Book Review: Path of the Swan
Indian 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 of your page turning is slow.
Path of the Swan, is the first in the beautifully woven Indo – Tibetan, Buddhist fantasy series .
It follows the journey of Lama Ozer and his young apprentice Tashi Thendup. On a cold day, Lama Ozer of the Demazong Monastery, gets a divine call from the mythological kingdom of Shambala that sets him on a perilous journey. Tashi Thendup, his novitiate, is asked to follow his master despite Lama Ozer’s insistence of traveling alone, for his safety. Thus begins the long, arduous journey of the Lama and his novice as they battle the freezing cold winds and unwelcoming, hard terrain of the Himalayas. Apart from this, they also have dark forces to escape from, who are hell bent on preventing them from reaching the Kingdom of Shambala.
The author’s narrative is free-flowing and surprisingly enchanting when it comes to describing the nature and the plot setting. The language of the monks and the gods have been written in a manner you would expect. She has true talent and transports you to the the land of snows. Her way of describing the lands of Sikkim and Tibet had me reminiscing about my trip to the Himalayas. But I felt the story was gratuitously elongated at certain parts. Lama Ozer’s character of a stern guru of perseverance and knowledge reminds one of that formidable yet caring, elderly school teacher one had in their school days. Tashi is the perfect disciple who is always following his teacher, never gives up on him even when he does not understand certain things owing to his innocence. You get a peek into the mystic Buddhism and their practices as well.
Charu Singh, for a debutante, sure has the talent and this book is just the beginning. On the whole, this series has me waiting for its next book.
Title: The Path of the Swan (Book 1 of The Maitreya chronicles)
Author: Charu Singh
Publisher/ Imprint: Hachette India
Pages: 447
Genre/ Sub-Genre: Fiction/ Fantasy
Rating: 3.75 of 5
Reviewed for: Publisher
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