Scheherazade's One Thousand and Second Night (And the Nights That Came After)

<p><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>The legendary storyteller Scheherazade kept her head on her shoulders by giving the King of Persia a new tale every night. She always left off on such a note of suspense that the King could barely wait for her to pick up the story again. We still have these stories today in </span><em style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>The 1001 Nights</em><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)> one of the world's oldest and most beloved books. </span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>But what if Scheherazade were to run out of material on the 1002d night? In this novel with the help of the slave Ariana the Queen Consort cuts a deal with the court poet Ali-Haram for more stories. Ariana who has never been allowed to learn to read and write eventually replaces Scheherazade as the King's storyteller. Along the way she is freed and enslaved and freed again and reunited with the son she has never met. </span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>But when the ass-racing craze hits Baghdad Ali-Haram faces financial ruin. Ariana can save him but only at a terrible cost to herself. Meanwhile as the King's new story unfolds we encounter Djinns that can't grant wishes a lamb that is heir to Charlemagne and a sorcerer who is transformed to an Angel. There are rides on sunbeams and a forest contained in an egg. We learn that it takes a pure heart to pilot a flying divan sorcerers must adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and true love can be found through marketing as well as magic. </span></p>