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The Return of Ravana #1
Pyre of Queens
Mandore, Rajasthan, 769 AD: Ravindra-Raj, the evil sorcerer-king, devises a deadly secret ritual, where he and his seven queens will burn on his pyre, and he will rise again with the powers of Ravana, demon-king of the epic Ramayana. But things go wrong when one queen, the beautiful, spirited Darya, escapes with the help of Aram Dhoop, the court poet. Jodhpur, Rajasthan, 2010: At the site of ancient Mandore, teenagers Vikram, Amanjit, Deepika and Rasita meet and realize that the deathless king and his ghostly brides are hunting them down. As vicious forces from the past come alive, they need to unlock truths that have been hidden for centuries, and fight an ancient battle . . . one more time.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 3, 2010
10 people are currently reading
482 people want to read
About the author
David Hair
47 books534 followersDavid Hair is the author of The Bone Tiki, winner of Best First Novel (Young Adult Fiction section) at the 2010 NZ Post Children's Book Awards. The Bone Tiki and its sequel The Taniwha's Tear are fantasy novels set in New Zealand. David is a New Zealander, who has worked primarily in financial services. He has a degree in History and Classical Studies. He has lived from 2007 to 2010 in New Delhi, India, but usually resides in Wellington, New Zealand. Apart from writing, he is interested in folklore, history, and has a passion for football.
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January 8, 2017
ইদানিং যারা মিথোলোজি রিলেটেড সিরিজ কিংবা বই খুঁজে বেড়ান তাদের বেশীরভাগ সময়ই দেখি গ্রীক, রোমান কিংবা নরস মিথ নিয়েই বই খুঁজতে। কিন্তু আমার কাছে সবসময়ই আমাদের এই ভারতীয় মহাদেশের যে মিথগুলো রয়েছে সেগুলো বেশী টেনেছে। আমার বই পড়া শুরু বলতে গেলে রামায়ণ দিয়েই। তখন ঐ পিচ্চি বয়সেই যেরকমভাবে আকৃষ্ট হয়েছিলাম এর প্রতি, তা কমেনি। তাই যখন গুডরিডস এ এই রামায়ণ এর উপর ভিত্তি করেই একটা ইয়াং এডাল্ট সিরিজ এর খোজ পেলাম তখন স্বভাবতই এই সিরিজটা পড়ে ফেলতে ইচ্ছে হচ্ছিল। আর প্রথম বইটা পড়েও ফেললাম।
বইটা লিখেছেন যিনি তিনি কিন্তু এই উপমহাদেশের লোক না। নিউজিল্যান্ড এর নাগরিক। তাই স্বভাবতই বই এ কিছুটা পশ্চিমা ছাপ থাকবে এটা শুরু থেকেই ধরে নিয়েছিলাম। হল ও তাই। তবে সেটা খারাপ লাগেনি । বরং এই ধরণের ফ্যান্টাসির সাথে এটাই চলনসই।
কাহিনী দুইটা টাইম লাইনে বিভক্ত। একটা ৭৬৯ খৃষ্টাব্দ আর আরেকটা বর্তমান সময়ে। দুটোই ভারতের রাজস্থানে। বই মূল চরিত্র তিনজন। দুই টাইমলাইনেই। কারণ বই এর কিছুদূর যেতেই বোঝা যায় যে এদের ই পূণরজন্ম ঘটেছে। একজন অত্যাচারি রাজা, যার সাত রাণী। কিন্তু হঠাত করেই সেই রাজা রহস্যজনক ভাবে স্বেচ্ছা মৃত্যু বরণ করেন। তার সাথে সতীদাহ প্রথা অনুযায়ী একই চিতায় বিসর্জন দেয়া হবে তার সাত রাণিকে। একে একে ছয় রাণীই চিতায় প্রবেশ করেন। কিন্তু সবচেয়ে ছোট রানীকে আগুনে নিক্ষেপ করার আগেই তাকে বাচান রাজসভার কবি। পালিয়ে যায় তারা। ছোট রানী আবার মুসলমান। কবির নাম আমান আর রাণী দার-ইয়া, তাদের পেছনে তাড়া করে সেনাপতি শাস্ত্রী। কিন্তু ঘটনাক্রমে সেই সাহায্য করে তাদের। পেছনে আবার তাড়া করে অশরীরী কিছু।
আর বর্তমান সময়ে দেখা যায় তিনজন টিনেজার কে। একজন রাজস্থানের মফস্বলের ছেলে, একজন শহুরে আর একজন দিল্লির মেয়ে। ঘটনাক্রমে একই স্কুলে একত্রিত হয় তারা। আর তখনি শুরু হয় একের পর এক ব্যাখাতীত ঘটনা। এর ব্যাখা যখন তারা নিজেরাই খুজতে যায় তখন বের হয়ে আসে অদ্ভুত কিছু।
বইটাকে সব মিলিয়ে ৩ স্টার ই দিতাম কিন্তু কিছু দূর্বলতার জন্যে ২ স্টার দিব। সামনে আরো তিনটা বই আছে সিরিজ এ। পড়ে ফেলব, আশা করি উন্নতি হবে। যারা পড়েন নি। পড়ে ফেলতে পারেন। :)
বইটা লিখেছেন যিনি তিনি কিন্তু এই উপমহাদেশের লোক না। নিউজিল্যান্ড এর নাগরিক। তাই স্বভাবতই বই এ কিছুটা পশ্চিমা ছাপ থাকবে এটা শুরু থেকেই ধরে নিয়েছিলাম। হল ও তাই। তবে সেটা খারাপ লাগেনি । বরং এই ধরণের ফ্যান্টাসির সাথে এটাই চলনসই।
কাহিনী দুইটা টাইম লাইনে বিভক্ত। একটা ৭৬৯ খৃষ্টাব্দ আর আরেকটা বর্তমান সময়ে। দুটোই ভারতের রাজস্থানে। বই মূল চরিত্র তিনজন। দুই টাইমলাইনেই। কারণ বই এর কিছুদূর যেতেই বোঝা যায় যে এদের ই পূণরজন্ম ঘটেছে। একজন অত্যাচারি রাজা, যার সাত রাণী। কিন্তু হঠাত করেই সেই রাজা রহস্যজনক ভাবে স্বেচ্ছা মৃত্যু বরণ করেন। তার সাথে সতীদাহ প্রথা অনুযায়ী একই চিতায় বিসর্জন দেয়া হবে তার সাত রাণিকে। একে একে ছয় রাণীই চিতায় প্রবেশ করেন। কিন্তু সবচেয়ে ছোট রানীকে আগুনে নিক্ষেপ করার আগেই তাকে বাচান রাজসভার কবি। পালিয়ে যায় তারা। ছোট রানী আবার মুসলমান। কবির নাম আমান আর রাণী দার-ইয়া, তাদের পেছনে তাড়া করে সেনাপতি শাস্ত্রী। কিন্তু ঘটনাক্রমে সেই সাহায্য করে তাদের। পেছনে আবার তাড়া করে অশরীরী কিছু।
আর বর্তমান সময়ে দেখা যায় তিনজন টিনেজার কে। একজন রাজস্থানের মফস্বলের ছেলে, একজন শহুরে আর একজন দিল্লির মেয়ে। ঘটনাক্রমে একই স্কুলে একত্রিত হয় তারা। আর তখনি শুরু হয় একের পর এক ব্যাখাতীত ঘটনা। এর ব্যাখা যখন তারা নিজেরাই খুজতে যায় তখন বের হয়ে আসে অদ্ভুত কিছু।
বইটাকে সব মিলিয়ে ৩ স্টার ই দিতাম কিন্তু কিছু দূর্বলতার জন্যে ২ স্টার দিব। সামনে আরো তিনটা বই আছে সিরিজ এ। পড়ে ফেলব, আশা করি উন্নতি হবে। যারা পড়েন নি। পড়ে ফেলতে পারেন। :)
January 20, 2015
I always say that Indian Mythology has the most complicated and most enriched mythology of them all. Recently, I was lucky enough to find out about two series on this topic. One is the Shiva Trilogy by Amish Tripathy and the other is The Return of The Ravana series of David Hair. Now, where i live, it is very difficult to get a book written in English and costly too. Again i was lucky enough to acquire the whole box-set of the second series, though my luck did not extend to the price:)
The first book of the series is - Pyre of Queens. I have to admit, despite being a non-Indian, David Hair has grasped the day to day workings of India perfectly. The book tells us two side by side stories. One is happening today (today means in 2010), and the other has already happened thousands year ago.
Some may find the whole idea of reincarnation a bit hard to swallow. But when we take into account the whole shenanigan of other mythological stories, reincarnation seems acceptable.
Now that we have the basic problem (in my view) out of the way, the rest is golden. The two stories that run side by side is perfectly placed. When the modern day story gets a bit dull, the ancient one becomes fast paced and vise-versa.
The Action sequence in both stories is amazing. Just picturing them in your mind, may cause your tongue to lick your lips. A movie can be easily made out of the book.
Although the story gets a bit melodramatic at places, but hey, if percy's sword can automatically return to his back pocket. Or if harry can come back from apparent death, what's the harm in vikram's reviving a thousand years old sword?
All in all, a very entertaining read altogether. Looking forward.
The first book of the series is - Pyre of Queens. I have to admit, despite being a non-Indian, David Hair has grasped the day to day workings of India perfectly. The book tells us two side by side stories. One is happening today (today means in 2010), and the other has already happened thousands year ago.
Some may find the whole idea of reincarnation a bit hard to swallow. But when we take into account the whole shenanigan of other mythological stories, reincarnation seems acceptable.
Now that we have the basic problem (in my view) out of the way, the rest is golden. The two stories that run side by side is perfectly placed. When the modern day story gets a bit dull, the ancient one becomes fast paced and vise-versa.
The Action sequence in both stories is amazing. Just picturing them in your mind, may cause your tongue to lick your lips. A movie can be easily made out of the book.
Although the story gets a bit melodramatic at places, but hey, if percy's sword can automatically return to his back pocket. Or if harry can come back from apparent death, what's the harm in vikram's reviving a thousand years old sword?
All in all, a very entertaining read altogether. Looking forward.
August 21, 2015
3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.com/2015/06/11/b...
When it comes to Young Adult fiction, David Hair hasn’t just broken the mold. He’s completely shattered it. His book The Pyre is a substantially revised edition of his 2010 novel Pyre of Queens, inspired heavily by Indian folklore and mythology, even incorporating a reimagined version of the epic Ramayana. The entire novel takes place in India, following the lives (and past lives) of a trio of Indian high school students.
Two story lines occur in tandem over the course of this novel. One takes place in 769 AD in the royal court of Ravindra-Raj, the mad king of Rajasthan. His people live in the shadow of his tyranny, and anyone suspected of sedition or rebellion is quickly tortured and killed. Fearing that Ravindra will come for him next, Madan Shastri, Captain of the Guard, redoubles his efforts to show his loyalty even though his king’s cruel commands sicken him. The court poet Aram Dhoop is a bookish man who is unhappy with the way things are, but lacks the fighting skills or courage to do anything about it – that is, until Ravindra suddenly dies under mysterious circumstances and Aram learns that the king’s wives are to be burned to death on the pyre along with their husband’s body. Aram had fallen in love with the newest of the wives, a young woman named Darya, and in a moment of daring, the poet rescues her from the flames and whisks her off away from the palace. As the guard captain, Shastri is ordered by Ravindra’s son and heir to go after them. Reluctant as he is, Shastri has no choice but to obey.
However, all was not as it seemed. Ravindra’s death and the burning of his wives was actually a part of the mad king’s schemes all along. His plan to rise again as Ravana, the demon-king of the Ramayana was thwarted by Darya’s escape, and now he’ll make them all regret it – for a long, long, LONG time.
Fast forward to a high school in the city of Jodhpur, Rajasthan, in the year 2010. Nerdy Vikram, athletic Amanjit and beautiful Deepika are three students whose lives are changed forever when a strange phenomenon is triggered the first time they all find themselves together in one place. Soon, they’re working together to solve the mystery of how the three of them are linked, and the answers they seek may be hidden in the past.
Before reading The Pyre, the only other works I’ve read by David Hair were his Moontide Quartet books, pure epic fantasy albeit with some influences from real life locations, cultures and religions. This book, however, is impressively solid mix of Hair’s understanding and respect for Hinduism, the rich mythology and history of India, as well as the realities of modern life in that country today. The amount of research and care that went into this book to make it as accurate as possible must have been astounding.
Also, for a book that’s being classified by many as Young Adult, it is actually quite mature. Even though the three main protagonists are teenagers, adults will have no trouble enjoying this. David Hair doesn’t pull punches or talk down to his audience, even when it comes to the portrayal of difficult or sensitive themes in both the historical and modern-day timelines. Reflective readers will also find plenty in this book to discuss or think about.
