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Golden Fire
In fourth-century India, King Samudra Gupta's son Rama, born with a harelip that is considered an evil omen, fights to ensure that he, and not his younger brother, will rule his father's empire
418 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
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February 6, 2013
The blurb on this book promised an "exotic, colorful, powerful, vivid piece of storytelling... one comes away from Golden Fire with an idea of ancient India and a memory of its brilliantly colored details." Didn't happen for me.
Based on a snippet of a fable about King Rama Gupta who may or may not have ruled for a short time. Set during the Gupta Empire of 4th century India, two half brothers vie for control of the ancient kingdom of Magadha. The characters are one dimensional. The evil brother Rama is vile and the good brother is too good. Add in gross torture scenes, lots of sex at the drop of a hat, a dwarf who has to use implements, not to mention Prince Rama who does as well, and lots of "hanging ripe fruit" and I wonder why I ever finished this book.
So why did I? I liked the vaidya (doctor) and Sutanuka (one of the King's concubines). Their story could have been good. I also found interesting nuggets like the use of ant mandibles as sutures to hold an incision closed after surgery. Unfortunately, those nuggets were few and far between and I can't give this book more than one star because I really didn't like it.
Based on a snippet of a fable about King Rama Gupta who may or may not have ruled for a short time. Set during the Gupta Empire of 4th century India, two half brothers vie for control of the ancient kingdom of Magadha. The characters are one dimensional. The evil brother Rama is vile and the good brother is too good. Add in gross torture scenes, lots of sex at the drop of a hat, a dwarf who has to use implements, not to mention Prince Rama who does as well, and lots of "hanging ripe fruit" and I wonder why I ever finished this book.
So why did I? I liked the vaidya (doctor) and Sutanuka (one of the King's concubines). Their story could have been good. I also found interesting nuggets like the use of ant mandibles as sutures to hold an incision closed after surgery. Unfortunately, those nuggets were few and far between and I can't give this book more than one star because I really didn't like it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review