I’ve mentioned Legends of the Fire Spirits by Robert Lebling a couple of times on Twitter, so I think a blog post is overdue.

In writing about the djinn, I made up a mythology to set them in, one with angels, romance and redemption, but if you read Legends of the Fire Spirits you’ll discover that people believe far more incredible things of djinn than what I dreamed up.

The djinn are part of Islamic belief, with different stories in different cultures.

As a Catholic, brought up in a tradition of angels and saints, the djinn are a fascinating addition to this invisible world. Apparently they can be Muslim, Christian, Jewish or infidel. They occupy deserted buildings–which is as good an explanation as any for the eeriness of abandoned houses. They have their own homeland in distant mountains, as well as living invisibly (and sometimes visibly) among humans.

There are stories of heroism, curses, romance, possession and ancient legend (King Solomon’s Seal, for instance). Legends of the Fire Spirits is a truly rich collection of djinn knowledge, speculation (quantum existence?) and Arabic tradition.

My Goodreads review is here.