Do you enjoy one-shots, as well as longer series? Like shoujo or josei stories in a historical setting, and don't mind a bit of shounen-ai? Then you should probably take a look at 1001 Nights. Based off the format of the classic tale "Arabian Nights," the main story is set in the middle-east. Interspersed throughout are smaller tales, told by a storyteller.

Sehara is a feminine-looking young scholar, when his sister is summoned to spend the night with the sultan. Since the sultan kills each girl after a night with them, Sehara dresses as a woman and goes in her stead, hoping to give his sister time to escape. Once the ruse is discovered, Sehara is in danger of execution. In an attempt to plead for his life, he tells the sultan a story--with a moral. The sultan takes the hint, and allows him to live. Not only that, but Sehara is made the royal bard, with the job of telling stories to the sultan.

The sultan complains that most of the stories have sad endings (which they do). But Sehara uses his stories as a way of guiding the impulsive and often cruel young ruler. When he realizes that the sultan is carrying a lot of emotional baggage, he uses the stories as a sort of therapy to help heal his past wounds. The sultan comes to greatly depend on Sehara's stories and wisdom.

The stories are depicted like short one-shots, a chapter or two long. I would get very engrossed in each small story, forgetting that it was being told as part of the greater story. As one-shots, they are all quite good, and each could have been published separately. In the back of each volume, the author says a word or two about where he got the inspiration for the short stories from.

The setting is in the middle east, during the times of the Crusades. Eventually, that becomes an important part of the story. Some people have complained that the series doesn't depict the Islamic culture properly, and such. I'm no expert on that time or place, so I can't say how accurate the events and settings are. As a work of fiction, though, it's still interesting, and has a good atmosphere and internal consistency. (Well, actually, there is one story told that's from the present day, as if Sehara were telling a story about the distant future.)

The art is really quite good. It's well-suited to the genre. It's typical semi-realistic shoujo/josei, and similar to the style often used in shounen-ai mangas (or, in this case, manhwa). Actually, there isn't really much shounen-ai in the main story. There's one or two of the smaller stories that have it though (particularly the Socrates story).

The pacing for the story is good. Things get exciting at times. There is some occasional mature sexual content, but not a lot.

Conclusion:
The art was good, and so was the story. I enjoyed the short stories interspersed throughout. The main characters were good, particularly Sehara and the sultan. Sehara, even though he seems weak physically, has a lot of inner strength, and nerve. How many people would dare tell a story that might anger someone who has the power to chop off their head at a moment's notice? The sultan starts out as an utter brat, but Sehara helps improve him through his "story therapy."

I think most shoujo/josei readers will enjoy this.