The Poison Palace: a magical, thrilling debut fusing Alexander the Great's legend with the Indian myth of the poison girls

by Shreya Ila Anasuya

Eka is only a child when she is taken from her mother and brought to the heart of the Magadh Empire. Adopted by the city’s foremost courtesan, she is trained in music and dance alongside her childhood friend Ira.

But fate puts Eka and Ira on the path of the vishkanya, or poison girl. Initiated into the worship of the snake goddess, the palace commands they are fed a diet of poison and trained in its deadly arts. With Alexander the Great sweeping towards their lands and their feelings for one another deepening, they are sent undercover into his camp.

In Alexander’s court Eka must play a dangerous political game, all while trying to protect the woman she loves. Raised to do the bidding of one king, and faced with the terrible ambition of another, Eka must make a choice that will change the world...

A stunning blend of historical and speculative fiction, The Poison Palace tells the story of Alexander’s invasion of India as it has never been told before.

Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Historical, Adult, Fiction, Lesbian, Queer

Kindle Edition

Expected publication January 12, 2027

About the author

Shreya Ila Anasuya is an Indian writer of fiction. She has a BA in English Literature from Jadavpur University in Kolkata and an MA in Anthropology from SOAS University of London. She is currently a PhD candidate at King’s College London, supported by the London Arts and Humanities Partnership.

Her body of work examines history, literature, gender and sexuality, music, mythology and the supernatural, which she has explored through short fiction, research, editing, journalism, teaching and performance. Her work has been recognised with the Otherwise Fellowship, the Toto Award for Creative Writing, and a Sangam House residency. The Poison Palace is her first novel.

Reviews

[Denise Ruttan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Poison Palace" is an intriguing work of historical fantasy that read more like historical fiction than fantasy. It tells the story of the women behind the scenes of Alexander's reign of terror, focusing on Eka, a woman drawn from real history of poison maidens, courtesans who are trained to seduce and kill. I also do not see enough fiction set in ancient India and found that angle compelling.

Eka is sold into slavery as a child, but she finds a mother figure in a reputable courtesan's house, who trains her to be a poison maiden. I did not entirely understand how the poison worked, how they simply had to lie with someone who didn't have snake posion in their veins and they'd be dead immediately, so I found it a bit hard to suspend disbelief on that bit. But I was glad it didn't overexplain the magic system. It felt more like folklore traditions than magic; the magic was very subtle.

Eka feels alone until she meets Ira, another innocent child sold into slavery, who also becomes a poison maiden after she grows too curious about Eka's secrets. The two are sent on an assassination mission to kill the conquerer Alexander, and they soon get swept up in his missions to rape and pillage his way through Asia. Along the way the two childhood friends become lovers in a very soft not-quite-romance (their HEA was very sad and bittersweet, I thought) but I also thought their intimacy and longing for each other was beautifully handled. I wish I had gotten more of Ira's point of view instead of that of random side female characters, which could seem superfluous to the story.

Alexander was a good villain in this; it didn't show him to be complicated, it just showed him as a man capable of loving others as well as incredible violence and cruelty. I was rooting for him to die. You usually don't see him as a ridiculous villain in the history books, which I appreciated.

My main issue with this book was the writing style. I found the prose somewhat stilted and formal, and there was a lot of telling and passive voice. However, I found the characters so intriguing, and it was a view of history that is not well covered by the record, that I could overlook the lack of beautiful sentences. Overall I did enjoy this unique historical fantasy with a lovely sapphic romance to the side.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Mai H.]

Pride TBR

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton

[Lilah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you very much to the author and publisher, and to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Poison Palace is a historical fiction novel set from 340–322BC, during Alexander III (commonly known as Alexander the Great)’s campaign on the Ancient Indian subcontinent. The story follows Malavika, the daughter of a courtesan and a devotee of Ashlesha, a goddess of poison. When Malavika is sent to kill Alexander, she must leave home and undertake the dangerous operation alongside only her lover, Iravati.

I must first commend the author for this undertaking. Much of modern historical fiction either romanticises colonisers like Alexander or centres them over the peoples they colonised. Shreya Ila Anasuya does the reverse, centring the oft-forgotten victims of Alexander, those who were often forgotten in histories written by Alexander’s worshippers and allies. To do so in the format of an oral telling is also a phenomenal choice, and speaks to the histories of storytelling suited to the time.