The book is not without its flaws, though in the overall scope of things, they can be considered pretty minor. I thought the story was a little slow to take off, and generally I found the storyline with the three teens in the present to be more interesting and engaging than the storyline with Aram, Shastri, and Darya in the past, though that may be a very personal preference. Even with the very obvious love triangle thrown in, I simply found life Hair’s description of Vikram, Amanjit, and Deepika’s day-to-day lives in modern-day India much more fascinating and unique. After all, how often do I get the chance to read something like that? Whereas, the past storyline didn’t feel that different from reading historical fantasy.
All in all, if you enjoy books that are creative retellings of myths and would like to broaden your horizons beyond stories inspired by the western tradition, you definitely need to put this one on your list. The Pyre is a great opportunity to experience a story featuring diverse locations and characters, not to mention a wonderful read all around.
When it comes to Young Adult fiction, David Hair hasn’t just broken the mold. He’s completely shattered it. His book The Pyre is a substantially revised edition of his 2010 novel Pyre of Queens, inspired heavily by Indian folklore and mythology, even incorporating a reimagined version of the epic Ramayana. The entire novel takes place in India, following the lives (and past lives) of a trio of Indian high school students.
Two story lines occur in tandem over the course of this novel. One takes place in 769 AD in the royal court of Ravindra-Raj, the mad king of Rajasthan. His people live in the shadow of his tyranny, and anyone suspected of sedition or rebellion is quickly tortured and killed. Fearing that Ravindra will come for him next, Madan Shastri, Captain of the Guard, redoubles his efforts to show his loyalty even though his king’s cruel commands sicken him. The court poet Aram Dhoop is a bookish man who is unhappy with the way things are, but lacks the fighting skills or courage to do anything about it – that is, until Ravindra suddenly dies under mysterious circumstances and Aram learns that the king’s wives are to be burned to death on the pyre along with their husband’s body. Aram had fallen in love with the newest of the wives, a young woman named Darya, and in a moment of daring, the poet rescues her from the flames and whisks her off away from the palace. As the guard captain, Shastri is ordered by Ravindra’s son and heir to go after them. Reluctant as he is, Shastri has no choice but to obey.
However, all was not as it seemed. Ravindra’s death and the burning of his wives was actually a part of the mad king’s schemes all along. His plan to rise again as Ravana, the demon-king of the Ramayana was thwarted by Darya’s escape, and now he’ll make them all regret it – for a long, long, LONG time.
Fast forward to a high school in the city of Jodhpur, Rajasthan, in the year 2010. Nerdy Vikram, athletic Amanjit and beautiful Deepika are three students whose lives are changed forever when a strange phenomenon is triggered the first time they all find themselves together in one place. Soon, they’re working together to solve the mystery of how the three of them are linked, and the answers they seek may be hidden in the past.
Before reading The Pyre, the only other works I’ve read by David Hair were his Moontide Quartet books, pure epic fantasy albeit with some influences from real life locations, cultures and religions. This book, however, is impressively solid mix of Hair’s understanding and respect for Hinduism, the rich mythology and history of India, as well as the realities of modern life in that country today. The amount of research and care that went into this book to make it as accurate as possible must have been astounding.
Also, for a book that’s being classified by many as Young Adult, it is actually quite mature. Even though the three main protagonists are teenagers, adults will have no trouble enjoying this. David Hair doesn’t pull punches or talk down to his audience, even when it comes to the portrayal of difficult or sensitive themes in both the historical and modern-day timelines. Reflective readers will also find plenty in this book to discuss or think about.
The book is not without its flaws, though in the overall scope of things, they can be considered pretty minor. I thought the story was a little slow to take off, and generally I found the storyline with the three teens in the present to be more interesting and engaging than the storyline with Aram, Shastri, and Darya in the past, though that may be a very personal preference. Even with the very obvious love triangle thrown in, I simply found life Hair’s description of Vikram, Amanjit, and Deepika’s day-to-day lives in modern-day India much more fascinating and unique. After all, how often do I get the chance to read something like that? Whereas, the past storyline didn’t feel that different from reading historical fantasy.
All in all, if you enjoy books that are creative retellings of myths and would like to broaden your horizons beyond stories inspired by the western tradition, you definitely need to put this one on your list. The Pyre is a great opportunity to experience a story featuring diverse locations and characters, not to mention a wonderful read all around.
December 26, 2016
* This was given to me for free in return for a review from the publisher *
I love David Hair's adult fantasy books (which were written after this series) and when I heard that this YA series was out I knew I had to try it so I requested it from the publisher. I am really happy I did becuase this is totally different from the Moontide Quartet books in both feel and style, and it's also really interesting to see the roots of Hair's writing as he's certainly improved by moving into adult fiction and having more experience....
However, that's not to say this is a bad series, in fact it's a very original one and quite unlike any other set up I had read. This book dives headlong into both HIndu and Sikh cultures (much heavier on the Hindu) and it's a really fabulous insight into the religion. I knew nothing about Hinduism before reading this, but although this is a totally fictional story it really deals with some of the myths and stories from the religion in a careful and exciting way. By taking some of the famous characters of these stories and weaving them into a new book Hair creates a novel which is fast-moving, intense and also exotic if you're from the western world.
What I most enjoyed about this book was the religion and myth, fantastical and fun all woven together. We get some really cool ideas which are heavily influenced by the original tales, and we also see Hair doing his own twists on the story and starting to freshen it up for a modern readership. You don;t need to know anything about reincarnation or these tales to 'get' this book, and it's thoroughly entertaining.
The thing I least liked was the troupe of a jealous triangle of friend/lovers and the insta-love which is just not necessary for me to like a book. I feel like the romance and relationships in this series so far feel very troupe-y and unoriginal, but I feel like this is a huge shift in his Moontide quartet books so clearly he's learned from this series how to change things for future stories *and to be fair to him he does give a reason for the insta-love, I just really hate that troupe personally*
Overall I think this is a super fun start to a series which promises to mix old and new and really brings exciting ideas to do with myth and reincarnation into the book. I do wish it was a little more developed, but as this is a much earlier series that can be forgiven and I'll certainly be reading book #2 as I want to continue to see what will happen next. I definitely liked this book, I just wanted a bit more development and less insta-love, but maybe the rest of the series will bring that...we shall see :) 3*s overall.
I love David Hair's adult fantasy books (which were written after this series) and when I heard that this YA series was out I knew I had to try it so I requested it from the publisher. I am really happy I did becuase this is totally different from the Moontide Quartet books in both feel and style, and it's also really interesting to see the roots of Hair's writing as he's certainly improved by moving into adult fiction and having more experience....
However, that's not to say this is a bad series, in fact it's a very original one and quite unlike any other set up I had read. This book dives headlong into both HIndu and Sikh cultures (much heavier on the Hindu) and it's a really fabulous insight into the religion. I knew nothing about Hinduism before reading this, but although this is a totally fictional story it really deals with some of the myths and stories from the religion in a careful and exciting way. By taking some of the famous characters of these stories and weaving them into a new book Hair creates a novel which is fast-moving, intense and also exotic if you're from the western world.
What I most enjoyed about this book was the religion and myth, fantastical and fun all woven together. We get some really cool ideas which are heavily influenced by the original tales, and we also see Hair doing his own twists on the story and starting to freshen it up for a modern readership. You don;t need to know anything about reincarnation or these tales to 'get' this book, and it's thoroughly entertaining.
The thing I least liked was the troupe of a jealous triangle of friend/lovers and the insta-love which is just not necessary for me to like a book. I feel like the romance and relationships in this series so far feel very troupe-y and unoriginal, but I feel like this is a huge shift in his Moontide quartet books so clearly he's learned from this series how to change things for future stories *and to be fair to him he does give a reason for the insta-love, I just really hate that troupe personally*
Overall I think this is a super fun start to a series which promises to mix old and new and really brings exciting ideas to do with myth and reincarnation into the book. I do wish it was a little more developed, but as this is a much earlier series that can be forgiven and I'll certainly be reading book #2 as I want to continue to see what will happen next. I definitely liked this book, I just wanted a bit more development and less insta-love, but maybe the rest of the series will bring that...we shall see :) 3*s overall.
February 16, 2017
'মিথলজি' শব্দটা উচ্চারণ করলেই আমাদের মনের পর্দায় গ্রিক, রোমান, নর্স প্রভৃতি মিথলজির কথাই প্রথমে ভেসে উঠে। পাশ্চাত্যে মিথলজি, কিংবা কিংবদন���তীকে উপজীব্য করে ভুরি ভুরি মানসম্পন্ন সাহিত্য রচনা করছেন রিক রাইঅর্ডান, ম্যাডেলিন মিলার-রা। কিন্তু উপমহাদেশে মিথ নিয়ে মোটাদাগে সেভাবে কাজ হয়নি এদিকে। অথচ আমাদের উপমহাদেশের মিথলজির গভীরতা, কমপ্লেক্সিটি আমার কাছে মনে হয় সবচেয়ে বেশি। অমন বর্ণিল পুরাণ, কিংবদন্তী বিশ্বের আর কোথাও আছে বলে মনে হয় না।
তো, উপমহাদেশের এরকম কয়েকটা এপিক ক্যারেক্টার নিয়ে নিউজিল্যান্ডের লেখক ডেভিড হেয়ার লিখেছেন চার বইয়ের ফ্যান্টাসি সিরিজ দ্য রিটার্ন অফ রাভানা— এই সিরিজেরই প্রথম বই "পায়ার অফ কুইনস"। লেখক নিউজিল্যান্ডের লোক হলেও চাকরিসূত্রে কয়েক বছর থাকেন ভারতে— তখনই ঝুঁকে পড়েন ইন্ডিয়ান মিথলজির দিকে। সেই অনুসন্ধান থেকে প্রাপ্ত জ্ঞানকে কাজে লাগিয়ে লিখে ফেলেন এই সিরিজ এবং ২০১২ সালে ২০১২ সালে নিউজিল্যান্ড পোস্ট চিলড্রেন্স অ্যাওয়ার্ড পুরস্কারও পেয়ে যান।
একই সমান্তরালে চলা দুই সময়ের দুটো গল্প নিপুণ দক্ষতায় সামলেছেন লেখক। বইয়ের কাহিনিও বেশ গতিময়। রাবণকে ঘিরে পুনর্জন্মের কাহিনি যেভাবে আবর্তিত হয়েছে, তা ছিল পুরোমাত্রায় উপভোগ্য।
তাছাড়া লেখকের সাথে সাথে ঘুরে বেড়িয়েছি প্রাচীন ও বর্তমান ভারতের মরুভূমি, পাহাড়। চেনা প্রতিবেশী ভারতকে দেখেছি একটু অন্য চোখে, ভিন্ন স্বাদে। প্রাচীন ও বর্তমান— দুই টাইমলাইনে গল্প এগোনোর কারণে কাহিনি ঝুলে যায়নি কোথাও।
তবে, সিরিজটা যেহেতু ইয়াং-অ্যাডাল্ট জনরার, তাই আপনি যদি এতে রামায়ণের ডেপথ ও কমপ্লেক্সিটি খুঁজতে যান, তাহলে আপনাকে পুরোপুরি তৃপ্ত করতে পারবে না এই বই। তাছাড়া মাঝে-মাঝে একটু-আধটু নাটুকেপনা চলে এসেছে চরিত্রগুলোর মাঝে, যেগুলো আমার খুব একটা পছন্দ হয়নি।
তবে, (আমার জন্য) উপেক্ষাযোগ্য এই ব্যাপারটা বাদ দিলে শুরু থেকে শেষ পর্যন্ত পুরোপুরি উপভোগ্য এক বই 'পায়ার অফ কুইনস'।
একে তো ফ্যান্টাসি অনুবাদ বেশ কষ্টসাধ্য, তার উপর 'পায়ার অফ কুইনস' অনুবাদকের প্রথম অনুবাদ— সেজন্য তাকে ভালোই বেগ পেতে হয়েছে। তবে সেই বেগ বেশ ভালোভাবেই সামলেছেন বলা যায়। অনুবাদে নিজের স্টাইলের একটা ছাপ সূক্ষ্মভাবে হলেও রাখতে পেরেছেন অনুবাদক। খেটেখুটে সুখপাঠ্য এবং জটিলতা-বিবর্জিত একটা অনুবাদ উপহার দেয়ার জন্য তাকে ধন্যবাদ। তবে, বানান প্রমাদ জ্বালিয়েছে একটু-আধটু।
সিরিজের পরের বইগুলো পড়তে আগ্রহী হয়ে উঠেছি।
তো, উপমহাদেশের এরকম কয়েকটা এপিক ক্যারেক্টার নিয়ে নিউজিল্যান্ডের লেখক ডেভিড হেয়ার লিখেছেন চার বইয়ের ফ্যান্টাসি সিরিজ দ্য রিটার্ন অফ রাভানা— এই সিরিজেরই প্রথম বই "পায়ার অফ কুইনস"। লেখক নিউজিল্যান্ডের লোক হলেও চাকরিসূত্রে কয়েক বছর থাকেন ভারতে— তখনই ঝুঁকে পড়েন ইন্ডিয়ান মিথলজির দিকে। সেই অনুসন্ধান থেকে প্রাপ্ত জ্ঞানকে কাজে লাগিয়ে লিখে ফেলেন এই সিরিজ এবং ২০১২ সালে ২০১২ সালে নিউজিল্যান্ড পোস্ট চিলড্রেন্স অ্যাওয়ার্ড পুরস্কারও পেয়ে যান।
একই সমান্তরালে চলা দুই সময়ের দুটো গল্প নিপুণ দক্ষতায় সামলেছেন লেখক। বইয়ের কাহিনিও বেশ গতিময়। রাবণকে ঘিরে পুনর্জন্মের কাহিনি যেভাবে আবর্তিত হয়েছে, তা ছিল পুরোমাত্রায় উপভোগ্য।
তাছাড়া লেখকের সাথে সাথে ঘুরে বেড়িয়েছি প্রাচীন ও বর্তমান ভারতের মরুভূমি, পাহাড়। চেনা প্রতিবেশী ভারতকে দেখেছি একটু অন্য চোখে, ভিন্ন স্বাদে। প্রাচীন ও বর্তমান— দুই টাইমলাইনে গল্প এগোনোর কারণে কাহিনি ঝুলে যায়নি কোথাও।
তবে, সিরিজটা যেহেতু ইয়াং-অ্যাডাল্ট জনরার, তাই আপনি যদি এতে রামায়ণের ডেপথ ও কমপ্লেক্সিটি খুঁজতে যান, তাহলে আপনাকে পুরোপুরি তৃপ্ত করতে পারবে না এই বই। তাছাড়া মাঝে-মাঝে একটু-আধটু নাটুকেপনা চলে এসেছে চরিত্রগুলোর মাঝে, যেগুলো আমার খুব একটা পছন্দ হয়নি।
তবে, (আমার জন্য) উপেক্ষাযোগ্য এই ব্যাপারটা বাদ দিলে শুরু থেকে শেষ পর্যন্ত পুরোপুরি উপভোগ্য এক বই 'পায়ার অফ কুইনস'।
একে তো ফ্যান্টাসি অনুবাদ বেশ কষ্টসাধ্য, তার উপর 'পায়ার অফ কুইনস' অনুবাদকের প্রথম অনুবাদ— সেজন্য তাকে ভালোই বেগ পেতে হয়েছে। তবে সেই বেগ বেশ ভালোভাবেই সামলেছেন বলা যায়। অনুবাদে নিজের স্টাইলের একটা ছাপ সূক্ষ্মভাবে হলেও রাখতে পেরেছেন অনুবাদক। খেটেখুটে সুখপাঠ্য এবং জটিলতা-বিবর্জিত একটা অনুবাদ উপহার দেয়ার জন্য তাকে ধন্যবাদ। তবে, বানান প্রমাদ জ্বালিয়েছে একটু-আধটু।
সিরিজের পরের বইগুলো পড়তে আগ্রহী হয়ে উঠেছি।
May 26, 2020
A book set in India, with characters that are from India and with Indian mythology. Well done. Because most of the time when this happen, then all those things does not happen. But here the author stayed true.
