Odalisque is a 2005 fantasy novel by Fiona McIntosh

Fiona McIntosh

Fiona McIntosh is a fantasy author who lives in Australia. She was born in Brighton, England and between the ages of three and eight, travelled a lot to Africa due to her father's work. At the age of nineteen, she travelled first to Paris and later to Australia, where she has lived ever since...

 and the first in the Percheron

Percheron (series)

Percheron is a fantasy trilogy first released in 2005 by Australian fantasy author Fiona McIntosh. The story takes place in the exotic Percheron where the gods are once again arising to do battle for the future...

series.

Plot summary

The story begins with a slave driver attempting to sell his latest finds, including a foreign captive known only as Lazar. Hot tempered and confident, Lazar invokes his right to a fight to the death that, if he wins, will grant him his freedom. Zar Joreb, Percheron's leader decides to attend the fight and is so impressed by the demonstrated fighting skills that he offers Lazar the elite position of Spur.

Reception

Writing for The Sun-Herald

The Sun-Herald

The Sun-Herald is an Australian tabloid newspaper published on Sundays in Sydney by Fairfax Media. It is the Sunday counterpart of The Sydney Morning Herald. In the 6 months to September 2005, The Sun-Herald had a circulation of 515,000...

newspaper, Genevieve Swart gave Odalisque a positive review, stating "the book races off to a good start, leaving us on tenterhooks awaiting the next page-turner", while also noting that McIntosh's "torture scenes might want to come with a warning, so horrifying are the descriptions of medieval-style brutality". Reviewing the novel for the The Age

The Age

The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...

newspaper, Cameron Woodhead described the series as "competent" and "fast-paced", but was critical of how accurately Islamic history was portrayed.

Odalisque was included in the 2006 Books Alive Great Read Guide. In September 2006, it was rated as the seventh most popular fantasy novel in Australia by Nielsen BookScan's.