Malavika and Ira’s relationship was my favourite part of this book. Their romance is wonderful, and even their conflicts are laced with love and affection. Mithrapata was also an excellent character, and I loved seeing the duality of his resentment and his acknowledgement of his role.

This book is unquestionably well-researched, and offered many insights into Ancient Indian history, culture, and mythology. The inclusion of Old Sanskrit terms of reference was very welcome, and enriched my reading experience. That said, I was jarred by the author’s choice to not consistently afford the Persian characters the same privilege. While the terms Iskandar and Yauna are present for Alexander and Greek (noun), I was shocked to see a Persian character refer to the city as Persepolis. Yes, this is the accepted English term now, but it’s important to contextualise the term: Persepolis was the Greek name for what was known in Old Persian as Parsa, and the Greek term meant ‘Land of the Persians.’ It is a coloniser’s term, and when a Persian character (from their own POV, no less) uses it, it seems disingenuous and frankly unbelievable. I disagreed with the choice, and it broke my immersion quite harshly. There were a few other inaccuracies, such as Olympias claiming to be descended from Helen of Sparta (she did, in fact, claim to be descended from Helenus, son of Priam, due to Helenus’s established rule over Epirus, from which Olympias had hailed), that I found disconcerting, though these are not major flaws that would impede the reading process.

The novel itself is fairly well-written. The prose leans a little too flowery for my taste, though this is primarily for the syntax. Many basic sentences meander and are structured in long metaphors, which is fine in small doses but noticeably affected pacing at times. The syntax generally seemed quite stilted to me, and some parts that were intended to convey the form of oral storytelling or to paint vivid imagery just slightly missed their mark.

The pacing also seemed odd to me; the story breezed and skipped past some parts I would have liked to dwell on, while focusing surprisingly heavily on others. Although Malavika spends a long time with the other women, and we even see a group of young girls brought in as prisoners, we don’t see her engage with them beyond distant or brief mention. We are told quite distantly about their plight, and I would have liked to see them take a more central role. For a story meant to centre victims of colonisation and women in particular, I was frustrated to see more of a role given to Alexander’s generals than to the female prisoners. I also found Malavika frustratingly passive until around the 85% mark, and her growth past that passivity seemed somewhat sudden to me. The ending also felt rushed and fairly vague, all of which left me feeling dissatisfied with the novel’s general structure.

Overall, The Poison Palace is an ambitious and undeniably valuable work. My criticisms of it are primarily due to my hopes for it; with a concept this intriguing, we naturally seek execution to match it. I recommend this book to readers fond of historical fiction and readers looking to broaden their thinking on ancient history beyond the stories told by colonisers and victors. If anything, the story is worth reading (or hearing), even as I wish it had been done more justice.

[Azhar · Rating 3 out of 5]

being weaned and fed on poison until you yourself become lethal is so cool!!! if only the rest of the book was as great. pretty average story with pretty average prose that suffers at times from the whiplash pacing.


thanking netgalley & the publishers for the ARC!!

[Sequoya · Rating 4 out of 5]

After being torn from her mother's arms and brought to Pataliputra, Eka is sold into the house of the cities most renowned courtesan, Chandrasena. Chandrasena raises Eka as her daughter, teaching her the ways of courtesans and later, putting Eka on the path to become Vishkanya - poison maiden. When news of Alexander's conquest reaches Pataliputra, Eka and her childhood friend Ira, are sent to stop the conquerer before he can reach the city. 

This story is so beautifully written. I love that it is framed as Eka telling her tale to the memory keeper, and the use of the memory keeper was scarce enough that it was always welcomed when it was mentioned again. The vivid imagery Anasuya weaves is gorgeous, and the way she's able to blend historical with mystical is breathtaking. At no time did I question what the Vishkanya could do or why they could do it, it was just fact.

I loved Eka and Ira's relationship and how it grew through the years. Their opposing views on their mission was compelling to read and while we get some POVs from other characters, I'm glad we don't get one from Ira's perspective. Nothing in this story is overly explained, but I could still feel the love between these two characters even though we don't necessarily have a lot of building blocks to their relationship. 

