Smorgasbord Fantasia

After having absolutely loved the opening salvo Three in the Legends of the Duskwalkers series by Jay Posey , I had my hopes sky-rocketing for the second book, Morningside Fall . Truths be told, after having set such a high-bar with the testosterone-filled opening featuring one of the most enigmatic heroes and having masterfully built up a suspenseful post-apocalyptic world with its own set of twists and horrors – It was always going to be a really tough deal for Jay. To surpass the stratospheric expectations. Three was a surprise debut for me last year. Delightful and punchy. Alas. Morningside Fall is a weak addition to the series. It's not really a series bridger - in the sense, we still are in the dark about the Legend of the Duskwalkers. I would like to place my bets on certain aspects, sure but things are still clouded and hazy. The dust hasn't settled yet and we await the conclusion to this series – that still retains its originality and brilliance. ...

Okay,  I've been so much a lunatic fan-boy raving about the immense potential and talent of a certain Mr. Sanderson that I think I cut a ridiculous picture if I push it anymore. But I cannot hold it back, I am back to the drooling-half-mad-raving fan boy frothing at the mouth by the prospect of, what I wager to be the Best Ever Fantasy Series in "long"-running today, Second Book in the Stormlight Archives. The news from TOR is that the book hits the stands worldwide on March 4th this year. Can I spin those wheels of time a bit faster please (PUN intended, yes) The first book was such a pleasure to read - The Way of Kings brought us closer to Kaladin Stormblessed, the destiny's child and Dilnar Kholin, the tortured General, the enigmatic parshendi and lots more interesting characters - searing into our hearts. And now we cannot wait till we go back into that strange world of Roshar. So for all those fan-boys who suffer from my conditions, here's a bit o...

Kaurava is the middle book of the Aryavarta Chronicles trilogy by Krishna Udayasankar . Her debut, Govinda exploded onto the Indian fiction scene sometime last year ending up as a national bestseller – I was extremely impressed by the depth and quality of this debut – having called it a gem from our rich mytho-history polished and lit up in perhaps different colors from what we are used to, but dazzling and radiant as always.  Krishna had opened the floodgates with Govinda. And now Mahabharata, the sweeping ambitious epic of all times, has become a central focus of a lot many authors. There are a lot many books out there that deal with different subjects of Mahabharata and this gargantuan epic still has room for more. But the Aryavarta Chronicles truly dazzles. It is not so much as a retelling but a soaring triumph of unfettered imagination built on pain-staking research and penned in a confident poetic prose that delights and transports you to far-away conflicted land...

I finally hauled myself back to the world of Jean and Locke, the Gentlemen Bastard series. I read their first adventure back in 2009 and was completely blown away by heist artists. A Sword and Heist (I would prefer to call it thus as opposed to sword and sorcery as magic while an underlying theme, never really gets its full due till now) story that gave us two of the best protagonists ever in the fantasy worlds in Locke & Jean, and well, a fantastically memorable setting in the city of Cammorr where the events of the first book play out. There has been much uproar over the delay in the third book in the Gentlemen Bastards series – After the spectacular epic fantasy debut, Locks of Lie Lamora, established Scott Lynch as one of the brightest shining stars in this genre ; he churned out the second blockbuster adventure in that series by the next year with a promise to keep it coming once a year. Now that the third book, Republic of Thieves is out (Oh well, if you im...