Fantasy fiction, a scarcely explored genre in Indian writing in English; not a genre that Indian readers will pick up easily to experiment for we are badly burnt by the incredibly out-worldly and impossibly illogical stories we are fed on our television, all in the name of fantasy. When Dark Things arrived from Hachette for review and the moment I
Read moreFantasy is not a creation of the modern world. In fact the roots of fantasy go back thousands of years to an age of myths and legends, when wandering storytellers sat by a fire and recounted fantastic tales of wondrous worlds, populated by gods, heroes and monsters. Starting from the ancient epic of Gilgamesh and The Tales of King Arthur
Read moreI am quite ambivalent about my opinion on this book. It usually does not happen. I know whether I like it or not. It is a different matter that I may not be brutally honest in my review for a bad book, or superfluously glowing for a good book. But I know. Not this time. Because, Palm’s Foster Home For
Read moreIn the last one decade, the Indian book market has seen a rapid upsurge of mythological fiction. Writers like Ashok Banker, Devdutt Pattanaik, Amish Tripathi has struck a chord with the young Indian readers who although seem reluctant to read the primary texts like The Mahabharata, The Ramayana, are more than interested in modern re-tellings of these texts which make these
Read moreWe are living in the world of digital technology and a number of our interactions happen through social networking sites now days. But, what will happen if you find out that one of your beloved Gods is trying to reach you through one of these social networking sites? Have you ever thought about that? Well! 1 Friend Request Sent From
Read moreTo begin with, the cover page is funky and vibrant at the same time. It has a boy who is caught between Lord Rama and the scary Ravana surrounded with things that is dear to him. The title is a little long, yet apt considering the plot. The book blurb is brief and would surely grab your attention. The characterisation
Read moreThe book cover has the text, “To say I couldn’t put down this down is an understatement: I barely breathed. With rapier wit, Basu introduces us to Nathaniel Brown and his spine-chilling adventures. “ says Wendy Orr, author of Nim’s Island. Samit Basu’s Turbulence is a favorite and the Terror on the Titanic was an easy pick for me, especially
Read moreThe Temple of Avinasi by Ayush Pathak is the first of seven books in the series that tells the tale of a boy who discovers that his life is anything but normal and that he is anything if not extra ordinary. He discovers that he is actually the last of the avatars Kalki and is a Dev; that his mission
Read moreAnthologies are not very rare in the Indian literary market these days, and yet there are few which can be counted into good ones. Litizen is a virtual platform for writers and it has come up with an interesting anthology, unrestricted to the bounds of genre. There’s gaming, ghosts, paranormal activities, beautiful con artists at job and a little magic
Read moreIndian authors in the fantasy genre is rare. And finding a competent Indian author in this genre is even rarer. And finding a fantasy story that stays with you forever is of the rarest. Charu Singh is one of the rarer. Almost first of its kind, a Tibetan-Buddhist fantasy novel, the novel is a thorough page turner, though the pace
Read moreIn Skyserpents, Jash Sen has proved once again that a background of Hindu mythology and ancient lore, gods, demi-gods and asuras can form an arresting and deadly cast of characters when thrown together with her creative ingenuity. The second book in the trilogy, Skyserpents starts out with one of the most well known and pivotal moments in Hindu mythology –
Read moreWe all know of Salman Rushdie as the controversial author who has a fatwa hanging over his head for stepping into forbidden territory in his controversial treatise The Satanic Verses. But I had missed out, before I read this book, that he had soon after the fatwa stepped into action in what can be called a lit contrast – from
Read morePart of Debut Indian Writers Challenge 2013 As soon as I started reading the first page of Jash Sen’s debut novel, The Wordkeepers, I was instantly hooked by the scene, which drew me right onto the battleground in Kurukshetra, set at a pivotal moment, with Arjun–Ashwatthama about to annihilate the planet, and Lord Krishna trying to prevent it. Thus began a
Read moreReady for the second contest of the month? Let your imagination loose. Get into the fantasy mode. Acquire superpowers. Be the superhero (or the superheroine) READY? PLAY NOW 1. Theme: Conquer the Valley of Beauty You are at point A and your destination is point V.
Read morePart of South Asian Challenge 2013, Debut Indian Writers Challenge 2013 and Reading Challenge 2013: First Reads Legend. Secrets. A cult of protectors. A child of destiny. What more does a fantasy fiction fan need? Fantasy fiction seems to be taking some steady, sturdy steps in Indian literature these days. This year at The Tales Pensieve we have had the fantastic Luwan of Brida
Read morePart of South Asian Challenge 2013, Debut Indian Writers Challenge 2013 and Reading Challenge 2013: First Reads Magic could be so magical!! (don’t get your hopes high, this book is not a magic propagating fantasy fiction) But it is definitely about the magical stories that entwined our growing years – with a twist. The Arabian Nights – what a fabulous collection of stories it was. Fascinating, intriguing and magic
Read moreA science graduate of Stanford University with an MBA from the Harvard Business School, an insatiable interest in the religious history of India, spirituality and mythology and one who claims to have spent his entire life researching for his debut book Tantra – Adi is the WordMaverick of April 2013. We get inKonversation with the shy wordsmith who gives us not
Read moreThe Shiva Trilogy by Amish for me will always represent that whiff of freshness that stormed the Indian literary scene that was nearly choking with louveeee in 2010! (not that the scene is any different now [after 3 years] but the winds are definitely changing). The mythological – historical – adventure – fiction series is all but immortalized as one of the trend changers amongst Indian books and Indian publishing
Read moreIT guy turned into a love story writer. Heard that so often, no? IT guy turns into a fantasy fiction writer!! that’s a new one, right? Meet Sarang Mahajan – our very own WordMaverick of March 2013 on The Tales Pensieve. First he wrote Visual Basic and Java codes, then all those ish-wish web designing codes and now fantasy fiction
Read morePart of South Asian Challenge 2013, Debut Indian Writers Challenge 2013 and Reading Challenge 2013: First Reads Title: Luwan of Brida Authors: Sarang Mahajan Publisher: Periwinkle (Imprint of Popular Prakashan) ISBN: 978-817991-671-1 Pages: 272 Genre: Fantasy Fiction Rating: 4.5 of 5 Reviewed for: Author A Debut book. An Indian. A fantasy fiction series! I have always been a lover of a bit of
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