Smorgasbord Fantasia

It's that time of the year! Yup. When we look back and choose from among the pile of books that you have ploughed through to pick up the very best. Again - this year, I think two stellar debuts feature on my list. And a debutant author from 2017, whose books I read back to back, features here with her second in the series. Some usual suspects. And hey possibly the first year when I read a B randon Sanderson which didn't turn up on the list. [ Skyward was all sorts of fun, a definite 5-star book but there were other heavy-hitters who deserved more!] Without much ado, then. In no particular order! The Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence Nona continues to enthral us in this explosive trilogy (Book of the Ancestor) - spinning the larger conspiracy wheels even faster. A masterful exploration of detailed magical systems, strained friendships and shifting loyalties, Mark Lawrence's genius is at full display in this intellectually thematic YA story - full of top notch action,...

Trail of lightning will possibly be among my top five books of the year. Period. Navajo legends, mythical monsters, Gods and wicked men - all of this comes to life in Rebecca Roanhorse 's urban fantasy debut that will rock the socks off you, by the time you are even half-way through. For me, the experience was a double joy as this was my first audible title and the breathtaking Sixth World , ravaged by the apocalyptic floods known as the Big Water in the near future, is so wonderfully depicted by Rebecca's sprightly writing and brought to life by narrator, Tanis Paranteau's amazing rendition. Set in a completely immersive native world that begs for more exploration, headlined by a native young woman as the kickass protagonist and written by Rebecca, who herself is from the Navajo area in the US. Refreshingly original, did you say? Oh yes. Dinetah is a Navajo region surrounded by vast magical walls cut off from the rest of the world (that has seen massive economic,...

Watching the new Spiderman movie was an impulse decision but what turned out to be the best decision of last weekend. I went into the movie kind of unprepared for the awesomeness that unfolded; Weary with the multitudes of "spidermen" who plagued the big screen over the last few years, the last thing we wanted was another one, right? But this animated version shrugs off the incompetence of the live-action version, lustily embracing the entire wackiness of the marvel universe, in its lingering multi-form focusing on not just one, but five different spider-man origin stories. And we are left imagining, why didn't they do a big screen comic adaptation of the source material, given animation is perhaps the best possible form of adaptation. And this isn't your Sunday morning TV screen washed out grey version - but a full blown highly stylised gorgeously realised alternate universe, come to life with attention to detail that brings alive the crazy sense of wonder and dan...

Godblind is Anna Stephen 's spell-binding debut that captured the fantasy world's imagination over - her unflinching story is splotched dark and grim with blood, unapologetically pitching her as one those worthy successors to Joe Abercrombie and Mark Lawrence. I didn't get to read this one last year and am kicking myself for the miss. Anna is one of the top notch talents who burst onto the fantasy grim-dark scene last year - along with the likes of Anna Smith Spark and Ed McDonald ( Incidentally both of whose second books are excellent fare establishing them as major forces to be reckoned with!) So when Darksoul came out this year, I knew I had to go back and read her debut and catch up, with this rising tide of red. The Red Gods are coming back and their thirst for blood is unquenchable. Exiled a millennia ago and plotting their return, the blood-thirsty Gods ( Dark Lady and her brother, the God of Pain) are worshiped by the tribe/kingdom in the west known as M...

So finally putting speculations to rest, Marvel dropped the trailer on Friday :) Lots of fans have been going crazy over discussion groups, internets trying to piece together this one. Russo brothers' dedicated this one all the crazy fans. It's a wonderful franchise coming to an end. [ Meanwhile you can always catch up with Ms. Marvel opening a month before the End Game. The wait is on.

Tasha Suri ’s debut, Empire of Sand ( Book of Ambha # 1) has been on my eagerly anticipated 2018 fantasy novels for a while now. The lush, south-asian mythology inspired fantasy book is said to have been born out of Tasha’s obsession with the Mughal Empire in India and colored by her unabashed love for Bollywood. So obviously since I share both these unhealthy 'obsessions' with her, I was extremely interested in how the fantasy version of such will turn out in paper. An accomplished debut, Empire of Sand is a book about complex relationships and the interplay of power. D eep in its heart, it is a story of choices and compromise. It is the story of young Mehr , a girl who is caught between the two cultures that have shaped her life and how both come to a cataclysmic clash threatening the world itself, riding on the vested interests of people in power - abusing this notion to their own gains. Mind you, Mehr is not your 'regular' tough-as-nails ass-kicking fanta...