Smorgasbord Fantasia

A clever mix of historical fiction and fierce feminist literature, Weyward is a timeless story that touches upon the topics of liberty, patriarchy, nature and what it means to be a woman, across the ages. By cleverly bringing together the lives of three women across different ages, connected by their steely resolve to maintain their individuality, dignity and pride, using their wits and perhaps aided in parts by something supernatural.  Weyward doesn't read like a debut, more like an assured work of fiction from a new voice, Emilia Hart, successfully stringing together an engaging narrative that doesn't flag, despite it being stretched across three POVs, three different timelines. Juggling the lives of three very different women, who are nevertheless, very similar - in that they are all "weyward" linked by their bloodline but also in their earnest need to protect what they believe so earnestly in. Their own freedom of expression, supported by an ability to be deeply ...

The Devil and the Dark Water is the second book by award-winning author Stuart Turton, a delicious mix of historical fiction, fantasy and supernatural. As is usual with Stuart, the book defies genres giving us an impossible mystery on the high-seas in the times of Dutch East India Company of the 17th century, a devil onboard and a colorful array of characters who would leap out of the pages to park inside your heart, including the world's best detective Sammy Pips and his brawny bodyguard, Arent Hayes, whose mystery-solving exploits are famous across the world.  This is my first Stuart Turton book and I am truly blown away by it. I am in awe of his writing prowess, his narrative is truly a guilty pleasure, with the wild but very befitting comparisons, his clever turn of phrases and of course, the fiendishly clever construction of the whole puzzle, this mystery turns out to be. Needless to say, Stuart goes right to the top of my "must-read-authors" for any of his books n...

Ordinary Monsters by J M Miro has frequently flitted in and out of my attention scape as soon as it released but now that I have read it fully, I frankly believe, that this book deserves a lot more love! It's a mammoth book with a daunting page-count but the lyrical writing, the cinematic action-thrills and the clever juxtaposition of familiar tropes like gifted children and a magical school in a well-detailed Victorian era England, makes the pages fly and helps us make short work of the book.  It's a complex, twisted tale that moves across the Wild West of America, the plague ridden streets of Tokyo, finally ending up in the cold windy northlands above Edinburgh in the early 1890's, tracing the lives of two kids - namely Charlie Ovid at Sixteen, a half black kid from Missouri and Marlowe, a young eight year old orphan, found in a moving boxcar next to his dead nursemaid and then brought up in a circus.  Because both these boys are gifted with unique 'Talents', the...

Angus Watson 's fantasy spin on historical facts continues to regale us - in his latest series, West of West . I had thoroughly enjoyed the Age of Iron - a historical epic, the first in a political sword and sorcery series that was sheer fun, full of pulse-pounding action and some unforgettable characters, brimming with that gallows humour. The series sought to shed light on the pre-christ era and the roman conquest of the south brit isles - with of course creative liberty in terms of the magic and the gory action which probably defined those times. And now with this one, You die when you die - he turns his attention to the Vikings - setting out to explore their little-known exploits on the American soil, the first intrepid explorers who dared to go beyond set boundaries. His treatment stands out - converting that research into believable and highly entertaining fiction that still rings deep and true in some fashion. I know some of my favourite fellow bloggers have love...

If I actually pause and look over the past few books that I’ve been gung-ho about and have been devouring heartily, a common theme emerges:   JAPAN .  Yamada Monogatari was an indie piece based on Medieval Japan and Oni and rice-paper ghosts. Was more of a slow-burn – with a Japanese ronin Sherlock Holmes for a hero and the story being a kind of a delicious mystery drawing you in to a power struggle for the throne.  And then I got started on this - Daughter of the Sword by Steve Bein - A noteworthy debut that came in 2012 –And is such an exquisitely written urban fantasy overlaid with detailed Japanese history that it begs to be finished in one sitting. And currently am reading a steampunk fantasy heavily inspired by Japanese mythology – a story called Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff – the end parts of this trilogy ( EndSinger ) should be hitting the stores right around the corner.  Exciting stuff. Mindblowing worldbuilding skills ever. So coming ...

Writing historical fiction can be daunting and exciting in equal measures. Especially when it is about times little known. Like the times before the birth of Christ. Right. The dark before the dark ages. Author  Angus Watson  uses this opportunity along with painstaking research findings from his life body of work - to give us the tales of the Iron age in his debut book -  Orbit 's latest,  Age of Iron  set in South Great Britain circa 61 B.C. Sound interesting ? You bet it is. A ride on the dark side of time - before the world had settled into it's rails - and set in the wildly exciting and highly conflict-ridden realms of an unexplored Great Britain - how wonderful is that, thought I as I requested for a Galley Copy of this book. And as soon as I cracked open the book, I was swept headlong into the twisty proceedings. Right from the initial battle scenes of Barton where King Zadar's sweeping army  routes the ill-trained and ill-equipped rag-tag...

Everybody who has read Guy Guvriel Kay has been gushing unequivocally great things about him. I as usual, am late to the party but having started off with one of his BEST Ever works, Under Heaven (published in 2010), I think I know pretty much how you guys feel about GGK. He’s an exquisitely talented writer. Under Heaven is easily one of the best pieces of literary fiction or historical fantasy (it sits easy on any shelf I would wager) that I’ve ever read.  “Among the ten-thousand noises and the jade-and-gold and the whirling dust of Xinan, he had often stayed awake all night among friends, drinking spiced wine in the North District with the courtesans.” So starts this literary epic that waltzes and dances to the words as woven by Guy Gavriel Kay – you get to “feel” the tone in that very first sentence that belies the depth of this multi-layered novel. It is deep, haunting and beautiful in ways that defies description.   Making a historical fantasy based on th...