Smorgasbord Fantasia

Angry Robot   has had a way of rewarding us readers with the new and the unexpected when it comes to genre fiction, fantasy or science fiction. Books that break current boundaries, set the stratospheric new heights and also define new sub-genres in that process, giving us fiction we didn't know we   needed .  Necrotech   is the prime shining example of good things to have come out of that process. Rebelliously, ridiculously good things that rank definitely up there among the best. Re-defining the scope and boundaries of cyberpunk science-fiction thrillers. I cannot believe this is a debut. I cannot believe   K C Alexander   hasn't written a book before. If this is   Chuck Wendig   writing under a false pen-name, I wouldn't be surprised. But heck no, he;s written a glowing endorsement for every foul word that has fountained from under that pen.  So if you loved Miriam Black series, then you will love   Rikko . The female pr...

Growing up, history was my favorite subject (Given that my mother was a history teacher and at least till Tenth I absolutely loved sinking back into the legends that make up our world in the annals of history! After Tenth grade though, the sciences took over!) The Grace of Kings is epic fantasy yes - but it oh so beautifully reads like my favorite historical lesson. (Impossible not to draw parallel with the Classical Age of Ancient China, the rise and fall of dynasties that make up the rich layered tapestry of this nation's history!) Ken Liu has swept through every award possible with his short fiction - and we were so glad and super excited that we were finally getting a full fledged novel from him! So with respect to the expectations, it was of course stratospheric and breaking beyond the outer edges of every space-barrier discovered or not. But with The Grace of Kings, the opening salvo in the Dandelion Dynasty, Ken proves beyond any spec of a doubt that he can walk away ...

Better late than never, I say. Swamped down and struggling to plow through the list of to-be-read pile of mine, I wanted to let you guys know these are the gems from September that I want to definitely read up and for which, am super excited about! Of Sand and Malice Made by Bradley P Beaulieu A prequel novella in the same world as The Twelve Kings that brings back Ceda and her gang, and this time three inter-connected adventures set in the bustling Sharakhai - bring back the blood soaked prophecy, the magic, the sheesha-dens and amazing adventures in the desert. Bradley is doing it again. Twisting the tropes, rewriting the rules of this genre. I loved it. You should get your hands on it. Out now, from DAW books. Cold Forged Flame by Marie Brennan Tor.com publishing is experimental to the core - Marie Brennan takes a break from the adventures of Lady Trent and Co. to write about this absolutely nutty fantasy-thriller about a woman, with no memories of her past sent...

Bradley Beaulieu is one of my go-to-authors in present day fantasy - breaking new grounds with every single release of his - and so, it was with barely restrained excitement, that I plunged back into the ruthless but gloriously realized desert world of Sharakhai, Of sand dunes and dark horrifying prophecies, of blood magic and the terrifying consequences. Of demons and their curses. It was a welcome return back to the wind-lashed sand-dunes in the Mother of Sand, the sheesha-dens and the roaring fighting-pits - right back into the lives of  Cedahmin Ahyanesh  and her friends, one more time. Ceda was one of the most formidable heroines/protagonists introduced to the fantasy genre last year and I was more than happy to partner up again, this time against demoniacal forces formed of the whims of the desert-gods who decides to wreck havoc in her life. Of Sand and Malice Made is a three-part novella that traces the life of our protagonist, a couple of years before the event...

Been a long time since I saw a movie that I came away impressed and wanted to write about. One of the new movies that I have been wanting to watch, is this hindi action-thriller called Akira , starring Sonakshi Sinha. Hyped up as a high-octane action thriller from the makers of Ghajini, A R Murugadoss directed Akira promos looked pretty promising. But the initial reviews I read, really put me off. But good things are worth waiting for, huh. So I did find that this one's actually inspired by a 2011-Tamil thriller, called Mouna Guru . I had never heard of this movie but figured, I might as well watch the original. remakes never do justice, we know that by now right? First day of the long weekend, finding myself alone at home with the doggies for company, I did just that. Verify that the original beats the remake, by a far bigger margin that I had expected. Relatively low budget, this one doesn't have any 'stars' and is also the debut directorial by Santha Kumar....