The book takes place in present day and in 770. Shastri, Darya and Aram lives in a time where their Raja has plans, and not good plans. And that which happens back then shapes lives for a thousand years.
In present day, Vikram, Amanjit, and Deepika meet and feel a strange connection. They also see things and tries to figure out what is happening, and what really happened way back.
There is danger and suspense as someone is after them, and always have been. There is also the mythological aspect, and I love mythology. Always have always will, so even if I knew the story it's always nice to hear it again. And see how it all fits together with these teenagers.
I really liked the 770s flashbacks, but then I love my historical fiction so of course I liked those parts. It also made me think a bit more about Sati (which happens here), I do not care about why, hey, if women should burn then men should too. Men! Anyway, back on track. I liked the history.
The book ends with everything safe for now, and I liked that. No evil cliffie, but still I want more. Everything is not safe for them and more is to come.
I am actually not sure now if this was YA or not. But hey it works as both.
An interesting story. Light and dark.
The book takes place in present day and in 770. Shastri, Darya and Aram lives in a time where their Raja has plans, and not good plans. And that which happens back then shapes lives for a thousand years.
In present day, Vikram, Amanjit, and Deepika meet and feel a strange connection. They also see things and tries to figure out what is happening, and what really happened way back.
There is danger and suspense as someone is after them, and always have been. There is also the mythological aspect, and I love mythology. Always have always will, so even if I knew the story it's always nice to hear it again. And see how it all fits together with these teenagers.
I really liked the 770s flashbacks, but then I love my historical fiction so of course I liked those parts. It also made me think a bit more about Sati (which happens here), I do not care about why, hey, if women should burn then men should too. Men! Anyway, back on track. I liked the history.
The book ends with everything safe for now, and I liked that. No evil cliffie, but still I want more. Everything is not safe for them and more is to come.
I am actually not sure now if this was YA or not. But hey it works as both.
An interesting story. Light and dark.
September 12, 2019
সাড়ে তিন কিশোর কিশোরী ও তাদের সাথে রাক্ষসরাজ রাবনের লড়াই। নিঃসন্দেহে উত্তেজক ব্যাপার।
আমি অবশ্য বাংলা অনুবাদ পড়লাম। অনুবাদের মান বেশ নিম্নমুখী। কিন্তু গল্পে একটা সাবলীল গতি আছে। ডেভিড মশাই বেশ লিখেছেন। তবে অনেক বর্ণনাই বেশ খাপছাড়া লাগলো। বুঝলাম না ডেভিড বাবুর দোষ না অনুবাদকের তাড়াহুড়ো। অনেক জট খোলেনি, আশা করি পরের গল্পগুলোর মধ্যে দিয়ে সেগুলো সামনে আসবে।
আমি অবশ্য বাংলা অনুবাদ পড়লাম। অনুবাদের মান বেশ নিম্নমুখী। কিন্তু গল্পে একটা সাবলীল গতি আছে। ডেভিড মশাই বেশ লিখেছেন। তবে অনেক বর্ণনাই বেশ খাপছাড়া লাগলো। বুঝলাম না ডেভিড বাবুর দোষ না অনুবাদকের তাড়াহুড়ো। অনেক জট খোলেনি, আশা করি পরের গল্পগুলোর মধ্যে দিয়ে সেগুলো সামনে আসবে।
July 29, 2014
Solid four stars for this action-paced young adult adventure novel which actually has solidly done research to back the story up. Plus the author's respect and understanding to Indian myths and society actually shines through his writing.
And guess what? The entire story actually takes place in India, with an entire crew of Indians characters. The Hindus myths are weaved nicely into the story, whilst the plot shifts itself between past and present. (Yes, we follow two different timelines as we go through this novel, following the two different lifetimes of the same set of main characters)
Although the middle part of the book is a bit slow and not very engaging, but the exciting ending makes up for this flaw. I am especially impressed by the fact that .
And guess what? The entire story actually takes place in India, with an entire crew of Indians characters. The Hindus myths are weaved nicely into the story, whilst the plot shifts itself between past and present. (Yes, we follow two different timelines as we go through this novel, following the two different lifetimes of the same set of main characters)
Although the middle part of the book is a bit slow and not very engaging, but the exciting ending makes up for this flaw. I am especially impressed by the fact that .
July 20, 2011
In a time when Vampires take life as teenagers it is hardly surprising to see Ravana brought back to life. Being one of the most formidable antagonists, the demon king is too good a chance to be missed. This being said, the book in question does not capitalize on Ravana in its first installment. The focus is almost entirely on a group of teenagers and local lore of the state of Rajasthan that resurrects and digs its way out of the netherworld.
The storyline alternates between a kingdom from 769 AD and the present day. There are very few disjoined ends in the tale and it breezes through pretty quickly. Considering the fact that it is aimed at a YA audience, there is ample space for the hormone induced feelings of mushiness at various places. In simple words it is a potpourri of all things that make a passable movie. There are deliberate references dropped at places to tell you that the Ramayana is not far from the author’s mind. To me, these ruses were not exciting enough. I could not find even one place in the story where the antagonist could live up to the fiery reputation of Ravana. There are points in the story where the character of the vampire is hinted at which I have no clue as to why it came in, popular pulse maybe?
Seeing the brief excerpt of the next installment, I must say I am not extremely excited to go read it !
The storyline alternates between a kingdom from 769 AD and the present day. There are very few disjoined ends in the tale and it breezes through pretty quickly. Considering the fact that it is aimed at a YA audience, there is ample space for the hormone induced feelings of mushiness at various places. In simple words it is a potpourri of all things that make a passable movie. There are deliberate references dropped at places to tell you that the Ramayana is not far from the author’s mind. To me, these ruses were not exciting enough. I could not find even one place in the story where the antagonist could live up to the fiery reputation of Ravana. There are points in the story where the character of the vampire is hinted at which I have no clue as to why it came in, popular pulse maybe?
Seeing the brief excerpt of the next installment, I must say I am not extremely excited to go read it !
May 30, 2013
Growing up reading the Ramayana, I could relate to its story. I loved how the story of reincarnation involving Raavan was described. The shifting between modern day and past lives events made the story extremely exciting. I couldn't put the book down once I started. The epilogue gave me a refreshing look at the story of Ramayana. A good read!
January 24, 2016
okay!!!! just okay!!!!
July 18, 2015
It’s been over half a year since I’ve written one of these - let’s see if I still know how to do it. *cracks knuckles, attempts to unknot spine*
When Jo Fletcher Books contacted me about doing a review of David Hair’s rereleased (it was first released in India under the name Pyre of Queens in 2011) novel The Pyre, I was mostly amused by the description.
Pretty cheesy, right? Demon kings. Human sacrifice. Groundhog day except with reincarnation instead of a reset button. “Ravenous ghostly queens.” I had visions of B-movie dancing through my brain, and after six months of working part-time and going to school full-time, I was all prepared for a light, entertaining read (read: not thirty-page journal articles on education theory) that would give me a few thrills and about zero feels, and would hopefully not exoticize or be creepy about India, though I did have a few doubts on this subject.
I did not get what I was expecting.
And that was super okay.
In The Pyre, which is the first book in a trilogy, we’ve got the geek, the jock, and the pretty girl, and it turns out that, as they discover the first time they’re in a room together, they have some weird visions in common. In fact, in a previous life, they were also the geek, the jock, and the pretty girl. (I’m not summarizing any more, you’ve got the book jacket for that).
Like, really. In the present, Vikram is an athletic guy with a certain amount of aggression that needs expression, Amanjit is a bookish nerdlet primarily defined by an unattainable crush and a penchant for bad poetry, and Deepika is the transfer student with long, shiny hair and big, shiny eyes. In the past, Vikram (Shastri) was a soldier serving a sequence of really nasty kings, Amanjit (Aram Dhoop) was the court poet, and Deepika (Darya) was the (unwilling) seventh wife of Ravindra-raj that both Shastri and Aram Dhoop want to save from the horrible fate that awaits her. Throughout history, these three have been reborn over and over, only to reenact the same tragic events that befell them in their first lives.
What Hair does that makes these incredibly trite character tropes work for me is make their one-dimensionality essentially the thing that causes them to have to relive the horrific events of their first lives. I mean, sure, there’s an undead sorcerer-king and his ghostly wives pursuing them in order to get revenge on the boys and turn the girl into the last ghostly wife, and finally achieve the status of demon king (one wonders if there’s a kind of leveling-up tree - evil life, check. sacrifice ladies, become evil undead sorcerer-king. sacrifice seven ladies, become evil undead demon king and RULE THE WORLD). What really traps them, though, is not all these undead maniacs running around, but instead their inability to listen, understand, and ultimately change.
At first, it seems like they’re going to continue to make the same mistakes they’ve always made, the same mistakes that Amanjit, who remembers more than the others (of course, he’s the geek), reads about in the diary all his past selves have kept. None of them trusts the others - understandably, given that they barely know each other - and the two boys are torn between the kinship they feel for each other and the romantic feelings they each have towards Deepika. Deepika, meanwhile, isn’t sure she really wants to get involved in this - her dreams worry her, and although Vikram is cute, she mostly just wants to leave this second-rate town behind and go back to Delhi, where she can just be a teenage girl worrying about normal teenage girl stuff.
