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Alamut Hardcover – January 15, 2005

by
Vladimir Bartol (Author)
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Vladimir Bartol (Author), Michael Biggins (Translator)
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 391 pages
  • Publisher: Scala House Press (January 15, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0972028730
  • ISBN-13: 978-0972028738
  • Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #853,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"...[a] superb masterpiece. An absolute must-have for East European literature shelves...a thoroughly compelling novel cover to cover." -- Midwest Book Review, January, 2005

"...a shifting collage of passions, adventure and sacrifice. The settings are sumptuously described...characters are charismatic and complex." -- Barbara Lloyd McMichael

"For all of its provocative ideas and sometimes eerily prescient incidents, Alamut is also successful simply as an entertaining yarn." -- The Seattle Times

Alamut is an adventure story from 1938 which transforms itself...into a nightmare novel of the new century. -- Olivier Maison, Journal de la Culture

If Osama bin Laden did not exist, Vladimir Bartol would have invented him. -- L'Express

Like Borges, [Bartol] raises questions but offers few answers...and will leave you with an inexhaustible restlessness and uncertainty. -- Ricardo Arturo Ríos Torres, La Prensa

From the Publisher

Michael Biggins has translated works by a number of Slovenia's leading contemporary writers. He currently curates the library collections for Russian and East European studies and teaches in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, both at the University of Washington in Seattle.
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Customer Reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
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Download it today!
Torie Deremo
He does this by training an elite force of assassins that eventually cripples the most powerful empire of the day.
Armchair Interviews
Also, the story itself is intriguing, interesting, exciting, captivating.
A. Carlson

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful
A deftly researched and presented historical novel
By Midwest Book Review on January 9, 2005
Format: Hardcover
First published sixty years ago, Alamut is a literary classic by Slovenian writer Vladimir Bartol, a deftly researched and presented historical novel about one of the world's first political terrorists, 11th century Ismaili leader Hasan ibn Sabbah, whose machinations with drugs and carnal pleasures deceived his followers into believing that he would deliver them to a paradise in the afterlife, so that they would destroy themselves in suicide missions for him. Flawless translated into English (and also published in eighteen other languages), Alamut portrays even the most Machiavellian individuals as human - ruthless or murderous, but also subject to human virtues, vices, and tragedies. An afterword by Michael Biggins offering context on the author's life, the juxtaposition of his writing to the rise of dictatorial conquest that would erupt into World War II, and the medly of reactions to its publication, both in the author's native Slovenia and worldwide, round out this superb masterpiece. An absolute must-have for East European literature shelves, and quite simply a thoroughly compelling novel cover to cover.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Poetic and lyrical
By A. D. DiRenzo on July 13, 2005
Format: Hardcover
I can not deny that Alamut is a fascinating historical novel but it is also so much more. It is a hauntingly eloquent work that combines poetry and prose in perfect harmony without being heavy handed or prolix. Enrapt by the story, I was transported by the language. Alamut was easily one of the most beautifully written and articulately translated books I have ever read.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
An excellent read both for entertainment and information
By Thomas Bombadillo on July 11, 2005
Format: Hardcover
As the former reviewer states, Alamut is an excellent historical novel. I think any reader who is interested in what is obviously the burgeoning issue of contemporary global society, involving the clash between 'Western Society' and middle-eastern islamic cultures, should get a copy of this book. Alamut not only helps one realize how rich, varied, and old some of the cultures involved in this issue are, but helps remind one that there isn't really an 'us vs. them', and that there is as little a 'them' as there is an 'us'. On top of being historically informative and intriguing, this book is very entertaining. And not only is it a fairly quick read, but one that is broadly accessible to many ages and personalities. I would highly recommend this book to anybody who wants to know more about the history of an amazingly culturally-rich area of the world, or anybody who just wants a good book to read and likes stories about love, action, and intrigue.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
You're missing the point...
By Alex on November 18, 2010
Format: Paperback
"Alamut" should not be read as a historical document. It is, was, and will always be meant to be a work of fiction, and a pretty good one. The plot is divided into three interweaving stories: The first we are introduced to is about a girl named Halima, which has a lighthearted and dreamlike feel to it, complete with bizarre plot elements that seem to come out of nowhere and melodrama you'd expect to find in a girl's YA novel. The second is the story of Ibn Tahir, which is essentially a high school adventure with more stabbing. His scenes are the most action oriented of the three. Finally, we have the top dog Hasan Ibn Sabbah's, which is the most complex and cerebral, given it's eccentric protagonist. There are a couple of nagging issues that kept this book from being a real page turner, though. The main problem is the narration. You always feel like you're watching these events from the outside, there's no intimacy between the reader and the events on the page. Second is the god awful poetry sections. Poetry should never be translated, it will always sound forced and amateurish. All 'n all, Alamut's pretty good. The poor narration really weighs down the drama, and the triple-narrative makes for an uneven tone, but some readers, like myself, will really dig the experimental tinge of that kind of plot structure.
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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Fiction or History ?!
By Fateh A. Bazerbashi on August 19, 2005
Format: Hardcover
He is mistaken who is searching in this book for a historical (reality), and is mistaken who reads it as a research or a dogmatic study.

