Smorgasbord Fantasia

Beaten by Bhagath! claims to be the first-ever tale about the unseen side of the wonderland of Indian Fiction. That was the hook for me to say YES – to an offer from BookVault to review this book. I mean, hey! this was a behind-the-scenes look at the Publishing industry from someone who’s been there, done that and is willing to lay bare the ugly truths and bust some myths. So bring it on, huh? I was ready to lap it up – that small worm inside of me delighting at such an opportunity to learn more of this industry I was trying to break into.    This isn’t a debut and definitely reads like a polished effort from a talented author.   S V Divaakar is a multi-talented personality currently having forayed into Writing and Public Speaking and music forms a large wedge in the circle of his life. The tag-line, “A tale of two writers” succinctly sums up the whole book – even though it’s written from a first-person narrative, the whole book centering around the effo...

Edit: I stand corrected - Control Point is published by Ace Roc (Penguin) books and NOT Night Shade. Thanks, Myke for putting me back on track :) Another excellent debut by Ace Roc that has been garnering praise for all the right reasons and getting nominated for the biggies for the past one year now. This comes on the heels of two super awesome debuts I have read (technically should have been in 2012 though!!). There was Kameron Hurley who ran away with all the praise and the awards the year her debut, Book One of Bel Dame Apocrypha hit the stands. Then I chanced upon the excellent russo-setting epic fantasy by Bradley Beaulieu, Winds of Kalakhovo. Now this. Shadow Point by Myke Cole. Excellent stuff really – doesn’t read like a debut. Polished prose, jet-setting pacing, fantastic premise that doesn’t disappoint when executed novel-length, authentic and accurately detailed world-building. Check against all of this, this book pretty much scored on all fronts for me. Pe...

Even though the name sounds like some rustic village slangs slung together to form a wish-washy sing-song title that means absolutely nothing, Vishal Bharadwaj still manages to impress us with this quirky comic satire. He has done a complete backflip with this one. This movie remains his most commercial one till date where he’s eschewed his usual dark foreboding sense of cinematic direction and infused this one with a mad sense of comedy that trills with happiness, happies endings and the likes. A Vishal Bharadwaj movie sans dark humor sans pathos sans tragic endings? Yeah scratch your head but you better believe. And what helped him out this time? A pink buffalo and the acting powerhouse called Pankaj Kapoor.   It’s a Pankaj Kapoor movie all the way till the end credits roll in and even then, he doesn’t leave you – trying out mad hip shakings with the Zulu-dancers from South Africa. It’s an irreverent comedy set in the rustic backvillages of Haryana and the story...

Found this to be so relevant and very neatly done. So, were you hoping to get published this year? Well - Get your ass onto Goodreads, once the babies ( I meant your books) are out 'coz you dont want to miss out on this wave that is rapidly turning into a Social Tsunami.  Why Every Author Must Be On Goodreads In 2013 While there, don't forget to add me up onto the friend list :) Happy Reading and Exploring!  

There is no denying that Daniel Abraham is a prolific writer. He has already churned out a full-fledged quartet series (One that bucks the trend and takes an absolutely delightful new setting for an epic fantasy series far removed from European Medieval settings – the Long Prince quartet. I have read the first two books but sadly never got around to finishing it as I couldn’t find the rest two books and I stopped it at that), is already co-authoring (James A Corey) a super ambitious project called the Expanse – a good old sci-fi sweeping series with already three books out and a lot many in the offing ( according to the author interview) – read the first one in that series, Leviathan Wakes, all-stops pulled out fantastic monster of a read that blew away my expectations – now he’s turned his attention back to traditional epic fantasy in familiar surroundings – The Dagger and the Coin, the first part being called the Dragon Path.    This is familiar grounds fo...