Smorgasbord Fantasia

Ship Breaker is Paolo Bacigalupi's follow up to the multi-award winning breakout novel, Windup Girl . I know I am a decade and more late to this master's genius works, but better late than never. After having finally finished that stunning, towering mind bending piece of science-fantasy, I know I would have to climb down from the highs of the visionary piece of fiction, that was Windup Girl. But even with Ship Breaker, you get the similar dystopian world, that has gone 'under' - a drowned world, where oil is scarce and values like humanity or loyalty even scarcer. You could even argue that while Windup happens in the Southeast Asia, or what's left of it. A version of Bangkok where genetics and rising waters pose the greatest threat. While Ship Breaker happens in the very different corner of the world - the west. Or more precisely, the previous parts of the Southern Coasts, near New Orleans or what's left of it.  We are introduced to the forlorn beaches of this c

The Sun Bearer Trials was my first book by Aiden Thomas - and my, what an interesting opening this was. Part of a Duology, The Sun Bearer Trials is a dazzling magical adventure, a story of coming-of-age, of queer-normal-friendships and lots more. A passionate, well paced story that weaves together themes about identity, community and justice.  I frankly went in, without any preset ideas about the book or the author Aiden Thomas. Which was probably why, I enjoyed the book a lot more than I expected to. Aiden Thomas is a NYT Bestselling author with his first runaway hit debut, Cemetery Boys ( Which btw, is excellent! I have picked this up and am reading it currently!) - So, in some ways, the readers already familiar with the works of Aiden, would possibly have been expecting a marvel. For me, this was new grounds which I happily waded into and enjoyed a lot, promising myself to definitely get back to Aiden for more of his work.  So, the novel is structured as a trials ( Yes - Hello, Hun

Nona the Ninth is the third instalment of the Locked Tomb series from Tamsyn Muir. As we have seen before, Tamsyn Muir constructs the Locked Tomb books like an intricate puzzle, with dizzying revelations and mind-fuckery of twists that will blow your mind. So, yes even with the third book in the series, expect nothing different. In a lot of ways, Nona the Ninth is both the easiest book or the most approachable book in the series. And yet, at the same time, the most exquisitely constructed puzzle that Tamsyn throws at us readers. I will be frank, this was actually my least favorite book of the series [ I know! Don't get your knives out, yet. Let me explain!]  So Nona the Ninth happens a while after the tumultuous events of Harrow the Ninth. Fair warning, if you don't remember anything from that book, then I would suggest you go back and read the last few chapters. Because as usual, Tamsyn doesn't give us any guard-rails to help at all and we are thrown into the deep end

 This week on Waiting on Wednesday - where we feature some of our most awaited SFF titles releasing later this year or even next year - We are looking forward to this book called " A Dowry of Blood " - an epic imaginative and moving re-telling of the Dracula legend, by S T Gibson . A gothic tale, rife with dark romance and horror, this is the POV of one of the brides of Dracula.  A deliciously dark retelling of Dracula, A Dowry of Blood is a saga of obsession, desire and the lengths to which we'll go to protect the ones we love. Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things.   Finding comfort in the arms of her rival consorts, she begins to unravel their husband's dark secrets. With the lives of everyone she

An expertly crafted satire that works wonders, Nna Than Case Kodu (loosely translated to ' Then, you sue! ') is Ratheesh Balakrishna Pothuval's third outing as a director and he hits the bull's eye with this one. His fantastic writing lends itself to absurd situational laugh-out-loud comedy in almost every other scene of the movie, and no it doesn't get flat out boring or repetitive. Much of this credit goes to Kunchako Bobban as the endearable Rajeevan, a reformed thief, down and out on his luck who is falsely accused of theft from an MLA's house. It leads to hard times for Rajeevan, as that stamp of a 'thief' means that he doesn't get any useful job and even his lover, spurns him and asks him to get out of her house.  The said 'attempt at burglary' happens when Rajeevan is coming back from a late night temple festival but when all we actually get to see, is him jumping over the wall and then being brutally attacked by two house pets of the

On Waiting on Wednesday , we featuring some of the most anticipated new releases in Science Fiction, Fantasy and everything in between.  This week, we bring you the hotly anticipated sequel, to the wonderful new space-opera by Kate Elliots Unconquerable Sun - This one's called Furious Heaven. I truly enjoyed the space-opera, the wonderfully balanced narrative that focussed on imperial princess Sun's internal growth and the large-scale space-war and the politicking in play among the Empires across the stars.  Non-stop action, space battles and intrigue abound in the second in a galactic-scale, gender-swapped space opera trilogy inspired by the life of Alexander The Great. The Republic of Chaonia fleets under the joint command of Princess Sun and her formidable mother, Queen-Marshal Eirene, have defeated and driven out an invading fleet of the Phene Empire, although not without heavy losses. But the Empire remains strong and undeterred. While Chaonia scrambles to rebuild its mili