Customer Reviews

The Amazing Voyage of Azzam

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4 star:		(1)
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The Amazing Voyage of Azzam was an extremely enjoyable read for me. While reading, I soon found myself sucked into the story. The way this adventure story is written allows the reader to imagine everything so clearly that it seems to come alive. Azzam's action packed voyage is a well rounded adventure with witty humor and a few wise proverbs mixed in. It is a truly creative storyline with both intellectual and philosophical depth. The characters in this imaginative adventure have strong, well developed personalities, and the archetypes were obviously well thought out. I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys reading a good book.

The "Amazing Voyage of Azzam" is a book filled with adventure and mystique. With every page comes suspense and surprises. If you are the type who likes to escape into a world of fantasy, then this is truly the book for you. Many villians seek to destroy Azzam on his journey; will they? Do they? Only one way to find out! I, personally, recommend this book and look forward to this author's next published work.

Featuring a famous sailor, treasure hunter, and rescuer of scantily clad virgin princesses out of dire need?
Well, sort of famous. Almost. At least widely known. To some. Anyway, you hear rumors...

Scantily clad virgin princesses in dire need?
Of course!

Hidden treasures, giant jewels and gaurded vaults waiting to be found, stolen and broken?
For sure.

Saving humankind from extinction?
Yes, again.

Super villains scheming for world domination?
Another classic you simply can't do without.

Foreign lands infested with cannibals?
Always a good one.

Assorted ogres, ghosts, ghouls, geanies, ravaging fishmen and other mere nuisances in the way of an old school adventurer?
Jinkies!!

Flying carpet chase with a 3-headed mutant?
Goes without saying.

Gore, splintering bones, melting flesh and eternal damnation?
Why not?

Treachery, tradgedy, comedy, romance, and sex appeal?
Hey, this IS another Godel after all...

Self-irony?
Refreshing!!

Would it make for a decent B- movie?
Yeah dude, that's the cool thing about it.

Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna buy (or at least read) his next book...

The Amazing Voyage of Azzam is a witty, action-packed book from beginning to end. With wonderful imagery and an exciting story line, this book pulls the reader into a magical world of strange creatures and forgotten lands. Become Azzam, an arrogent, yet lovable adventurer, whose greatest fear is not being remembered! It will keep you in suspense, and turning pages for hours!

I chuckled, I gasped, I'll never look at Silly Putty the same way again.

This riveting adventure with its instantly likable hero, chilling adversaries, fantastical creatures,and quest for treasure in the always intriguing ancient Arabian settings grabs you and never lets go. If you want to see a fight between headless tribesman and fiery skeleton warriors, this book delivers. I'd love to see a Ray Harryhausen (of stop-motion special effects fame) treatment of these jaw-dropping scenes.

The author utilizes his well-honed knowledge of Arabian culture, lore, myths and banter to sculpt a rich and exciting story as any described in a certain seven voyages (eat your heart out, Sinbad the Sailor!.) The dialogue alone gives the characters a satisfying depth. Another treat was the clever nods, cameos, really, to famous figures in adventure literature.

I didn't want to reach the last page; I could easily savor adventure after adventure penned by this author. I can't wait for his next book(s)!

"There were, in the time of the Caliph and prince of the faithful Haroun al-Rashid, many tales told about courageous men and their fantastic voyages across land and sea, vanquishing terrible monsters to win great quantities of treasure, the love of a beautiful woman, and undying renown...but this is not one of those tales."

Following a very spectacular - and cinematic! - rescue mission (including a breathtaking chase with a flying magic carpet), Azzam manages to save a damsel in distress from the harem of the evil Spider King, wins and loses a precious diamond and gets a visit from an infamous Black Magician, Zavaan, who kills some of the hero's crew mates before stealing a parchment that promises to reveal the lost treasure of Solomon. And that's just the first chapter!

Azzam vows vengeance for his mates and goes on a hunt for the treasure that'll lead him on a quest through many countries, seas and deserts, battling foes both real and magic before coming to a final show down between him and his army of foes. But all is not always at it seems in this wonderful fantasy yarn.

Looking at the book cover that shows the author's own sculptures depicting lookalikes of Caroline Munro, Tom Baker and John Philip Law, it is easy to see that THE AMAZING VOYAGE OF AZZAM is loosely inspired by THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD and other classic movies by Special Effects Wizard Ray Harryhausen, as well as the original tales of 1001 Arabian Nights. Though Kelly Godel does indeed often pay respectful and loving homage to his heroes, he also bends the established rules and goes his own unique and often surprising way:

His hero, Azzam, is far from being a typical swashbuckling hero, but at times selfish, arrogant and even cowardly. He is in constant envious awe of Sinbad, "the other one", a legend in his own time. Azzam feels a kind of love/hate relationship towards his idol. All his actions are determined by his burning desire to become a living legend himself some day. He constantly tries to establish his own place amongst the classic heroes. As such it is also quite humorous to see how his high-flying dreams of everlasting fame and fortune are often brought down a step or two to face reality.

The amount of research that must gone into writing this novel is immense. Godel has obviously spent a good amount of time reading up on Middle Eastern geography, history, myths and traditions. Sure, a lot of people may easily be familiar with the likes of the Roc or the Jinn, but hands up everyone who has heard about the mythological figures of the headless tribes men of Ethiopia. In this day and age it is also nice to read a book in which the city of Baghdad is actually presented in a positive light and to find that someone has gone to the trouble of actually reading up on Muslim tradition and customs.

Godel successfully manages to weave his spell over the reader. So if you're a fan of this kind of fantasy, grab this book: You're bound to be in for a thrilling ride!