Firstly , this work is a ( novel ) , id est. it tells , like any other novel , the story of characters , places , and epochs whose credibility rests on the script's frame .

Secondly, it is a (historical novel) that is the writer leans on history to tell his story.

This means by no chance that Bartol is re-reading history as a (fact), rather, he is creating a new narration which is this very novel that is read.

Alamut castle, the characters ibn-al-sabbah, Chajjam, Nizam-al-Molk, and the process of power degradation in Persia during 1092, all of these are elements that happened in history but in this novel they are merely narrative tools in a script that grabs its integrity from being read by us.

Vladimir Bartol ( 1906-1967 ) finished writing this novel in 1938 , in an era that was typified by the emergence of totalitarian theories and the existence of important political individuals who were aiming for a new world order set by their concepts.

Undebatably that special historical circumstance had a major role in leading the author towards the (sheik of the mountain)'s hypnotic nature to make of him the focal point of interest in his novel, supported by many stories written by historians, and by what their books implied of mythical propaganda that hailed one of the most cunning leaders of the Islamic political history in Iran.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Alamut

Such a good read. It talks about the part of human nature that we don't really realize. I'm fascinated that the game assassin's creed got it's story partly from this book.

Published 10 days ago by Abubakar Shehu
More than historical fiction, a great work of philosophy!

This historical novel launches our imagination into the historical castle of Alamut, captured by Hasan ibn-Sabah, presented against the background of the reign of Nizam-ul-Mulk as... Read more

Published 27 days ago by U. Vakil
Prescient

A great read with the background theme of the power of religious fanaticism set in northwest Iran. Some great side discussions about the power of illusions. Highly recommended.

Published 4 months ago by David J. Chojnacki
I definitely recommend it to anyone in the mood for a wonderful ...

This is one of those old classics. A masterpiece in its own right, Alamut has a haunting poeticism about it. I definitely recommend it to anyone in the mood for a wonderful read.

Published 7 months ago by Alicia
Great book

Very interesting and exciting book. beautifully written and a great read. iran has a very interesting and rich history that ive never even considered before this book

Published 12 months ago by Trevor
Excellent tale.

Honestly, this was purchased due to a sudden interest in the Assassin's Creed video game series between my boyfriend and I, but it is a great read and can be hard to put down. Read more

Published 15 months ago by sarah
Great Read!

I loved the book. It kept me glued with its story telling. A lot of times it actually saddened me. The horrors and inhuman an individual can do/be. Read more

Published 18 months ago by Gabriel Espinales
Calling all Assassin's Creed fans!

Come read the book that started it was all. Assassin's Creed games fans must read this fantastic book. Download it today!

Published 19 months ago by Torie Deremo
Nothing is true, everything is permitted

Alamut is a fascinating novel.At times the characterizations are weak and the plot a little implausible.What makes the novel is atmosphere. Read more

Published 22 months ago by JAK
Recommended by a Slovenian Relative

This novel was written in 1938 yet the idealogy applies to todays frightening terrorism in our world. Read more

Published 23 months ago by joyce m toth

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