I found Eka's relationship with everyone to be very fascinating to read. You don't get to know a lot about Eka outside of her childhood/poison training, but she still felt like a fully formed character. 

Alexander being just a man who seeks validation and thinks of himself as a god-king is painful in how realistic it is. I really appreciated how mundane Alexander was portrayed. How fickle he was. How Eka was never charmed by him and saw him exactly as he was - a conqueror. 

I loved that the story focused more on the women in the camps and what they endured, how the women and children always suffer. During a particularly hard journey, Ira says they should only help the women - and no part of me disagreed. 

While I found the characters to feel mostly fleshed out, I yearned for more. I wish we saw more of almost everyone.

The ending was part painful, part hopeful. Truly a depiction of conquest and war and how utterly average the men involved are and how everyone else suffers because of it. A rich, lush world that transports you into Eka's shoes, what is expected of her and what she desires. An absolutely beautiful book.

Thank you to NetGalley & Dutton for the ARC!

[lvstatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that hooks from the first page: with a protagonist who is sold and trained by the woman who adopted her. A girl with the purpose of stopping Alexander before he conquers his territory and at the same time falls in love with her friend. I loved the teachings he told through the stories. How sad it is to see the fact that women will always be replaceable among men. Slaves. Decoration. Knowing that when they fall in love, there is no one to stop them no matter how much they warn them. (They always end in disgrace)

Indian mythology is quite interesting. All those gods I've never heard of circulate through my mind after reading this beautiful book. At the same time, he tells us about Alexander's journey. He introduces us to Bagoas, his favourite lover and who without expecting it, ends up betraying him.

The book is very well written. It didn't make me heavy or get bored at any time. When I found out that it was the author's first book, I was surprised. Honestly, it's not something that is noticeable. She seems to be an experienced author and that's great. I'm excited to discover a new author through this book. I will definitely read everything she writes from now on.

What I least liked would say the fact that the protagonist regretted not being able to help or protect Ira. She was supposed to be trained and could have done something, but nothing. Maybe I was the one who thought there would be more action on his part or at least that's what we see in the first two chapters.

It gave us an unexpected ending. In the end, the territory he had to protect was destroyed. I wanted to know what would happen with Ira, but she has left that part unfinished. I hope that brings us to the second book and we can read a more motivated protagonist to fight without fear.

[Abbi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this ebook ARC from the publisher via Netgalley.

The Poison Palace is a stunningly beautiful debut book. The story is told as if by Eka (primarily) to a memory keeper, or keeper of stories, and I think that was an ideal approach, because it draws you into the setting and Eka and Ira's story. Part of the story is spent showing Eka's childhood and training, both as a ganika (courtesan) and then vishkanya (poison maiden). The king sees an opportunity to turn back Alexander the Great from conquering his lands and city by sending Eka and Ira, her fellow vishkanya, as "gifts" to destroy Alexander.

This is one of those books I didn't want to put down. Eka herself is a deep, fascinating character - her love for her Amma (adopted mother) and then for Ira as a friend, and then as beloved, drives her along with a desire to protect her people and city. She navigates the politics of being among the women of Alexander's camp, recognizing dangers and forming connections where she can. The fate of women when their countries are conquered was handled well, with honesty but not graphically.

The way Alexander was portrayed from the perspective of the captors and the ones trying to turn him away from their homeland was interesting. A lot of the stories of Alexander are from his, the victor's perspective, and having this different view was so good. I even enjoyed reading Shreya Ila Anasuya notes at the end of the book, sharing how she approached the perspectives and pulled in research and information to use in this speculative fiction debut. I look forward to seeing more books from her!

[Fusbook_id · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

A story about becoming more than the role you're given

I went into this expecting a story about a vishkanya—a poison maiden sent to kill Alexander the Great—and I wasn't quite prepared for how much the book would ultimately be about humanity, agency, and the complicated emotions underneath the roles we are forced to play.

What I really loved was how the writing lets its characters exist in contradiction. A person can be strong and frightened at the same time. Someone can seek revenge and still have immense empathy. Someone can be trained to become a weapon and still desperately want love, friendship, and a life of their own.

I was initially surprised by the romantic relationship in the story, but by the end I understood why it mattered. It wasn't simply a romance added to the plot—it gave the protagonist another dimension of humanity. Her relationships made her feel like a person first and a vishkanya second.

I also really enjoyed the historical-fiction elements. At first, I wondered why Alexander and his world occupied so much of the story, but eventually everything came together. The historical figures, Persian politics, Indian kingdoms, mythology, and the fictional vishkanya narrative all began to feel like parts of the same larger question: what happens when a person is defined by the role they are expected to play?

The emotional writing was probably my favorite part. Even characters I expected to dislike—Alexander included—ended up feeling more complicated than simply “good” or “bad.”

A surprisingly emotional read, with a fascinating blend of history, mythology, fantasy, political intrigue, and a very human story at its center.

[Jeremy Reppy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Making this book extra appealing was that I recently read a biography of Alexander the Great. Being familiar with the noteworthy people and events, it was interesting to see/read how the author chose to portray Alexander, his advisors and generals, his actions, etc. It was also interesting to see Alexander’s Indian campaign from the perspective of the Indian people (albeit a somewhat fictional version), as well as the ill-fated journey back to Macedon from Eka’s perspective and the reimagining of Alexander’s demise. In the afterword, the author explains some of the choices she made in her retelling, as well as sources she relied upon for information and inspiration.

Even if I had not recently read the Alexander biography, The Poison Palace would have been an appealing book. Female assassins can be found in various cultures, and a woman using her feminine wiles to gain access to an important target to obtain information or harm or kill the target, is not a new or novel concept. However, the concept of Vishkanyas (poison maidens) is not one with which I was familiar. I enjoyed learning the history and mythology.

I liked Eka and Ira — their backstories, their relationship, their different feelings regarding the paths their lives had taken, the tension of coping with the reality of their roles. I also liked that Bagoas is portrayed as gender nonconforming; it seems fitting.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.2️⃣5️⃣
ARC Review

A whirlwind blend of historical and speculative fiction with deep ties into Indian culture. For a debut novel, I was surprised at how much I liked this and how well every chapter tied together to create a seamless experience.

Eka is sold at a young age to the Magadh Empire as the next Vishkanya, or poison girl. During her training, she is there with her childhood friend, but not all will be so easy. Alexander the Great is coming and he is determined to conquer India for himself — but not if Eka and Ika are able to put a halt to his plans. During an undercover mission, they both are catapulted into a dangerous world of politics and power.

This was very well written, and there was enough of the deep and rich history that India has that it felt like the reader could experience it. There was subtle world building that did not feel like info dumps, and the characters were pleasantly likeable. The story concerning the conquering of India from Alexander the Great was a different, but enjoyable read. It felt like this could have been written as a realistic portrayal of history, but I learned more about Indian culture. Eka is an interesting main character — as is her love interest, Ika. The relationship seemed to have a more solid foundation because they knew one another from before training.

Thank you NetGalley and Dutton for the ARC.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shreya Ila Anasuya’s The Poison Palace is a richly detailed and atmospheric blend of historical fiction, political intrigue, and speculative mythology set during Alexander the Great’s expansion into ancient India.
The highlight of the novel is the compelling dynamic between Eka, a heavily trained vishkanya (poison maiden) assassin, and Ira, a would-be ganika who rapidly gets far more than she bargained for as she learns to navigate this deadly world alongside Eka. The contrast in their backgrounds and the depth of their connection make them fascinating figures to follow through the shifting political landscape of the Magadh Empire. Anasuya’s prose and worldbuilding are beautifully immersive, painting a vivid portrait of ancient Pataliputra and the weight of imperial ambition.
While the jumps between time periods can occasionally move the story along quickly, they simply left me wanting even more time in those moments with Eka and Ira to watch their dynamic unfold. The unique premise, memorable central characters, and fresh historical perspective make this a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Recommended for fans of atmospheric historical fantasy, mythic retellings, and character-driven political intrigue.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Misty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This debut novel was a perfect blend of history, speculation and information. I loved the way the author tied the various pieces of history together with a compelling story. I had not heard of the vishkanya (from Indian folklore, a poison maiden/assassin) and thoroughly enjoyed the layers this author added to their story. Seeing Alexander The Great through the eyes of those he conquered & attempted to conquer adds a different, important perspective to his history, also. Normally regarded as a military genius, this novel takes another approach highlighting some of cultures he massacred to get to the top & acts of cruelty perpetrated on them. The main characters are 2 vishkanya priestesses who go undercover after years of training in order to stop Alexander The Great from advancing further into present-day India, focusing on protecting the ancient city of Pataliputra around 323 BC. The world building is subtle without being overly complicated or info-dumped. With elements of hidden identities, political intrigue, sapphic romance and speculative history, this is a novel not to be missed for those looking for a blend of historical fiction and magical realism vibes.

