Smorgasbord Fantasia

David Hair is actually one of those prodigiously talented writers out there, who's been quietly churning out mindblowing series' after series - having given us FOUR completed series ( yes!) David has turned his attention to a completely new world that he's been creating, the first of the trilogy is called The Map's Edge in this series called The Tethered Citadel , from the Jo Fletcher (Quercus) books stable.  Set to release on Oct 15th, this is about a renegade sorcerer's bid to explore the very edges of this intriguing world that promises a thrilling adventure perfect for the fans of Scott Lynch, Brandon Sanderson and Sebastian de Castell.  Dashryn Cowl has run out of places to hide. The erstwhile sorcerer of the Imperial College fled the Bolgravian Empire when his high-flying family fell from grace, but the tyrannical empire is still hunting for him. So when he gets his hands on a map showing a place outside the known lands rich in istariol, the mineral that fue...

 When the Ramparts trilogy was announced, I was beside myself with excitement! A full trilogy of MR Carey goodness. The description of the first book was mind-blowing - a full post-apocalyptic world where humans lived together in remote distant villages, hunted by moving trees and dangerous molesnakes, where the sun shining was an invitation for dangers myriad - and the people themselves are living within walled villages - scrapping together a measly living.  The Book of Koli is the first book in the Ramparts trilogy and is centred around the adventures of young Koli - a teenager boy who's way too curious for his own good and ends up stumbling on secrets - about his own village and the 'lost' world before them - that pushes him out on breathtaking adventures in the wild.  It's a great premise, yes but once I was through with the book, it didn't leave me with that wonderful yearning that you get about great stories. M R Carey is a storyteller, past excellence - as...

 I adore Christina Henry 's takes on the 'fairy-tales' - especially her dark doozy of an interpretation of Alice in Wonderland, the Peter Pan stories and the last one, Girl in Red about the red riding hood.  With The   Ghost Tree , Christina takes a decidedly different approach to give us a creepy simmering tale of horror set in a sleepy small-town in the outskirts of Chicago. While it is a 'horror' story, it is also a story of coming-of-age, first loves, childhood friendships and the ties that define a family. It's a story that features witches, but not in any sense that you've probably seen or read before.  Ghost Tree is actually a heart-warming tale of families trying to make ends meet, in this laid-back small town called Smiths Hollow - told from the point of view of a multitude of characters, all of them whom we feel we 'know' in an intimate manner. What makes Ghost Tree a winner, raising it notches above just a gore-fest horror story is the ma...

C U Soon , an experimentally shot movie by Mahesh Narayanan , produced by Fahadh and Friends company released exclusively on Prime on Sept 2nd - the stand-in for the usual Onam big-budget release ( Malik, the other Fahadh movie obviously being benched for a bigger release across theatres, once the normal returns of course!)  Shot like a virtual cyber-screen thriller, C U Soon is definitely paving the way for newer horizons in the way movies are made. A racy thriller, that unspools on as WhatsApp chats, Duo video calls and computer screen grabs - starring Fahadh Fazil, Rosshan Mathews and Dhanya Rajendran in pivotal roles. Apparently, the script idea came from Mahesh a while back and so Fahadh and gang decided to put in their weight behind, to bring this project to life during the COVID-19 times. And boy, aren't we glad. For the movie is a rousing middle-finger to the virus that has been a deterrent to the movie industry in general. We really hope, more such movies get made in the ...

 The reigning king of grim dark fantasy is back at it. And for a series that picks up decades after the First Law trilogy - the Age of Madness is truly rolling on in spectacular style. The "little hatred" has gone onto become full fledged conspiracy, betrayal and the spark is lit for a rebellion. The trouble with peace...is that it hardly lasts, ending too soon. And the trouble with this book, is that it ended too soon for me as well.  The Trouble With Peace , sequel to A Little Hatred , the second book in this new trilogy from Joe Abercrombie is even better than the first book and pushes ahead the overall narrative by a mile, brimming with tension and action - all coloured by the same shroud of grim hopelessness and underlined by that gut-punch of black humour that differentiates Abercrombie from others.  We start the second book, right after the catastrophic reveals and twists of A Little Hatred . Peace reigns within the Union, but a brittle one at that. And reluctan...