''Abu and the Seven Marvels'' is a 2002 illustrated fairy tale novel by

Richard Matheson Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is best known as the author of '' I Am Legend'', a 1954 science fictio ...

, and illustrated by

William Stout William Stout (born September 18, 1949) is an American fantasy artist and illustrator with a specialization in paleontological art. His paintings have been shown in over seventy exhibitions, including twelve one-man shows. He has worked on over ...

. Abu is a

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

varlet who seeks the hand of Princess Alicia, in a love triangle with the scheming Grand Vizier Zardak. Inspired heavily by Arabian Nights, Abu must seek tokens from each of the seven marvels of the world in order to win Alicia's hand. He is accompanied by a washed-up

genie Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic myt ...

and his little brother Mut.

Reception

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' stated that it was "(w)himsical and diabolically clever" and "a gem", ABU AND THE 7 MARVELS
reviewed at ''

''; published April 15, 2002; retrieved September 11, 2019 while ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' called it "charming".Richard Matheson obituary
by Christopher Hawtree, in ''

''; published June 25, 2013; retrieved September 11, 2019

Art

William Stout described his participation in the project as "a labor of love", and noted that his original artwork — "several elaborate and well-researched full color illustrations" — was rejected by Matheson as too "serious".Richard Matheson 1926 - 2013
by

, at WilliamStout.com; published June 26, 2013; retrieved September 11, 2019

References

2002 novels Novels set in Iran Works based on One Thousand and One Nights {{2000s-fantasy-novel-stub