Sidenote: although the normal teenage girl stuff is what you’d expect, Hair is in no way dismissive; instead, what she’s longing for seems innocently appealing. I think it’s partly that Deepika has always been victimized by this story, and as a reader you cheer on her desire to have nothing to do with that nonsense. It’s also because she doesn’t care to be ‘different’ than other girls - she wants to be like other girls, safe and happy! Books generally force characters into adventure as a duty, or as survival; characters react passively at first and, as the adventure occurs, grow actively involved in their fates in self-defense. Unless you’re Miles Vorkosigan, in which case you force the adventure to happen. Deepika is chased (by ravenous ghost queens) through adventure, is indignant, and although she doesn’t let her indignation stop her from being brave and clever and strong, she also never forgets that this adventure was a violation of her choice.
End note. Hair situates the two boys in very different positions, allowing him to explore a surprisingly wide range of - pain, really. Amanjit is struggling with displacement - he spent most of his life in England, and has only moved just back to India, and has found that he’s treated as an outsider in both countries - and with his jealousy over Deepika and Vikram. In addition, although his father is not poor, the way in which he’s made his second fortune has involved a certain amount of humiliation, which is only compounded by a long and nasty divorce (divorce itself a humiliation in this context). Vikram is struggling with poverty, a sister with a deadly heart problem, and his uncle’s abusive behavior towards his widowed mother. In addition, he has reason to believe that the man he was in his first life made some very serious mistakes, ones that he may still be atoning for.
At this point in the novel, I was beginning to suspect that the lighthearted adventurous romp I was expecting was not going to be forthcoming. Like, all that’s pretty heavy stuff, you know? But I was hooked. Although Hair has a tendency towards the expository, and his dialogue can be a bit clunky, and he has a heavy hand with adverbs, the motivations of the characters in the present and the past, though very different, drew me in. Even the love triangle - and I hate love triangles, and I hate the nasty obsessive Nice Guy pining thing Amanjit/Aram Dhoop has going on - developed nuance and depth, and the resolution to it in the present was everything I could have wished. Go on - imagine the best possible resolution to Nice Guy pining. Do it.
Yep, that’s it.
Now, at this point you’re probably wondering, ‘Okay, characterization is awesome, but I want to hear about the undead sorcerer-kings! Where are the undead sorcerer-kings?’ Honestly, the undead sorcerer-kings are, at least in the first book, a plot device. I’m not sure that becoming Ravana is a great motivation for anyone, no matter how nasty, and all the work involved seemed like a lot of effort to go to. You’d have to really love causing people agony, like really absolutely be devoted to it, to go to this much work to keep doing it after your death.
It’s a pretty good plot device, too, once you accept the underlying absurdity of the premise. Hair is quite good at making you forget - Ravindra-Raj is quite menacing, and everything he and his evil queen/partner in evil do adds unreasoning horror, contributing to a suspenseful atmosphere and a real sense of danger. Part of the reason it actually is scary at points is because the horror is so senseless, in the way all the best horror is senseless - a monster from the shadows, completely alien, completely deadly, and in this case pretty damn gross as he is usually a blackened corpse, pursues our heroes relentlessly. That they are reliving the first time they did this as they do it again in the present adds to the weight, and the chase scene through the catacombs is chilling and satisfying.
At this point, you’ve probably guessed that, given that I like this book so much, it’s not been super-gross in terms of exoticization/stereotyping of Indian culture, society, or setting. The usual disclaimer applies, in that I’m a white American woman and do not have intimate experience with this country, but to my knowledge, Hair did his research. The places he describes are varied and detailed, in both past and present day. The historical details he mentions seem reasonably accurate, for a fantasy - Hair, I might mention, is apparently a historian, and has spent considerable time in India. The characters are not caricatures, and demonstrate a diversity of religion and culture in keeping with their story. In addition, although the problems they face are ones that are often faced in YA novels (jealousy, poverty, alienation, etc, not undead sorcerer kings), the ways in which they react to those problems reflect their specific cultural backgrounds. Again, I’m not an expert, and I’d love to hear if anyone has had a different experience reading than me, but I think that if you’re looking for a YA book with representation, this is probably a good pick.
One caveat: of the wives of Ravindra-raj, only the first wife is willing. The other six wives were essentially married against their will, and are drugged into compliance. Most of them have decided or been forced to nonresistance, but Darya is violently raped and beaten. This happens offscreen, as it were, but it’s explicit in the text, and several of the characters have conversations or conflict regarding her situation and the ethics of their own positions as bystanders to her suffering. This is mostly in the first part of the book, and it’s not gratuitous or overdone, but it is there and you should know that before you read it.
I’m interested to see where the the series goes - I think that Vikram’s younger sister, who is revealed to be PAST LIFE SIGNIFICANT, is going to take a more starring role in future books, and I am all for that. I’m also looking forward to the developing relationships between the three main characters, and where that will lead - at the end of the book, it seems like they’re settling into a certain configuration, and I’d love to see them explore the nuances of that configuration. Message me if you’ve read The Pyre and want to talk about those nuances!
When Jo Fletcher Books contacted me about doing a review of David Hair’s rereleased (it was first released in India under the name Pyre of Queens in 2011) novel The Pyre, I was mostly amused by the description.
Pretty cheesy, right? Demon kings. Human sacrifice. Groundhog day except with reincarnation instead of a reset button. “Ravenous ghostly queens.” I had visions of B-movie dancing through my brain, and after six months of working part-time and going to school full-time, I was all prepared for a light, entertaining read (read: not thirty-page journal articles on education theory) that would give me a few thrills and about zero feels, and would hopefully not exoticize or be creepy about India, though I did have a few doubts on this subject.
I did not get what I was expecting.
And that was super okay.
In The Pyre, which is the first book in a trilogy, we’ve got the geek, the jock, and the pretty girl, and it turns out that, as they discover the first time they’re in a room together, they have some weird visions in common. In fact, in a previous life, they were also the geek, the jock, and the pretty girl. (I’m not summarizing any more, you’ve got the book jacket for that).
Like, really. In the present, Vikram is an athletic guy with a certain amount of aggression that needs expression, Amanjit is a bookish nerdlet primarily defined by an unattainable crush and a penchant for bad poetry, and Deepika is the transfer student with long, shiny hair and big, shiny eyes. In the past, Vikram (Shastri) was a soldier serving a sequence of really nasty kings, Amanjit (Aram Dhoop) was the court poet, and Deepika (Darya) was the (unwilling) seventh wife of Ravindra-raj that both Shastri and Aram Dhoop want to save from the horrible fate that awaits her. Throughout history, these three have been reborn over and over, only to reenact the same tragic events that befell them in their first lives.
What Hair does that makes these incredibly trite character tropes work for me is make their one-dimensionality essentially the thing that causes them to have to relive the horrific events of their first lives. I mean, sure, there’s an undead sorcerer-king and his ghostly wives pursuing them in order to get revenge on the boys and turn the girl into the last ghostly wife, and finally achieve the status of demon king (one wonders if there’s a kind of leveling-up tree - evil life, check. sacrifice ladies, become evil undead sorcerer-king. sacrifice seven ladies, become evil undead demon king and RULE THE WORLD). What really traps them, though, is not all these undead maniacs running around, but instead their inability to listen, understand, and ultimately change.
At first, it seems like they’re going to continue to make the same mistakes they’ve always made, the same mistakes that Amanjit, who remembers more than the others (of course, he’s the geek), reads about in the diary all his past selves have kept. None of them trusts the others - understandably, given that they barely know each other - and the two boys are torn between the kinship they feel for each other and the romantic feelings they each have towards Deepika. Deepika, meanwhile, isn’t sure she really wants to get involved in this - her dreams worry her, and although Vikram is cute, she mostly just wants to leave this second-rate town behind and go back to Delhi, where she can just be a teenage girl worrying about normal teenage girl stuff.
Sidenote: although the normal teenage girl stuff is what you’d expect, Hair is in no way dismissive; instead, what she’s longing for seems innocently appealing. I think it’s partly that Deepika has always been victimized by this story, and as a reader you cheer on her desire to have nothing to do with that nonsense. It’s also because she doesn’t care to be ‘different’ than other girls - she wants to be like other girls, safe and happy! Books generally force characters into adventure as a duty, or as survival; characters react passively at first and, as the adventure occurs, grow actively involved in their fates in self-defense. Unless you’re Miles Vorkosigan, in which case you force the adventure to happen. Deepika is chased (by ravenous ghost queens) through adventure, is indignant, and although she doesn’t let her indignation stop her from being brave and clever and strong, she also never forgets that this adventure was a violation of her choice.
End note. Hair situates the two boys in very different positions, allowing him to explore a surprisingly wide range of - pain, really. Amanjit is struggling with displacement - he spent most of his life in England, and has only moved just back to India, and has found that he’s treated as an outsider in both countries - and with his jealousy over Deepika and Vikram. In addition, although his father is not poor, the way in which he’s made his second fortune has involved a certain amount of humiliation, which is only compounded by a long and nasty divorce (divorce itself a humiliation in this context). Vikram is struggling with poverty, a sister with a deadly heart problem, and his uncle’s abusive behavior towards his widowed mother. In addition, he has reason to believe that the man he was in his first life made some very serious mistakes, ones that he may still be atoning for.
At this point in the novel, I was beginning to suspect that the lighthearted adventurous romp I was expecting was not going to be forthcoming. Like, all that’s pretty heavy stuff, you know? But I was hooked. Although Hair has a tendency towards the expository, and his dialogue can be a bit clunky, and he has a heavy hand with adverbs, the motivations of the characters in the present and the past, though very different, drew me in. Even the love triangle - and I hate love triangles, and I hate the nasty obsessive Nice Guy pining thing Amanjit/Aram Dhoop has going on - developed nuance and depth, and the resolution to it in the present was everything I could have wished. Go on - imagine the best possible resolution to Nice Guy pining. Do it.
Yep, that’s it.
Now, at this point you’re probably wondering, ‘Okay, characterization is awesome, but I want to hear about the undead sorcerer-kings! Where are the undead sorcerer-kings?’ Honestly, the undead sorcerer-kings are, at least in the first book, a plot device. I’m not sure that becoming Ravana is a great motivation for anyone, no matter how nasty, and all the work involved seemed like a lot of effort to go to. You’d have to really love causing people agony, like really absolutely be devoted to it, to go to this much work to keep doing it after your death.
It’s a pretty good plot device, too, once you accept the underlying absurdity of the premise. Hair is quite good at making you forget - Ravindra-Raj is quite menacing, and everything he and his evil queen/partner in evil do adds unreasoning horror, contributing to a suspenseful atmosphere and a real sense of danger. Part of the reason it actually is scary at points is because the horror is so senseless, in the way all the best horror is senseless - a monster from the shadows, completely alien, completely deadly, and in this case pretty damn gross as he is usually a blackened corpse, pursues our heroes relentlessly. That they are reliving the first time they did this as they do it again in the present adds to the weight, and the chase scene through the catacombs is chilling and satisfying.
At this point, you’ve probably guessed that, given that I like this book so much, it’s not been super-gross in terms of exoticization/stereotyping of Indian culture, society, or setting. The usual disclaimer applies, in that I’m a white American woman and do not have intimate experience with this country, but to my knowledge, Hair did his research. The places he describes are varied and detailed, in both past and present day. The historical details he mentions seem reasonably accurate, for a fantasy - Hair, I might mention, is apparently a historian, and has spent considerable time in India. The characters are not caricatures, and demonstrate a diversity of religion and culture in keeping with their story. In addition, although the problems they face are ones that are often faced in YA novels (jealousy, poverty, alienation, etc, not undead sorcerer kings), the ways in which they react to those problems reflect their specific cultural backgrounds. Again, I’m not an expert, and I’d love to hear if anyone has had a different experience reading than me, but I think that if you’re looking for a YA book with representation, this is probably a good pick.
One caveat: of the wives of Ravindra-raj, only the first wife is willing. The other six wives were essentially married against their will, and are drugged into compliance. Most of them have decided or been forced to nonresistance, but Darya is violently raped and beaten. This happens offscreen, as it were, but it’s explicit in the text, and several of the characters have conversations or conflict regarding her situation and the ethics of their own positions as bystanders to her suffering. This is mostly in the first part of the book, and it’s not gratuitous or overdone, but it is there and you should know that before you read it.
I’m interested to see where the the series goes - I think that Vikram’s younger sister, who is revealed to be PAST LIFE SIGNIFICANT, is going to take a more starring role in future books, and I am all for that. I’m also looking forward to the developing relationships between the three main characters, and where that will lead - at the end of the book, it seems like they’re settling into a certain configuration, and I’d love to see them explore the nuances of that configuration. Message me if you’ve read The Pyre and want to talk about those nuances!
December 29, 2012
"If you're reading this work, then you are very likely me.
You know what I mean.
I have come to believe that certain stories develop a life of their own. They are so powerful, so widely known, so much a part of our culture, indeed of our daily lives, that they become more than mere words.
Imagine, if you will, a tale that defines a people. It has heroes and villains, good and evil deeds, its very words are sacred to us. It is like a chess set, its pieces inhabited by the same souls, game after game. Or perhaps this tale is a living thing, a script that constantly seeks actors, and when it finds them, it inhabits those actors and possesses them utterly, finding new ways to express and re-express itself, time and time again.
What must it be like, to be one of those souls, doomed time and again to live the same life, over and over? Acting out the tale, glorifying it, enhancing it, though at great cost to themselves. Their whole existence a prison sentence, their fate to again and again live as a play-thing of an idea.
But then, you know what it's like, don't you?"
It's 769 A.D. in India and the court of King Ravindra is brimming with secrets. He is a hated king but many who wish to rebel are too afraid to do so for fear of being caught by the blood-thirsty soldiers at his finger-tips. Though there has been a secret plot to overthrow the king, many of those who were involved have been found out, tortured and killed.
Shastri, the Captain of the guards, is fearing for his life. He knows the king suspects him as the instigator of the plot, and he does not dare to show any compassion to his fellow conspirators, or reveal his true feelings for Darya, one of the King's wive.
Aram Dhoop is the court poet, small and quiet, frightened and disgusted by the goings-on in the palace but too weak-willed to do anything. The only person who manages to stir any kind of flame within him is Darya. When he hears that she is to burn to death along with King Ravindra and the rest of his wives (seven in total) Aram decides that the time to act is now. In what is his bravest act yet, Aram grabs Darya before she is about to be flung onto the burning pyres and sets off blindly on a galloping horse, pursued closely by the very accomplished and able Shastri. Following a rush of events, Shastri turns from foe to friend, and soon all three are on the run.
Jumping forward to 2010, three teenagers - two boys and a girl - find that the more often they come together, the more that time has a way of ripping around them, opening up to let images of the past escape. Soon, they're fleeing ghosts from the past, and attempting to unravel the ancient secrets which have such strong hold over them.
All right, let's get this out of the way: I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK!! It is far from perfect, I'll admit, and I am not blind to its flaws, but I absolutely loved it nonetheless. The premise is so interesting and unique - I mean, a retelling of the Indian epic Ramayana? With reincarnations and gutsy and intelligent adventurers to boot? And the hero a scrawny kid who loves English and writes poetry? Grabby hands everywhere.
All right. I'm calm. Somewhat. Maybe it's because I haven't come across many books based on Indian epics but I was excited when this one caught my eye in the library. The writing is concise - the author doesn't beat around the bush. He has a story to tell and he tells it. The chapters alternate between 769A.D. India and 2010 India, but despite the switches I found myself easily falling into whatever time frame I was supposed to be falling into.
The characters seem flat at first, especially with the few, simple lines that the author sketches them with, but as the book progresses they flesh out, growing into more than just stereotypes and begin to take life. My favorite was definitely the protagonist Vikram - the scrawny schoolboy who's the reincarnation of the court poet Aram Dhoop. They both start out as weak, almost sniveling, and whiny characters, but by the end displayed a strength that belied their reputation, especially Vikram. I might be adding yet another number to my long list of fictional crushes. Thanks a lot, David Hair. As if my sanity really needed that.
There's a love triangle that occupies both the past and the present of this story. I am aware of the reputations that love triangles have in the world of YA, but it is quite well done here. It is clear that it is essential for the story, especially the 'past' part of the story. With the twenty-first century teenagers, it is not such an integral part of the story, and Vikram has a keen eye, keen enough to see that he's fighting for something that's not really there. It's not a constant tug-of-war as it is with so many other YA novels and does not dominate the story.
The pacing of the story was brilliant. As I mentioned previously the chapters alternated between past and present, and the seamless manner in which it's been done only becomes more evident when you reach the climax of the novel. At that point, both past and present are climbing in speed and action and I became even more embroiled in the story than I had been. There's a lot of action, and much wielding of the swords, and aiming of the arrows - and me, well, I'm a sword and arrow type of girl. I love swashbuckling action! There's just something about it that excites me to no end. A good fight is easy to become engaged in, I think, and this book definitely had a lot of that.
The backbone of the story is reincarnation and time repeating itself, and though the three protagonists are simply another version of the originals, it doesn't feel as if they're simply fated to do what they do. The narrative makes it clear that it's the choices that differentiate people, and the present day versions of the historical figures manage to be fresh and are in no way bogged down by their past positions.
It's a great action-packed read, with a dash of humor, romance, and horror. More than just a dash of the last, actually. There are dollopings of horror. DOLLOPINGS. Not exactly horror, but gruesome bloodshed, and vengeful ghosts - wait, that does equate horror, never mind. But it's a great read, nevertheless, and I devoured it in a day, and now I can't wait to read the sequels.
From: http://www.ladydisdainnotes.blogspot.com
You know what I mean.
I have come to believe that certain stories develop a life of their own. They are so powerful, so widely known, so much a part of our culture, indeed of our daily lives, that they become more than mere words.
Imagine, if you will, a tale that defines a people. It has heroes and villains, good and evil deeds, its very words are sacred to us. It is like a chess set, its pieces inhabited by the same souls, game after game. Or perhaps this tale is a living thing, a script that constantly seeks actors, and when it finds them, it inhabits those actors and possesses them utterly, finding new ways to express and re-express itself, time and time again.
What must it be like, to be one of those souls, doomed time and again to live the same life, over and over? Acting out the tale, glorifying it, enhancing it, though at great cost to themselves. Their whole existence a prison sentence, their fate to again and again live as a play-thing of an idea.
But then, you know what it's like, don't you?"
It's 769 A.D. in India and the court of King Ravindra is brimming with secrets. He is a hated king but many who wish to rebel are too afraid to do so for fear of being caught by the blood-thirsty soldiers at his finger-tips. Though there has been a secret plot to overthrow the king, many of those who were involved have been found out, tortured and killed.
Shastri, the Captain of the guards, is fearing for his life. He knows the king suspects him as the instigator of the plot, and he does not dare to show any compassion to his fellow conspirators, or reveal his true feelings for Darya, one of the King's wive.
Aram Dhoop is the court poet, small and quiet, frightened and disgusted by the goings-on in the palace but too weak-willed to do anything. The only person who manages to stir any kind of flame within him is Darya. When he hears that she is to burn to death along with King Ravindra and the rest of his wives (seven in total) Aram decides that the time to act is now. In what is his bravest act yet, Aram grabs Darya before she is about to be flung onto the burning pyres and sets off blindly on a galloping horse, pursued closely by the very accomplished and able Shastri. Following a rush of events, Shastri turns from foe to friend, and soon all three are on the run.
Jumping forward to 2010, three teenagers - two boys and a girl - find that the more often they come together, the more that time has a way of ripping around them, opening up to let images of the past escape. Soon, they're fleeing ghosts from the past, and attempting to unravel the ancient secrets which have such strong hold over them.
All right, let's get this out of the way: I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK!! It is far from perfect, I'll admit, and I am not blind to its flaws, but I absolutely loved it nonetheless. The premise is so interesting and unique - I mean, a retelling of the Indian epic Ramayana? With reincarnations and gutsy and intelligent adventurers to boot? And the hero a scrawny kid who loves English and writes poetry? Grabby hands everywhere.
All right. I'm calm. Somewhat. Maybe it's because I haven't come across many books based on Indian epics but I was excited when this one caught my eye in the library. The writing is concise - the author doesn't beat around the bush. He has a story to tell and he tells it. The chapters alternate between 769A.D. India and 2010 India, but despite the switches I found myself easily falling into whatever time frame I was supposed to be falling into.
The characters seem flat at first, especially with the few, simple lines that the author sketches them with, but as the book progresses they flesh out, growing into more than just stereotypes and begin to take life. My favorite was definitely the protagonist Vikram - the scrawny schoolboy who's the reincarnation of the court poet Aram Dhoop. They both start out as weak, almost sniveling, and whiny characters, but by the end displayed a strength that belied their reputation, especially Vikram. I might be adding yet another number to my long list of fictional crushes. Thanks a lot, David Hair. As if my sanity really needed that.
There's a love triangle that occupies both the past and the present of this story. I am aware of the reputations that love triangles have in the world of YA, but it is quite well done here. It is clear that it is essential for the story, especially the 'past' part of the story. With the twenty-first century teenagers, it is not such an integral part of the story, and Vikram has a keen eye, keen enough to see that he's fighting for something that's not really there. It's not a constant tug-of-war as it is with so many other YA novels and does not dominate the story.
The pacing of the story was brilliant. As I mentioned previously the chapters alternated between past and present, and the seamless manner in which it's been done only becomes more evident when you reach the climax of the novel. At that point, both past and present are climbing in speed and action and I became even more embroiled in the story than I had been. There's a lot of action, and much wielding of the swords, and aiming of the arrows - and me, well, I'm a sword and arrow type of girl. I love swashbuckling action! There's just something about it that excites me to no end. A good fight is easy to become engaged in, I think, and this book definitely had a lot of that.
The backbone of the story is reincarnation and time repeating itself, and though the three protagonists are simply another version of the originals, it doesn't feel as if they're simply fated to do what they do. The narrative makes it clear that it's the choices that differentiate people, and the present day versions of the historical figures manage to be fresh and are in no way bogged down by their past positions.
It's a great action-packed read, with a dash of humor, romance, and horror. More than just a dash of the last, actually. There are dollopings of horror. DOLLOPINGS. Not exactly horror, but gruesome bloodshed, and vengeful ghosts - wait, that does equate horror, never mind. But it's a great read, nevertheless, and I devoured it in a day, and now I can't wait to read the sequels.
From: http://www.ladydisdainnotes.blogspot.com
March 28, 2022
খুব ভালো লাগে নাই। আবার খারাপও লাগে নাই। মাঝামাঝি।
অতীত ইতিহাস (নাকি মিথ?) আর বর্তমানের মিশেলটা ভালোই ছিল। আসলে এরকম পুনর্জন্মবাদ ব্যবহার করে অতীত আর বর্তমানকে এক করে দেয়া সোজাসাপ্টা কাজই। লেখক সেটা ভালো করে করতে পেরেছেন।
অবশ্য পুরো কাহিনী ইন্ডিয়ায়, চরিত্রগুলার নাম ইন্ডিয়ান, পরিবেশ ইন্ডিয়ান বলে একটু বলিউডি সিনেমা ভাইব পাচ্ছিলাম। তবে ভয় নাই, বস্তাপচা সিনেমা না। এই সিনেমা দেখা যায়।
অনুবাদ: অনুবাদকের প্রথম কাজ। ভালোভাবেই উৎরে গেছেন। আরেকটু বোধহয় ভালো করা যেত, তবে সেটা তিনি করবেনও, সামনের কাজে।
অতীত ইতিহাস (নাকি মিথ?) আর বর্তমানের মিশেলটা ভালোই ছিল। আসলে এরকম পুনর্জন্মবাদ ব্যবহার করে অতীত আর বর্তমানকে এক করে দেয়া সোজাসাপ্টা কাজই। লেখক সেটা ভালো করে করতে পেরেছেন।
অবশ্য পুরো কাহিনী ইন্ডিয়ায়, চরিত্রগুলার নাম ইন্ডিয়ান, পরিবেশ ইন্ডিয়ান বলে একটু বলিউডি সিনেমা ভাইব পাচ্ছিলাম। তবে ভয় নাই, বস্তাপচা সিনেমা না। এই সিনেমা দেখা যায়।
অনুবাদ: অনুবাদকের প্রথম কাজ। ভালোভাবেই উৎরে গেছেন। আরেকটু বোধহয় ভালো করা যেত, তবে সেটা তিনি করবেনও, সামনের কাজে।
July 18, 2015
I missed out on reading David Hair's previous series The Moontide Quartet and I was determined to get in on his next series. The Return of Ravana sounded amazing; the mix of mythical retelling and modern-day setting really appealed to me. The Return of Ravana isn’t actually a new series, the series was previously published by Penguin India. Jo Fletcher Books is rereleasing it with new covers, new titles and in the case of The Pyre a slightly tweaked text. The Pyre is the first book in the quartet and I was stoked to get the chance to read it. And after all the good things I’d heart about Hair’s writing, The Pyre definitely didn’t disappoint.
India is easily and often exoticised in books and visual media. And its history and customs are often misrepresented or romanticised, but I felt that Hair steered away from this quite well. One of the most controversial traditions, and central to The Pyre’s plot, was the practice of sati, the burning alive of a deceased husband’s wive(s) on his funeral pyre. I first encountered the phenomenon when I was nine or ten when I saw the TV adaptation of The Far Pavilions — my parents never monitored my TV time closely. Also, that adaptation, can you say white-washed much? Anyway, back on topic — in which the hero rescues the heroine from a ritual sati. It left me horribly fascinated and yes, the rescue seemed the epitome of romantic. I wondered how Hair would handle it in his narrative. Would he portray it disapprovingly, matter-of-factly, making it an active choice or a forced decision? It’s a tough call to make, because it could offend people no matter which way you choose to go. Hair portrays the sati as the horrific ritual it was, letting his past-timeline characters recognise the horror and injustice, while also showing us people who thought it was a valid choice and not all of them one of the bad guys. But I still found the scenes upsetting, far more so than nine-year-old me did. The rescue wasn’t as straight-forwardly romantic either, with two possible heroes and I loved the way Hair showed us their reasoning for acting or not.
The book is divided into two timelines. One set in 769 AD and one set in 2010. While the oldest timeline forms the basis of the entire narrative, most of the action or perhaps the forward motion is set in the present. I liked how the timelines alternated and how in some cases they almost touched when the past echoes through to the present, as in the scenes set at the Fortress of Mandore. They also informed each other with the chapters set in the past explaining or setting up events in the future or allowing us to recognise incarnations in the present. While reincarnation plays an important role in the story, I liked that the characters in the present aren’t carbon-copies of those in the past. They are distinct people, with perhaps similar character traits and resonating memories, but they are not identical; Vikram, Amanjit, Deepika, and Rasita have obviously grown in the lives that separate them from Aram, Shasti, Darya, and Padma.
The two timelines are both exciting, with the narrative in 769 essentially being one long escape sequence and that of 2010 being a mystery. And while I loved the historical setting, my favourite was the present-day timeline, because of the mystery element and the way our protagonists need to discover what exactly is going on. In the past timeline my favourite character were Darya and Shasti. Darya is amazing, I loved how she practically takes over her own rescue once Aram has taken her out of the fortress. Shasti, the guard captain charged with retrieving her was also a compelling character, torn as he is between duty and love—love of his sister Padma, but also his forbidden love for Darya. Aram Dhoop, court poet and unlikely rescuer, was an interesting character and sympathetic, but I connected with Shastri more strongly. This preference between the male protagonists was echoed in the present day where I also preferred Amanjit over Vikram. But while I liked Deepika, I preferred Amanjit’s little sister Ras to her. Bookish, stubborn, brave Ras was a wonderful character, though she is spectacularly overlooked by the others for most of the book.
The ending of the book was lovely with all of the loops closed and no questions unanswered, other than the uncertainty of the future and the question of whether Ravindra has truly been vanquished. I look forward to reuniting with our intrepid quartet and discovering whether the traces of the Ramayana we spied in The Pyre will become even more pronounced in the next book. I really enjoyed this first book in David Hair’s The Return of Ravana series. If you like fantasy influenced by mythology and would like to explore beyond the well-known Western mythologies, The Pyre is an excellent departure point.
This book was provided for review by the publisher.
India is easily and often exoticised in books and visual media. And its history and customs are often misrepresented or romanticised, but I felt that Hair steered away from this quite well. One of the most controversial traditions, and central to The Pyre’s plot, was the practice of sati, the burning alive of a deceased husband’s wive(s) on his funeral pyre. I first encountered the phenomenon when I was nine or ten when I saw the TV adaptation of The Far Pavilions — my parents never monitored my TV time closely. Also, that adaptation, can you say white-washed much? Anyway, back on topic — in which the hero rescues the heroine from a ritual sati. It left me horribly fascinated and yes, the rescue seemed the epitome of romantic. I wondered how Hair would handle it in his narrative. Would he portray it disapprovingly, matter-of-factly, making it an active choice or a forced decision? It’s a tough call to make, because it could offend people no matter which way you choose to go. Hair portrays the sati as the horrific ritual it was, letting his past-timeline characters recognise the horror and injustice, while also showing us people who thought it was a valid choice and not all of them one of the bad guys. But I still found the scenes upsetting, far more so than nine-year-old me did. The rescue wasn’t as straight-forwardly romantic either, with two possible heroes and I loved the way Hair showed us their reasoning for acting or not.
The book is divided into two timelines. One set in 769 AD and one set in 2010. While the oldest timeline forms the basis of the entire narrative, most of the action or perhaps the forward motion is set in the present. I liked how the timelines alternated and how in some cases they almost touched when the past echoes through to the present, as in the scenes set at the Fortress of Mandore. They also informed each other with the chapters set in the past explaining or setting up events in the future or allowing us to recognise incarnations in the present. While reincarnation plays an important role in the story, I liked that the characters in the present aren’t carbon-copies of those in the past. They are distinct people, with perhaps similar character traits and resonating memories, but they are not identical; Vikram, Amanjit, Deepika, and Rasita have obviously grown in the lives that separate them from Aram, Shasti, Darya, and Padma.
The two timelines are both exciting, with the narrative in 769 essentially being one long escape sequence and that of 2010 being a mystery. And while I loved the historical setting, my favourite was the present-day timeline, because of the mystery element and the way our protagonists need to discover what exactly is going on. In the past timeline my favourite character were Darya and Shasti. Darya is amazing, I loved how she practically takes over her own rescue once Aram has taken her out of the fortress. Shasti, the guard captain charged with retrieving her was also a compelling character, torn as he is between duty and love—love of his sister Padma, but also his forbidden love for Darya. Aram Dhoop, court poet and unlikely rescuer, was an interesting character and sympathetic, but I connected with Shastri more strongly. This preference between the male protagonists was echoed in the present day where I also preferred Amanjit over Vikram. But while I liked Deepika, I preferred Amanjit’s little sister Ras to her. Bookish, stubborn, brave Ras was a wonderful character, though she is spectacularly overlooked by the others for most of the book.
The ending of the book was lovely with all of the loops closed and no questions unanswered, other than the uncertainty of the future and the question of whether Ravindra has truly been vanquished. I look forward to reuniting with our intrepid quartet and discovering whether the traces of the Ramayana we spied in The Pyre will become even more pronounced in the next book. I really enjoyed this first book in David Hair’s The Return of Ravana series. If you like fantasy influenced by mythology and would like to explore beyond the well-known Western mythologies, The Pyre is an excellent departure point.
This book was provided for review by the publisher.
November 28, 2017
Cheesy story trying to build desperately on Indian mythology, latching on to reincarnation and similar such beliefs. At best makes for a fast, engrossing mindless read during a super boring travel
May 24, 2019
Not a very up to mark mythological fantasy . I lost my interest midway.
November 10, 2016
*copy from Netgalley in exchange for a review*
The Pyre is the first in the "The Return Of Ravana" fantasy series by David Hair. It follows a group of modern Indian teenagers as they grapple with increasing occurrences of seemingly supernatural events – and looks at some of the causes of those events, centuries in the past.
The setting is provided in two narratively distinct segments. There are chapters set in a town in modern-day India, and those alternate with others, set in the same geography, but 1300 years earlier. The modern setting is clear, a thriving, energetic place, filled with a background noise of commerce and observances of faith – a tangle of the traditional and the encroaching new – perhaps symbolic of the transition that the nation is going through. There’s iconic environmental flashes – when our trio of young protagonists sit on a roof, drinking coke under the sun, a chase scene through the thronging marketplace, moments of contemplation in temples, and in isolated caves.
This rather optimistic vision works as a clever contrast to the setting of the chapters occurring in the past. There we have a sense of darkness, of claustrophobia. There’s an atmosphere of decline, and a seeping sense of fear trickling through the lines on the page. Where the modern world is an expansive, enthusiastic one, here, people are closing their doors on each other, afraid to speak up or, in some cases, speak at all. At the same time, this past is a rich one, with a sense of the mystic, a baroque feel, and a sense of the need to struggle, to survive. The author has built a fusion of two times and places, and in their contrasts they build upon each other, and both are synthesised into locales which felt plausible and real.
The characters – well, there’s a certain parity here, a trio of teenagers in the modern world, sat in parallel with what feel like older versions of themselves, in the past. In the ‘modern’ narrative, we spend our time with two boy and a young woman; of the former, one is somewhat bookish, an intellectual, not afraid of an argument, but perhaps not one able to finish it when it becomes physical. He conflicts with the other boy in some ways – a physically stronger, more impulsive type, with a certain level of disdain for those intellectual pursuits. Both are united in their affection for the third member of their triad, a somewhat untraditional young lady, one prepared to stand up, speak her mind ad – in some cases – tell her two associates that they’re being idiots. Each comes with their own baggage – one boy having just returned from England, trying to fit in. The other has family issues, and is trying to define himself around them as he moves into adulthood. The girl struggles with discrimination and self actualisation – in trying to become who she wants to be, and not, perhaps, what society expects.
They’re sympathetic, well drawn characters. Some of their woes feel a bit dramatic and manufactured – but others are spot on. The scenes of troubled family interactions in particular are quietly powerful, and made compelling reading.
The older characters in the ‘past’ sections have broad similarities to their matches in the modern era. There’s the captain of the palace guard –a man who acts at the behest of more unpleasant characters than himself, and struggles with complicity. There’s a poet, a man prepared to take a moral stand in a moment of strength, or toss it away in a moment of weakness. And there’s a bride, a warrior woman with one hand on the bow, and the other on a knife at her belt. The poet is ineffectual, seemingly defined by a romance that sits in his soul, at odds with the environment he survives in. The bride is a powerful force, a woman determined to survive, to take what actions she must in order to do so – a fierce and moral creature. Perhaps the keenest felt is the guard captain, a man torn by the needs of his position, and bonds of loyalty – and his own sense of personal honour, morality, and sense of what is right. Theirs is a triad perhaps more tormented, potentially more tragic than their younger selves – but one just as honest, and with bonds tied just as tightly.
The plot – well, I shan’t spoil it. Suffice to say that there’s magic here that spans eras. There’s discussion of past lives, of the nature of reincarnation. There’s chases and the occasional bit of gunfire. There’s swordfights and the plots of evil kings. There’s quiet family drama, with an emotional punch – and there’s the rise of friendships and the falls of betrayal. In the end, it’s a fast-paced adventure, and one with a clever and convincing mythology – worth a go!
The Pyre is the first in the "The Return Of Ravana" fantasy series by David Hair. It follows a group of modern Indian teenagers as they grapple with increasing occurrences of seemingly supernatural events – and looks at some of the causes of those events, centuries in the past.
The setting is provided in two narratively distinct segments. There are chapters set in a town in modern-day India, and those alternate with others, set in the same geography, but 1300 years earlier. The modern setting is clear, a thriving, energetic place, filled with a background noise of commerce and observances of faith – a tangle of the traditional and the encroaching new – perhaps symbolic of the transition that the nation is going through. There’s iconic environmental flashes – when our trio of young protagonists sit on a roof, drinking coke under the sun, a chase scene through the thronging marketplace, moments of contemplation in temples, and in isolated caves.
This rather optimistic vision works as a clever contrast to the setting of the chapters occurring in the past. There we have a sense of darkness, of claustrophobia. There’s an atmosphere of decline, and a seeping sense of fear trickling through the lines on the page. Where the modern world is an expansive, enthusiastic one, here, people are closing their doors on each other, afraid to speak up or, in some cases, speak at all. At the same time, this past is a rich one, with a sense of the mystic, a baroque feel, and a sense of the need to struggle, to survive. The author has built a fusion of two times and places, and in their contrasts they build upon each other, and both are synthesised into locales which felt plausible and real.
The characters – well, there’s a certain parity here, a trio of teenagers in the modern world, sat in parallel with what feel like older versions of themselves, in the past. In the ‘modern’ narrative, we spend our time with two boy and a young woman; of the former, one is somewhat bookish, an intellectual, not afraid of an argument, but perhaps not one able to finish it when it becomes physical. He conflicts with the other boy in some ways – a physically stronger, more impulsive type, with a certain level of disdain for those intellectual pursuits. Both are united in their affection for the third member of their triad, a somewhat untraditional young lady, one prepared to stand up, speak her mind ad – in some cases – tell her two associates that they’re being idiots. Each comes with their own baggage – one boy having just returned from England, trying to fit in. The other has family issues, and is trying to define himself around them as he moves into adulthood. The girl struggles with discrimination and self actualisation – in trying to become who she wants to be, and not, perhaps, what society expects.
They’re sympathetic, well drawn characters. Some of their woes feel a bit dramatic and manufactured – but others are spot on. The scenes of troubled family interactions in particular are quietly powerful, and made compelling reading.
