Jalendu

by Mark Andrew

Set in the turbulent twilight of the reign of the Mughal Emperor of India, Jalaluddin Akbar, Jalendu tells the story of the socially awkward, but politically important young Prince Adinath and Jali, a handsome, spiritually inclined farm boy who becomes his bodyguard. Their unlikely friendship and love changes the fate of the empire. The small kingdom of Vindhyagarh sits in the Vindhya foothills between Prince Salim, the rebellious son of the emperor and self-declared Sultan of Ilahabad (present day Allahabad) and his powerful Bundela Rajput ally, Maharaja Vir Singh Deo of Orchha. But Salim in truth is no rebel. He is loyal to the power behind the throne, the women of the imperial household. The court nobility, led by the emperor's vizier Abul Fazl, see their power evaporating as the emperor seems powerless to oppose the wishes of the empresses or to act against his disobedient eldest son. They fear that when Salim become emperor, they will be reduced to mere servants. Abul Fazl vows that Salim will never sit on the imperial throne. Rana Jayaram of Vindhyagarh wants peace, but his efforts to ensure it draw his kingdom into a very dangerous political game. His youngest son has rarely left the palace because of illness and spends his time reading ancient Sanskrit texts, drawing and composing poetry. His only friends are his brother's widow and his old tutor. Jayaram sees a chance to extract his kingdom from danger by an alliance with the influential Kachwahas. An alliance by the marriage of Prince Adinath to a Kachwaha princess would not only tie Vindhyagarh to a Rajput house more loyal to the empire but into the imperial family itself. But there is one other person Adinath calls a friend, even though they have barely met. Jali is a mysteriously beautiful young recruit to the reserve of the Vindhyagarh Guard. When Adinath is invited to attend the imperial court at the great red fort in Agra, an invitation that cannot be declined, it is Jali he asks to accompany him as his bodyguard. But there is great danger in Agra for Adinath. Jayaram has negotiated a secret treaty between Prince Salim and his father's greatest enemy, Maharana Amar of Mewar. Adinath held hostage in Agra would force his father to reveal the existence of the treaty, a treaty that would be seen as treason by the emperor and plunge the empire into civil war.

Genres: Historical, Historical Fiction, M M Romance, Romance, LGBT, Fiction, Amazon

785 pages, Paperback

First published May 4, 2015

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Shami · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading 3 times almost straight, I am going to be writing a proper review. I still give it five stars but I have some new thoughts about it.

This is a really great book, but I think it will have very limited audience because there are many things in this book and not every one will like all of them.

Firstly, although this is being classified in Amazon as being gay romance, it is more history/historical fiction that includes a gay romance. If you are being interested in India political/military history of the Mughal times, you would be loving this book.

But..., it is also a gay romance. So you need to be an India history geek being interested in gay romance. Hands up all of those? I guess not many (except for me). I think people reading this book for the gay romance will be getting a bit bored by the historical story. If they are reading it for gay erotic scenes, this book has some of the hottest and most explicit and realistic that I have read, but there are not many. (If you want the sex only :), just read chapters Tariq Khan and Morabagh).

Thirdly, the book has a spiritual / philosophical side. It is something like Life of Pi message but also something more about what is real. I am guessing the handfull of gay India history geeks out there are 99% atheists. I am too and I think the philosophy of this book is also atheistic, but it will be possible to be being disagreed with by both atheists and religious people.

So if you make it through all of these filters, if you are a gay India history geek and who is an atheist who loves religion, I think you will go crazy about this book like me.

Also, I hope this doesn't hurt anyone's feelings, and I never intend to be writting any bad review, but the cover is not good enough for this book.

[Line]

Freebie at amazon.com right now: https://smile.amazon.com/Jalendu-Mark...

[scavola scavola · Rating 5 out of 5]

This couldn't be a more perfect book and it's a miracle that it came from a first-time author! What talent! History interwoven with the personal story of Jalendu and perfectly balanced. Subtle sexuality developing as he grew older leading to an epic romance. Such wisdom, intrigue, action, and passion in this book. A fine example of historical fiction regardless of it's gay characters.Highly recommended!

[Joleen]

Free today at Amazon, 5-24-15