Odalisque
core novel 2005 Percheron
Record
| First published | 2005 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.73 (2,184 ratings, collected 2026-10-09) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780732281809 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
In Percheron the old Zar dies, and Boaz, the fifteen-year-old son of Herezah, the late Zar's Absolute Favourite, takes power, though the real power lies with his ambitious, scheming mother, who has her son's rivals disposed of with the help of the loathsome Grand Master Salmeo, chief eunuch of the harem, and oversees the assembly of a new one. Among its girls is Ana, who enters a world where she wants for nothing except her freedom. Her only friends are Lazar, the Spur of Percheron, a former slave who became the city's protector, and Pez, the palace jester, a dwarf believed to be mad. Ana's attempt at escape, after a brutal Test of Virtue, sets in motion forces beyond anyone's control, while the rising of Iridor heralds a new cycle in the war of faith between the demon Maliz and the goddess Lyana.
Where it sits
- Universe: Percheron
- Series: Percheron core; position 1 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Fiona McIntosh
Awards (verified)
- International Dublin Literary Award, 2007: nominated; Longlisted (nominated by a library), per the award's own record.
Notes
- From the series record (Percheron): Fiona McIntosh's trilogy of Percheron, a harem-and-palace city-state on the edge of the desert where a new cycle in the war of faith between the demon Maliz and the goddess Lyana is beginning: the odalisque Ana, the young Zar Boaz, his mother Herezah, the Spur Lazar and the 'mad' dwarf Pez.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series Percheron: position 1 of 3: next Emissary (2006)
Sources
← Percheron dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.