The older characters in the ‘past’ sections have broad similarities to their matches in the modern era. There’s the captain of the palace guard –a man who acts at the behest of more unpleasant characters than himself, and struggles with complicity. There’s a poet, a man prepared to take a moral stand in a moment of strength, or toss it away in a moment of weakness. And there’s a bride, a warrior woman with one hand on the bow, and the other on a knife at her belt. The poet is ineffectual, seemingly defined by a romance that sits in his soul, at odds with the environment he survives in. The bride is a powerful force, a woman determined to survive, to take what actions she must in order to do so – a fierce and moral creature. Perhaps the keenest felt is the guard captain, a man torn by the needs of his position, and bonds of loyalty – and his own sense of personal honour, morality, and sense of what is right. Theirs is a triad perhaps more tormented, potentially more tragic than their younger selves – but one just as honest, and with bonds tied just as tightly.
The plot – well, I shan’t spoil it. Suffice to say that there’s magic here that spans eras. There’s discussion of past lives, of the nature of reincarnation. There’s chases and the occasional bit of gunfire. There’s swordfights and the plots of evil kings. There’s quiet family drama, with an emotional punch – and there’s the rise of friendships and the falls of betrayal. In the end, it’s a fast-paced adventure, and one with a clever and convincing mythology – worth a go!
February 22, 2017
Im alten Indien versucht der Raja Ravindra Unsterblichkeit zu erlangen. Dazu müssen seine 7 Königinnen zusammen mit seiner Leiche verbrannt werden, aber eine der Königinnen, die persische Darya, wird von dem Poeten Aram gerettet. Zusammen fliehen die beiden, bis sich ihnen der Hauptmann der königlichen Wache, Shastri, anschließt.
In der Gegenwarten treffen sich 3 Teenager durch Zufall und bemerken, dass sie einander aus der Vergangenheit kennen. Durch Träume, Visionen und Geschichtswissen versuchen sie, zu rekonstruieren, was ihnen damals in ihrem ersten Leben widerfahren ist.
Aber auch die Gegenspieler der Vergangenheit sind nicht so tot, wie es ihnen lieb wäre.
Das Buch spielt kapitelweise abwechselnd in der Vergangenheit und der Gegenwart. Dabei spiegelt die Gegenwart immer in gewisser Weise die Vergangenheit, aber subtil genug, um nichts vorweg zu nehmen.
Das Buch schafft es sehr gut 2 Sets an Charakteren zu schaffen, die zwar im großen Ganzen ähnlich sind, aber trotzdem eigenständige Persönlichkeiten entwickeln. Das fand ich gut gemacht.
Ich fand auch die Charakterisierung der einzelnen Personen auch sehr liebenswert, immer vielschichtig aber glaubwürdig und nachvollziehbar.
Nur Königin Darya fand ich ein bisschen zu fähig und kompetent. Das eine Perserin reiten kann, das ist ja noch sinnig, aber Bogenschießen, Kämpfen, Wildnisserfahrungen? Mir war es ein bisschen zu viel, auch wenn es sich recht gut in die Story einpasst, und Darya durchaus auch schwächere Momente hat.
Die Geschichte beinhaltet viele Elemente hinduistischer Mythen und Religion. Es werden immer wieder Parallelen zum Ramayana gezogen, was ich sehr interessant fand. Aber gut, die Serie heißt ja schon "Return of Ravana", da ist es zu erwarten.
Meine Kenntnisse des alten und neuen Indiens sind jetzt nicht besonders tiefgreifend, aber ich habe schon indische Bücher gelesen und ich fand beide Zeiten fühlten sich authentisch und stimmig an.
Die 3 Teenager bilden auch 3 sehr unterschiedliche Schichten ab. Vikram hat lange in England gelebt und musste mit seinem Vater zurück emigrieren, Deepika ist ein wohlhabendes Mädchen aus einer indischen Großstadt und Amanjit ein Sikh aus traditionelleren, ländlichen Verhältnissen. Das gibt natürlich auch an vielen Stellen Konflikte, da alle drei sehr unterschiedliche Vorstellungen von vielem haben, aber es ist auch interessant.
Das Buch hat viele spannende und aktionreiche Stellen, nicht nur in der Vergangenheit. Kämpfe und Flucht, Begegnungen mit Geistern. Aber es gibt auch romantische Verwicklungen, die einen integralen Teil der Geschichte ausmachen.
Ich fand gerade die romantischen Teile etwas zu einfach und flach erzählt, aber sie nehmen auch nicht zu viel Raum ein. Aber ein paar Elemente wirken etwas zu einfach und schnell abgehandelt. Vielleicht kommt in den späteren Teilen noch etwas dazu.
Ich fand auch, dass das Buch gegen Ende noch einen eher unpassenden Indigo Prophecies Moment hat (oder : plötzlich Magie). Das stand an dem Punkt für mich sehr plötzlich und sehr unpassend heraus und hat mir doch etwas von dem Spass verdorben. Der Autor schafft es im weiteren Verlauf die rauen Kanten dann doch noch etwas zu glätten und es fügt sich letztendlich noch irgendwie halbwegs akzeptabel ein, aber ich fand es an der Stelle nicht passend.
Das Buch wirkt übrigens bis zum Ende in sich abgeschlossen und rund, nur der Epilog wirft dann vieles wieder um.
In der Gegenwarten treffen sich 3 Teenager durch Zufall und bemerken, dass sie einander aus der Vergangenheit kennen. Durch Träume, Visionen und Geschichtswissen versuchen sie, zu rekonstruieren, was ihnen damals in ihrem ersten Leben widerfahren ist.
Aber auch die Gegenspieler der Vergangenheit sind nicht so tot, wie es ihnen lieb wäre.
Das Buch spielt kapitelweise abwechselnd in der Vergangenheit und der Gegenwart. Dabei spiegelt die Gegenwart immer in gewisser Weise die Vergangenheit, aber subtil genug, um nichts vorweg zu nehmen.
Das Buch schafft es sehr gut 2 Sets an Charakteren zu schaffen, die zwar im großen Ganzen ähnlich sind, aber trotzdem eigenständige Persönlichkeiten entwickeln. Das fand ich gut gemacht.
Ich fand auch die Charakterisierung der einzelnen Personen auch sehr liebenswert, immer vielschichtig aber glaubwürdig und nachvollziehbar.
Nur Königin Darya fand ich ein bisschen zu fähig und kompetent. Das eine Perserin reiten kann, das ist ja noch sinnig, aber Bogenschießen, Kämpfen, Wildnisserfahrungen? Mir war es ein bisschen zu viel, auch wenn es sich recht gut in die Story einpasst, und Darya durchaus auch schwächere Momente hat.
Die Geschichte beinhaltet viele Elemente hinduistischer Mythen und Religion. Es werden immer wieder Parallelen zum Ramayana gezogen, was ich sehr interessant fand. Aber gut, die Serie heißt ja schon "Return of Ravana", da ist es zu erwarten.
Meine Kenntnisse des alten und neuen Indiens sind jetzt nicht besonders tiefgreifend, aber ich habe schon indische Bücher gelesen und ich fand beide Zeiten fühlten sich authentisch und stimmig an.
Die 3 Teenager bilden auch 3 sehr unterschiedliche Schichten ab. Vikram hat lange in England gelebt und musste mit seinem Vater zurück emigrieren, Deepika ist ein wohlhabendes Mädchen aus einer indischen Großstadt und Amanjit ein Sikh aus traditionelleren, ländlichen Verhältnissen. Das gibt natürlich auch an vielen Stellen Konflikte, da alle drei sehr unterschiedliche Vorstellungen von vielem haben, aber es ist auch interessant.
Das Buch hat viele spannende und aktionreiche Stellen, nicht nur in der Vergangenheit. Kämpfe und Flucht, Begegnungen mit Geistern. Aber es gibt auch romantische Verwicklungen, die einen integralen Teil der Geschichte ausmachen.
Ich fand gerade die romantischen Teile etwas zu einfach und flach erzählt, aber sie nehmen auch nicht zu viel Raum ein. Aber ein paar Elemente wirken etwas zu einfach und schnell abgehandelt. Vielleicht kommt in den späteren Teilen noch etwas dazu.
Ich fand auch, dass das Buch gegen Ende noch einen eher unpassenden Indigo Prophecies Moment hat (oder : plötzlich Magie). Das stand an dem Punkt für mich sehr plötzlich und sehr unpassend heraus und hat mir doch etwas von dem Spass verdorben. Der Autor schafft es im weiteren Verlauf die rauen Kanten dann doch noch etwas zu glätten und es fügt sich letztendlich noch irgendwie halbwegs akzeptabel ein, aber ich fand es an der Stelle nicht passend.
Das Buch wirkt übrigens bis zum Ende in sich abgeschlossen und rund, nur der Epilog wirft dann vieles wieder um.
June 23, 2015
Set in India, the present as well as the past, and exploring the culture, mythology and history of the country ‘The Pyre’ seemed the perfect book to continue my list of books with diverse settings. No surprise then that I was very excited to start this book when it came in the mail and I’m glad to say I wasn’t disappointed at all! Once you start this book it’s very hard to put down. Both the events set in the present and those in the past kept me flipping the pages, wondering what would happen next.
In Rajasthan in the year 769 we meet Senapati Shastri, commander of the Raja’s army. The Raja of Mandore, Ravindra-Raj, is a cruel man who is obsessed by getting the powers of the old Demon King, Ravana, and becoming immortal in the process. To do that he has to die and be burned together with his seven wives on a funeral pyre, a ritual called sati. Shastri despises his Raja’s actions and the fact that his sister is one of the seven wives makes him even more resentful of his superior. When his feeble attempt at rebellion is however rooted out, he has to stand by and watch while his sister and the other wives are burned alive on the funeral pyre. Aram Dhoop, the court poet, is however not as compliant and saves the woman he loves from the pyre, Rani Darya, the seventh wife.
In 2010 in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, three teenagers meet in detention at school and suddenly see the faces of a dozen people projected on each other. Dazed by the experience they want to find out what it means, but get tangled up in a dangerous series of events filled with exhilarating chases and vision of the past. Both Vikram, the studious and smart guy and Amanjit, the strong and charming boy, seem smitten by the beautiful Deepika, but the three youths have to put feelings aside to get to the bottom of the strange set of events that started when they all first met.
Though Vikram, Amanjit and Deepika are somehow reincarnations of the characters we meet in ancient Rajasthan and show some basic features of the people they were in their previous lives, they are still very different. This made it very interesting to see how they would react differently from their predecessors and what that would mean for their destiny. Could the fact that they are different break the cycle they have been in for so long or change the way they see each other? I enjoyed reading about these characters very much, seeing them as separate though intensely connected pawns in the same story.
‘The Pyre’ is a fantastically written tale. Slowly starting with the events in the past leading up to the funeral pyre in 769 and the youths in 2010 putting together the pieces. The pace picks up when Aram Dhoop saves Darya from the pyre and the teenagers are attacked by some thugs and have to fight for their lives. Ultimately the two stories collide and the whole tale unfolds. I was engrossed in the story at that point and enjoyed how the events in 2010 reflected those that had happened many, many years ago. Ultimately we end up where the book started, as the prologue gives a glimpse of what is to come.
An amazing story set in a magnificent background, it had me hooked from the very first page. The last halve of the book literally had me on the edge of my chair, rooting for the characters in both timelines and wondering how the history would unfold and if it would repeat itself. I’m definitely looking forward to reading the second book to find out how their story continues and to learn more about the missing pieces of the puzzle and the Ramayana.
In Rajasthan in the year 769 we meet Senapati Shastri, commander of the Raja’s army. The Raja of Mandore, Ravindra-Raj, is a cruel man who is obsessed by getting the powers of the old Demon King, Ravana, and becoming immortal in the process. To do that he has to die and be burned together with his seven wives on a funeral pyre, a ritual called sati. Shastri despises his Raja’s actions and the fact that his sister is one of the seven wives makes him even more resentful of his superior. When his feeble attempt at rebellion is however rooted out, he has to stand by and watch while his sister and the other wives are burned alive on the funeral pyre. Aram Dhoop, the court poet, is however not as compliant and saves the woman he loves from the pyre, Rani Darya, the seventh wife.
In 2010 in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, three teenagers meet in detention at school and suddenly see the faces of a dozen people projected on each other. Dazed by the experience they want to find out what it means, but get tangled up in a dangerous series of events filled with exhilarating chases and vision of the past. Both Vikram, the studious and smart guy and Amanjit, the strong and charming boy, seem smitten by the beautiful Deepika, but the three youths have to put feelings aside to get to the bottom of the strange set of events that started when they all first met.
Though Vikram, Amanjit and Deepika are somehow reincarnations of the characters we meet in ancient Rajasthan and show some basic features of the people they were in their previous lives, they are still very different. This made it very interesting to see how they would react differently from their predecessors and what that would mean for their destiny. Could the fact that they are different break the cycle they have been in for so long or change the way they see each other? I enjoyed reading about these characters very much, seeing them as separate though intensely connected pawns in the same story.
