Smorgasbord Fantasia

  Manjaveyil Maranangal  is the first Malayalam novel that I have read fully; this also happens to be my first taste of  Benyamin , the celebrated Malayalam author of  Aadujeevitham . While I always knew that Malayalam language (my mothertongue) has had a fascinating list of literary greats, I frankly never knew the depth or breadth of this immensely talented bunch of writers. And after having thoroughly enjoyed this fascinating immersive and yet divisive novel, consider my mind blown. I am yearning for more now! It's like I have just got the keys to a whole new chocolate shop, all to myself, without any one to stop me from going insane as I go wild, stuffing my face with the choicest of flavours, shapes, colours, ready to gorge. It's a veritable treasure trove and I have just opened that lock on that hidden trunk. Malayalam Literature, here I come!  Manjaveyil Maranangal   ( Loosely translated to the Yellow Sunlight Murders!) is a crime thriller, but in re...

Myke Cole happens to be one of my favourite authors, his stories a great mix of well etched strong characters and fast paced narratives punctuated by explosive action sequences that propel the story onwards. Sacred Throne, part - I The Armored Saint that gave us Heloise Factor, the plucky young girl forced to don up a machine-powered armour suit and protect her family and friends against a tyrannical religious order, was one hell of an introduction to the series. I had loved that book ! The Queen of Crows is book-II in this series and picks up right where we left Heloise and her rag-tag bunch of mutineers, who have won the skirmish and lived to see another day - Heloise herself now bears the tag of the Emperor's 'Palantine' one of the chosen ones, who has killed a devil and lived to tell the tale. There is no break in proceedings as Myke pitches the reader headlong into one frenzied skirmish after the other, frequent back to back violent confrontations with the en...

Happy New Year folks!  It's the start of a new decade and I am super excited. Looking back at how 2019 has gone down for me, I mostly take pride. My total books read has hit 54 (That's a book every week!) with a few in various final stages as they stand today, on 31st Dec. What has helped that tally this year, is the advent of audio books in a big way in my life. I have managed to finish 13 audio books this year (A book every month!), which is phenomenal for me. Combing through this list, there are quite a few shining gems for the year, that I have loved to bits and would categorise as the best reads of the year. A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie: The return of the Lord Grim Dark to his brutal lawless world of the First Law trilogy was indeed, a welcome one.  The wheels of time are turning and an age of madness descends into this world.  A Little Hatred  features the sons and daughters of our intrepid 'heroes' of the original trilogy. Complex, twisted, n...