very engaging short story collection! My only complaint is that the short stories end at about the 61% mark and the rest of the book is an excerpt for the first novel in the series. Still, these stories were very fun and I definitely recommend them.
December 20, 2023
Dabir and Asim make a great team and their adventures are a mix of mystery, magic, swordplay, and wit. I loved Desert of Souls and was so happy to find there were two more books. My only issue with this book is that it is only available in eBook.
November 20, 2012
These short stories are very, very well written and a delight to read.
February 27, 2013
A small box of exceedingly fine sweets. These Asim & Dabir stories are as fine as the novels.
September 1, 2013
I do like me some Sherlock/Watson in dresses. Oh, wait, those aren't dresses. "A Thousand and One Arabian Studies in Scarlet" Yeah, that's about right. A nice read, well done.
November 2, 2014
An excellent collection of short stories. I even felt they were better than the first novel (The Desert of Souls): more punch, great ideas and twists. Strongly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews