Smorgasbord Fantasia

For ages, we have been pining for that huge gap in our lives left by the excellent Game of Thrones ( minus that terrible ending, of course!) and Amazon Prime has been trying hard, to get us hooked onto multiple different options. The grandest of them all, is of course The Wheel of Time currently running on Prime ( more on this later!) but we've seen a few more ambitious attempts.  Carnival Row - Season I (2019) falls somewhere right in the middle. Luscious worldbuilding, fantastic visuals that looks like a Dickensian Fever Dream, earnest performances and an overstuffed ambitious storyline.  Does it qualify to fill in that void? Nope, not by a long measure. but by itself, without drawing comparisons, Carnival Row is not a bad series at all, headlined by Orlando Bloom and several others playing key roles in the first season.  The story is a gas-lamp fantasy set in a world populated by both humans and the ‘fairyland residents, ‘fae”. As the story opens, the fairyland has be...

 Lijo Jose Pellissery became a household name in Kerala, after this cult-hit movie - Angamaly Diaries. And then the oscar-nominated Jallikattu made him famous across the country. Ee Ma Yu, his second outing ( streaming on Netflix India, by the way) was also a stellar movie that dealt with the themes of death, grief and afterlife. And then he made this movie - Churuli (means a Loop, in malayalam)  Frankly, when I saw the trailer last year, I was extremely excited for the possibilities, but now that I have seen the movie, to say am equal parts awe-struck and frustrated would be the least of it. LJP offers no explanation for this exercise in absurd-art-bizzare-cinematic extravaganza. The critics are divided in their verdicts, some of them laud the dazzling vision and the cinematic treatment of this narrative and the others are quick to trash it as exceedingly absurd, a exercise in  That it's a loop - a never ending one, set across time/space/other dimensions is very clear b...

Thanks for the ARC of Every Star a Song by Jay Posey from the Harper Fiction Publicity team and this in no way affects my opinion/review of the book.  Jay Posey has always been a favorite author of mine, as I have fond memories of his first series The Duskwalker series and having run interviews/giveaways for the same. His new series Ascendance has been a stunningly original one, focused on melding science fiction and fantasy elements overlaid with some deep philosophical tones and great action.  In the first book Every Sky a Grave of the critically acclaimed Ascendance series by Jay Posey , we were introduced to Elyth, a woman adept in the Deep Language, that could be used to kill 'planets' and her fateful meeting with the Eth-Ammuin, a fugitive of the law named Varen Fedic, whose beliefs convince her to actually break away from the workings of the First House and become an 'Exile' on the run. We were introduced to the political machinations of the Hezra-Ka, the de-fa...

So after having watched the trailers forever, the glorious epic is finally here, on the big screen and I managed to watch Deniss Villeneuve's fever-dream science fiction magnum opus in its full glory in the theatres. And yes, it is magnificent, it is weird, it's frustrating but in all senses, a visually grand spectacle that is a thoughtful and thrilling movie experience. Dune has been, by far, one of the all time favourite sci fi books. Not withstanding the countless embellishments written on top of that original trilogy or the prequels and the multiple lead-ups to the events that unfold in Dune, the first book Dune itself is book far ahead of its times and an incredibly engrossing read. So how does Deniss Villeneuve translate this complex world of shifting sands, shiftier political machinations and the emotional fracas to the big screen?  I loved it, and I may be biased, but what the heck.  At the centre of all the conflicts, is Paul Atriedes, heir to the Great House of Atri...

The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis , almost went under my radar. But boy, am I glad I picked it up at least now. I frankly didn't have much expectation heading into the story but the singular voice of "Elka" and the lyrical quality of the writing, not to mention, the intriguing post-apocalyptic set up of a wild frontier land, just swept me away and before I even realised, I was deep into the book - hooked into the fascinating story of survival and coming-of-age of a young girl in the cold unforgiving lands up north in a wild Wild West setting.  Elka, who grew up with her 'nana' till she was seven years, dreams of her parents who have gone 'north' searching for gold, joining the 'gold rush' up there. Even as she yearns for the love of parents she has never known, her world is shattered one day when a hurricane hits her home and she wakes up in an unfamiliar forest. That is when she meets the mysterious 'trapper' - who for some unfathomable reason, ...

 The Genius has done it again! Joe Abercrombie , a master storyteller with his pulse on the bleeding dark heart of our society, has given us yet another masterpiece in the rousing, heart-wrenching conclusion to the Age of Madness , the new trilogy series set in the same world as the First Law trilogy - with this book, The Wisdom of Crowds.   So for readers catching up new on this series, this review contains obvious spoilers of what has transpired before and I would advise, not to continue but to go pick up the whole trilogy which, in my humble opinion, is another crowning achievement in the epic fantasy genre. So, the Civil War ravages through the country and our newly appointed King Orso, has to contend with a bloody revolution in the Capital Agriont, led by the Burners. Leo and Savine, despite having suffered a humiliating defeat at that battle of Stoffenbeck, find reasons to cling to their life and scanty ambitions even as the tides turn. Back in the North, Rikke also has ...

 This week, on our Waiting on Wednesday meme, we are featuring a sequel to one of the stunning epic fantasy debuts of this year, back in Jan that focused on  Norse-inspired mythology, stunning world building and frenetic action. Hall of Smoke by H M Long was an early favorite novel of mine, this year.  In Jan'2022  Temple of No God (Hall of Smoke # 2) releases. And it promises the same vein of feverish excitement, action and world building, with some of our favorite troubled characters coming back.    After a brutal war between the gods, Hessa – High Priestess of the Eangen – has brokered a fragile peace. Through great sacrifice, she has forged an alliance between warring tribes and introduced her people to the true god.   But a new threat is growing across the southern border. In the remnants of the once-great Arpa Empire, three factions are vying for the imperial throne, and the vast well of raw magical power only accessible to the Arpa Emperor. ...