Desert Royal

Not as good as the first book in the series but definetly better then the 2nd book.

I did like this book and took it as an update. It gave an interesting insight into what was happening. However, if there were any more books it would have got very boring. It ended at the right time.

There were some stories or aspects of the book that were already discussed in the first two books, which got quite boring at times. However, a good read. The stories that were mention again were written as reveiws or reminders. It would have been good if the concept and the stories were different, as too much repatition can be really boring.

At times i did get bored.

After reading Princess i wanted to know or learn more on this story. However, it is sometimes better to just write one book that covers all subjects. I supose their is a limit to how much you can read on one subject or way of life.

The Real Saudi Arabia (8/8 people found this helpful)

Having lived and worked in Saudi Arabia as a married british woman I have always found this authors books to dig beneath the surface of the Saudi Arabia that most people see on the television or read of in the news.A womans life in this country,even as a westerner is very ,very different to that lived in Europe or America.Some people may think that the author exaggerates for the sake of the story,this is not so.Any woman who has ever lived there for any lengh of time will know of many incidents of abuse,humiliation ,degradation of women by some saudi men.Books like this must be read and belived if anything is to change in this very closed country.

How heartfelt is her passion for this (5/13 people found this helpful)

First I should say I'm male. But I feel that feminism is (perhaps unsurprisingly) overrun by women and until men take an active part in it then it's never going to fully succeed, so I'll stick in my 2 penny's worth. I believe in equality. I'm not sure how desperately this woman does, is it fashionable as a royal to do so. I think it smacks of self promotion and not of true women's lib. There are perhaps 3 passages in the book that really would be worthy of the book she thinks she's writing. The harem scene, here niece's wedding and the bit with the Pakistani girl at the end. beyond that this looks like a chance to write an extra book in the series and a cynic may say make a bit more cash, I doubt that's the reason as I guess she's not short of that. The stuffing that padded these 3 events into a book is in itself vaguely interesting, but it's not what the book proffers to be about. I'd give it a miss.

a step down (4/8 people found this helpful)

desert royal is (when compared the previous novels , for example "princess") is a step down in many ways. The chararcter sultana seems to use the book as a means to flash her wealth (the fact she details her extravagant spending in new york supports this). A lot of the details she peppers the book with have no connection to saudi womens rights and the narrative wanders off topic on more than one occasion. The novel does strike a chord that their are problems in saudi but it is clear that sultana is not constant with her actions.

Good - but not that good! (8/10 people found this helpful)

Having devoured "Princess" and "Daughters of Arabia" in hours, I eagerly anticipated this third volume. However, I found that it had little to add to what had previously been said in the two earlier books. Instead, it seems to be going through the motions of typical "themes" in Middles Eastern circles: Arab fathers abducting the children they had with western women; the Gulf war; sex slaves kept by Saudi princes; ridiculous extravagance; problems with alcohol; child brides ... in short, not a bad read, but anyone who has read Sassoon's earlier works will doubtless find little to shock them, and may feel they are reading little more than a soap-opera of an obscenely rich and decadent family.

Jean Sasson

Reader Reviews:

Good (16/16 people found this helpful)

The Real Saudi Arabia (8/8 people found this helpful)

How heartfelt is her passion for this (5/13 people found this helpful)

a step down (4/8 people found this helpful)

Good - but not that good! (8/10 people found this helpful)

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