‘The Pyre’ is a fantastically written tale. Slowly starting with the events in the past leading up to the funeral pyre in 769 and the youths in 2010 putting together the pieces. The pace picks up when Aram Dhoop saves Darya from the pyre and the teenagers are attacked by some thugs and have to fight for their lives. Ultimately the two stories collide and the whole tale unfolds. I was engrossed in the story at that point and enjoyed how the events in 2010 reflected those that had happened many, many years ago. Ultimately we end up where the book started, as the prologue gives a glimpse of what is to come.
An amazing story set in a magnificent background, it had me hooked from the very first page. The last halve of the book literally had me on the edge of my chair, rooting for the characters in both timelines and wondering how the history would unfold and if it would repeat itself. I’m definitely looking forward to reading the second book to find out how their story continues and to learn more about the missing pieces of the puzzle and the Ramayana.
July 8, 2015
The Return of Ravana by David Hair
Book 1 – the Pyre
Disclaimer – this book was sent as a review copy by the publishers.
Followers of fantasy writer David Hair may already be aware of his ‘Return of Ravana’ trilogy, written for a young adult audience. This version of the first book (formerly known as ‘Pyre of Queens’) has been updated and revised for the UK re-release.
The book is set in Rajasthan, India, and follows the adventures of two groups of young people. Our modern day heroes meet at school. These three teenagers, who were strangers to each other, are brought together by fate in a moment of mutual recognition. Gradually, through a series of supernatural encounters, visions and episodes of sheer academic research, they come to realise that they are a part of an eternal story that they are bound to play out to the end.
The time slip trope, where a group of modern characters echo the steps of a long dead tragedy, is not new, and has been used to great effect by writers such as Alan Garner (‘The Owl Service’, in particular, comes to mind.) Alan Garner’s work played in the background of my mind as I read ‘The Pyre’, and I would love to know if the author is a fan of Garner.
The myth of Ravana, the Demon King, is the foundation stone to the story. In eighth century Rajasthan, a powerful king plots his own godhood, planning his own death, and his subsequent resurrection as a reincarnation of Ravana the demon king. This rite of power is to be fuelled by the obscene sacrifice on his funeral pyre by sati (suttee) of his seven queens. The sacrificial pyre is where the tale really begins, for our heroes in the past. Their adventures are echoed by the modern characters who are fated to follow in their footsteps, and maybe, just maybe, avoid some of their mistakes.
Although this is the first book of a trilogy, it actually stands well as a novel in its own right. Although I would be interested in finding out more of the story, and would love to read the next two books, The Pyre pulls together enough strands at the end to give a feeling of completion. I enjoyed the characters, and found the modern day teenagers more rounded and fully fleshed as characters than the eighth century ones, who drifted into stereotype occasionally.
In summation, this is a reasonably fast paced young adult novel that can be safely read by someone who is unsure about committing to a trilogy, and can be enjoyed by the adult reader. I read it in two long sessions, and was sorry to say goodbye to the cast. I look forward to reading Book Two.
The Pyre is available now from Jo Fletcher books.
Book 1 – the Pyre
Disclaimer – this book was sent as a review copy by the publishers.
Followers of fantasy writer David Hair may already be aware of his ‘Return of Ravana’ trilogy, written for a young adult audience. This version of the first book (formerly known as ‘Pyre of Queens’) has been updated and revised for the UK re-release.
The book is set in Rajasthan, India, and follows the adventures of two groups of young people. Our modern day heroes meet at school. These three teenagers, who were strangers to each other, are brought together by fate in a moment of mutual recognition. Gradually, through a series of supernatural encounters, visions and episodes of sheer academic research, they come to realise that they are a part of an eternal story that they are bound to play out to the end.
The time slip trope, where a group of modern characters echo the steps of a long dead tragedy, is not new, and has been used to great effect by writers such as Alan Garner (‘The Owl Service’, in particular, comes to mind.) Alan Garner’s work played in the background of my mind as I read ‘The Pyre’, and I would love to know if the author is a fan of Garner.
The myth of Ravana, the Demon King, is the foundation stone to the story. In eighth century Rajasthan, a powerful king plots his own godhood, planning his own death, and his subsequent resurrection as a reincarnation of Ravana the demon king. This rite of power is to be fuelled by the obscene sacrifice on his funeral pyre by sati (suttee) of his seven queens. The sacrificial pyre is where the tale really begins, for our heroes in the past. Their adventures are echoed by the modern characters who are fated to follow in their footsteps, and maybe, just maybe, avoid some of their mistakes.
Although this is the first book of a trilogy, it actually stands well as a novel in its own right. Although I would be interested in finding out more of the story, and would love to read the next two books, The Pyre pulls together enough strands at the end to give a feeling of completion. I enjoyed the characters, and found the modern day teenagers more rounded and fully fleshed as characters than the eighth century ones, who drifted into stereotype occasionally.
In summation, this is a reasonably fast paced young adult novel that can be safely read by someone who is unsure about committing to a trilogy, and can be enjoyed by the adult reader. I read it in two long sessions, and was sorry to say goodbye to the cast. I look forward to reading Book Two.
The Pyre is available now from Jo Fletcher books.
June 22, 2015
Thank you to the publisher, Jo Fletcher books, for sending me a copy of this novel. This in no way influenced my review and all thoughts are my own.
Please check out the review at my blog HERE!!
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Review:
I was really interested in reading this novel when I first read the blurb. It sounded like an awesome YA fantasy with a cool setting and a group of protagonists that are friends. I decided to bring this novel on my holiday with me as I was going to have a lot of time to read.
Unfortunately, this book did not live up to any of my expectations. I really dislike writing reviews of books that I did not enjoy but I have to state my opinion.
The book started off with the reader being introduced to the characters, both from the past and the present. I enjoyed meeting the characters and gaining an insight into their personalities. As the book progressed, I found myself falling out of love with the characters, especially those of present day.
I felt that Vikram and Deepika became very two dimensional and predictable characters and Amanjit's character was the most interesting of the trio. The only character that I could honestly say I enjoyed of the present day characters was Amanjit's sister Ras, her home life and illness kept me interested and I found myself looking forward to scenes with her as I read the novel.
Although I much preferred the story line of the characters in Mandore 769 AD, I did find my interest waining after a time. Their story started off very interesting with the mad king, insights into the traditions of the time and politics of the city all kept my interest going but as the story went on and I felt myself becoming slightly bored. My favourite character of the past story was Shastri, but I began to find him becoming predictable after a time.
Similar to the present story, even when reading the action scenes, I felt myself skim reading parts as I felt the overly descriptive writing style was slowing down what should be a fast paced action scene.
Overall, I did not enjoy this book or connect to any of the characters. The writing style was not my cup of tea, although I did enjoy reading a novel set in India .
Please check out the review at my blog HERE!!
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Review:
I was really interested in reading this novel when I first read the blurb. It sounded like an awesome YA fantasy with a cool setting and a group of protagonists that are friends. I decided to bring this novel on my holiday with me as I was going to have a lot of time to read.
Unfortunately, this book did not live up to any of my expectations. I really dislike writing reviews of books that I did not enjoy but I have to state my opinion.
The book started off with the reader being introduced to the characters, both from the past and the present. I enjoyed meeting the characters and gaining an insight into their personalities. As the book progressed, I found myself falling out of love with the characters, especially those of present day.
I felt that Vikram and Deepika became very two dimensional and predictable characters and Amanjit's character was the most interesting of the trio. The only character that I could honestly say I enjoyed of the present day characters was Amanjit's sister Ras, her home life and illness kept me interested and I found myself looking forward to scenes with her as I read the novel.
Although I much preferred the story line of the characters in Mandore 769 AD, I did find my interest waining after a time. Their story started off very interesting with the mad king, insights into the traditions of the time and politics of the city all kept my interest going but as the story went on and I felt myself becoming slightly bored. My favourite character of the past story was Shastri, but I began to find him becoming predictable after a time.
Similar to the present story, even when reading the action scenes, I felt myself skim reading parts as I felt the overly descriptive writing style was slowing down what should be a fast paced action scene.
Overall, I did not enjoy this book or connect to any of the characters. The writing style was not my cup of tea, although I did enjoy reading a novel set in India .
March 23, 2017
#3WordReview ~ “Thrilling, Mythical, Magical!”
What I always love in Fantasy is when the use of legends and mythologies of our world are brought to life. There is nothing more exciting for me as a reader than to enter a fantasy story where I can recall the myths mentioned and really *believe* in the fantastical elements.
David Hair did an amazing job at recreating the ‘Ravana’ legend, and with the real-life settings of Jodhpur and the trials that the characters face in their everyday life as well as in their adventures, made the characters and the setting so much more believable.
The switching from the present-day story of Vikram, Amanjit, Deepika and Rasita and the relationships they forge with each other because of, and despite of their past lives was so great to witness. To see them struggling with the feelings for each other based on their beliefs of the past was brilliant, and made for some great tension and character development. Parvati’s influence on their present also gave me chills, and I loved finding out how all their stories interconnected.
The past-life scenes were brilliantly written, and I was drawn into Darya and Aram Dhoop’s story due to the beautiful prose, and perfectly timed pacing which had me on tenterhooks throughout.
This was a fantastically written novel which will appeal to readers outside the fantasy genre too.
A 5 star read!
*Review copy was kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
What I always love in Fantasy is when the use of legends and mythologies of our world are brought to life. There is nothing more exciting for me as a reader than to enter a fantasy story where I can recall the myths mentioned and really *believe* in the fantastical elements.
David Hair did an amazing job at recreating the ‘Ravana’ legend, and with the real-life settings of Jodhpur and the trials that the characters face in their everyday life as well as in their adventures, made the characters and the setting so much more believable.
The switching from the present-day story of Vikram, Amanjit, Deepika and Rasita and the relationships they forge with each other because of, and despite of their past lives was so great to witness. To see them struggling with the feelings for each other based on their beliefs of the past was brilliant, and made for some great tension and character development. Parvati’s influence on their present also gave me chills, and I loved finding out how all their stories interconnected.
The past-life scenes were brilliantly written, and I was drawn into Darya and Aram Dhoop’s story due to the beautiful prose, and perfectly timed pacing which had me on tenterhooks throughout.
This was a fantastically written novel which will appeal to readers outside the fantasy genre too.
A 5 star read!
*Review copy was kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
January 3, 2011
This first instalment of David Hair’s ‘The Return of Ravana’ series is gruesomely intriguing. The cover of Pyre of Queens lets you know what lies within; blood, horror, ash, dread...did I mention blood?
But don’t write this book off as haphazard violence...I was ultimately surprised by the intricately woven and complex struggle between the strong, admirable and very different heroes/heroines as they discover if they have the strength to change the past, and the terrifyingly evil villains who hunt them at every turn.
Read more at http://myraldavis.livejournal.com
But don’t write this book off as haphazard violence...I was ultimately surprised by the intricately woven and complex struggle between the strong, admirable and very different heroes/heroines as they discover if they have the strength to change the past, and the terrifyingly evil villains who hunt them at every turn.
Read more at http://myraldavis.livejournal.com
January 18, 2017
https://kittyprydeisshadowcat.wordpre...
I hadn’t heard of David Hair previously to reading this book, so was going in completely blind to his style of writing. As you know I love books that re-bring old mythologies back to life. David wrote this book brilliantly. He introduced me to a society that I don’t know much about, and more importantly, a world of mythology I’m not familiar with. It was like finding something completely new, yet old.
I really enjoyed this book and ofcourse, am going to be adding it to my physical collection some time in the future.
4 out of 5 stars.
I hadn’t heard of David Hair previously to reading this book, so was going in completely blind to his style of writing. As you know I love books that re-bring old mythologies back to life. David wrote this book brilliantly. He introduced me to a society that I don’t know much about, and more importantly, a world of mythology I’m not familiar with. It was like finding something completely new, yet old.
I really enjoyed this book and ofcourse, am going to be adding it to my physical collection some time in the future.
4 out of 5 stars.
April 18, 2012
I have read the first 3 books of this series and since i have been hearing the story of Ramayana as early as i can remember, this book is really spell binding. I wanted to finish this book in 1 sitting. But this is my opinion and i don't know how a person not familiar with the Ramayana would feel if they read this book.
June 7, 2014
The way the author had provided a uniformity between the past and the present creates an imaginary urge to know more and read the book completely without keeping it down... The usage of historical references and the mix of ancient lore with the present provides a perfection to the story...
January 21, 2013
Really enjoyable read, couldn't wait to see how it was going to end. Fascinating setting and story telling style.
May 2, 2014
It starts out pretty slowly but is so much better than what i expected it to be! After the greek mythology craze, Its nice to read a twist on Indian Mythology!!
June 3, 2014
The narrative voice and the story in itself is pretty good, but I don't handle well when modern day people can shoot magical arrows. Too many places where my disbelief couldn't be suspended.
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