The Saffron Runners

THE SAFFRON RUNNERS
B.G. Fox
Quentin Wilson Publishing

REVIEWED BY FEBY IDRUS

Set in the 1800s, The Saffron Runners follows a merry band of heroic Afghan horsemen as they ride from their village in northern Afghanistan to the southern Persian city of Isfahan to rescue their abducted kinswomen and to steal the marvellous horses owned by the Persian Prince Omid. Led by their young chieftain Suleiman, these Afghani warriors thunder through oases, cities, deserts and Bedouin camps, driven by justice and revenge.

For a swashbuckling historical thriller, this premise is extremely promising. It is also very promising that the author B.G. Fox has considerable experience in historical research. Fox’s touch for establishing historical and cultural setting is deft and capable, and it is a pleasure to sink into her rich and bejewelled descriptions of bustling 19th-century Arabian markets, sheltered waterholes, barren deserts punctuated by camel trains, and the blossom-filled valleys and icy plateaus of northern Afghanistan.

Fox also uses a particular, ornate style that works well for this kind of story, though its baroque stylings may take some time to get used to. The overflow of precise detail matches the fountain of prose style which washes through this novel.

These excellent features however cannot mask issues in the novel’s fundamental aspects: plot and character. Though the premise is immediately compelling, the structuring of the Afghans’ cross-country ride needs work. A sequence of scenes depicting the traditional Afghan war game buzkashi colourfully describes Suleiman’s home, culture and society - but it occurs near the end of the book, not near the beginning, where it could have done a lot to establish the world of the novel.

Yes, there are lots of exciting battle scenes with rearing horses and gruesome deaths, but soon every battle scene and chase sounds the same, undifferentiated by narrative purpose or approach.

A lack of differentiation also mars the characters. Of course, this is supposed to be a page-turning thriller, so scenes exploring characters’ psychologies is not appropriate for the genre. But should the characters feel this cardboard?

Suleiman and Nadia feel the most fleshed out, but every other character is essentially the same as each other. Even Suleiman’s character is muddled in his motivations. Certainly people can be motivated by many things, but Suleiman rides across the country apparently to capture Persian horses, to seek revenge on the colonel who assaulted him to protect all of Afghanistan from Persian invasion (why is this his responsibility again?), possibly to live up to his father’s reputation, and to rescue Nadia (who he promptly forgets about as soon as he locks eyes with a Turkish princess). In addition, Suleiman has no revolution or revelation of character. By comparison Nadia goes through a remarkable change in character, none of which is really explained or explored.

Ultimately, The Saffron Runners is disappointing. Fox clearly knows how to put a sentence and a setting together, but it is not enough alone to make a great a novel.

Feby Idrus is a writer, musician, and arts administrator
 

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