[Christina Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the story itself captivating. You're dropped right into Eka's life being turned upside down as a child and follow her through her growing up as a poison girl into her time in Alexander's court. I think one of the things that author did wonderfully was introduce the complicated things happening to Eka in a way that allows the reader to feel similar confusion to her about what's happening, while dropping hints to help the reader get to an understanding just before Eka herself.

This was hard for me to rate because I did enjoy the story - following along with Eka's life was a fascinating blend of fantasy, historical info, and a sort of coming of age - but something kept me from being fully immersed and it took me a long time to read. I think it just ultimately felt like being told the story rather than shown it? But with how ambitious this book is in telling Eka's story, I can understand why that approach would be needed to keep this from turning into a very long book. This style of writing just didn't quite work to keep me as engaged as I would've expected, so I'm at a 3.5 (rounded to 4).

[Julia Dudley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was just spectacular. I had hoped this would be as excellent as the synopsis made it sound, and it was even better. The prose was spectacular and I loved the extra perspectives from Bagoas, Olympias, et al that were peppered in - each voice was unique and poetic. The amount of research done for this novel was obvious and Anasuya's citations provide a bibliographic jumping off point that I look forward to getting into.

Eka was wonderful. Complicated - truly complicated. Loyal yet deeply conflicted. The web of relationships that formed her life was truly ensnaring and I felt the weight through the narrative.

I cannot say how much I loved the ending paragraphs. It felt sudden but absolutely note perfect, melancholic and romantic. Her relationship with Ira was tense and freeing and the build-up was palpable. I hope the author continues to write perfect gems like this one.

[kody :3 · Rating 2 out of 5]

complimentary arc from netgalley and dutton !!

i really wanted to like this, but i was so bored. about 25% in, i wanted to dnf because it was pretty much all infodumping. it took until 28% to even get a mention of alexander the great when it is a huge part of the summary and in a book that is only a little bit over 300 pages, that seems like a lot of wasted time. it took until about 40% for things to start happening, and even then, it felt like we were told about them more than we experienced them.

everything feels very surface level. at no point did i feel connected to eka nor feel any connection with her romance to ira. it got a little interesting 75% in, but i don’t think that makes it worth the read — especially since it was boring again by 80%.

classing this as historical fantasy feels like a reach. the fantasy elements were so light that they could be wholly eliminated without any of the story changing, which is a shame because the idea of it being historical fantasy was the only reason i requested the arc.

definitely will not recommend. barely finished.

(1.5/5)

[Iris Andersi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read The Poison Palace based on the title and cover alone, and skipped over the tagline and blurb to go in with zero expectations or spoilers. Both covers are simply gorgeous, and the story lived up to the artwork!

I absolutely loved Eka, and her complicated relationship with Ira felt so raw and real. The novel was definitely dark, but it also felt like it was tremendously honest about the hardships and realities that women faced.

There were some fun alternative POVs scattered throughout the story. While I was always excited to return to the protagonist, each mini glimpse into someone else's perspective felt like a really good choice to enhance the overall story.

Overall, I can't wait to recommend this one to my historical-fantasy loving friends!

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous work, blending mythology, historical fiction, fantasy and speculative fiction into a beautiful feminist piece.

The author explores life from women's perspective in ancient India as well as the experiences of women at the hands of the armies of Alexander the Great. 

I've never read a piece quite like this, it blends the writing of Song Of Achilles with the female focus of Women of Troy but in an entirely unique way.

I adored the characters and the writing, particularly the perspective employed. 

[Kate Ovi · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5