Smorgasbord Fantasia

Absolutely loved this one! An action-packed visceral examination of casteism and colonialism in the backdrop of a bloody siege through the eyes of an underdog, who discovers herself and comes into her own. Kavithri by Aman J Bedi marks the beginning of a fascinating new epic fantasy headlined by a firecracker of a heroine, Kavi aka Kavithri Taemu , a young woman, broken by the unfair ruthless world around her, who finds a purpose worth fighting and killing for, a dream she lives for. The Taemus are a shunted lot, a diminished set of people who have been systematically hunted down, eradicated over years by the rulers (be it the current Raayan Empire or the erstwhile colonial oppressors from the Kraelish empire – almost drawing parallel to the British East India company) for having taken up arms and led a rebellion ages ago. The lowest dregs in a stratified society that takes its caste system very seriously, the Taemus are treated to daily degradations and humiliations by the rest of t...

Another find for me, a brilliant debut of this year. Nathan Ballingrud's debut weird (in a good way!) frontier novel set in Mars is a delightful mix of science-fiction, coming-of-age and the True-Grit quest for revenge and justice. Featuring a very small cast of characters, led by the ballsy fourteen-year old Belle (Anabelle Crisp), the story is narrated by Anabelle looking back at her youthful days, drenching the narrative with the tones of nostalgia. The incident, she narrates, is from 1931 when she used to run a diner along with her father on this 'official' Martian settlement called the New Galveston, a smallish frontier town, sharing the reddish landscape of Mars with other unofficial settlements like the Dig-Town and many others. This is just a few years after the momentous event referred to as 'Silence' when all communications from Earth has ceased. This is also a few years into when her mother has returned back to earth, thus leaving Anabelle and her fathe...

 This was the first book from celebrated author C J Cooke that I was reading and I cannot believe I have been living under a rock, not having read anything from this prolific and talented author before!  A Haunting in the Arctic is exactly what the name suggests - a book that follows the harrowing journey of a whaling ship in the brutally cold extremes of the arctic and the lives of two women, Nicky and Dominique across two different timelines, closely linked to the fate of the ship itself. Let me state this at the outset that this book is not for the fainthearted and the narrative has some extremely disturbing scenes around sexual violence, so exercise caution and be aware of this if you ever pick up this book. Having said that, C J Cooke does a bang-up job of immersing us into this extremely poignant and heart-wrenching story, melding together elements of grief and longing in an intense psychological drama with a brilliant twist by the end.   The story is set acr...

Godkiller  is  Hannah Kaner 's highly acclaimed debut, set in a richly realised brutal world, in the throes of a chaotic looming civil war. It is a world rife with with conflicts, between the Gods and humans sick of their tyrannical murdering world order, nobles scheming against royals, and the long-suffering citizens caught in the middle of all this, trying to flee from their own wretched destiny.  Hannah presents an interesting, refreshing take on the conflicts between Gods and humans, giving us a world that is teeming with strife, torn between half the populace on the side of the King, wanting to kill and eliminate the errant murderous Gods who are drunk on their concept of power derived from the desperate faith and the other half, clinging to hope that their prayers would still be heard by the Gods left. Cities are in ruins, where the shrines are destroyed and gangs of Godkillers, mercenaries who specialize in exactly what that name implies. The only city that still h...

I think I have zeroed in on my top fantasy debut of the year already :)   The Silver Blood Promise is James Logan 's debut - a masterfully crafted epic fantasy full of action, mayhem and magic that is right up your alley, falling somewhere between the Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch and First Law books by Joe Abercrombie. Ed McDonald calls it post-grimdark and he wouldn't be wrong. Because the staples of that grimdark genre which we all love are all in there; the hero with his regretful choices of his past, who is content drowning his life in wine (Parvan Red, anyone?) and gambling his wealth away in decrepit smoky dens, picking fights with shady goons, characters drowning in their own guilt and making illogical choices, back-alley fights and a flighty convoluted dash through a seedy city of merchants, underground criminals and power hungry nobles conspiring against each other.  The story primary centers around the character of Lukan Gardova, a minor nobility, a failed ...

  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...

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 ...