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In the Realm of Demons
A roller-coaster fantasy horror story with Jinns, demons and nagins Mehran is a handsome young Rajput aristocrat – without a grand title, estate or any wealth. He lives with his widowed mother in a decaying mansion in Pakistan, Remembering his beautiful cousin boyer and his childhood in the glittering estate of his Nawab uncle in India. But hidden behind the grandeur of the old palace is a dreadful curse that strikes every heir to the nawabs line. Tragedy hits when, on a red moon night, a demon arrives and koyel falls victim to the terrifying curse.
Little does Mehran know that the curse will soon visit him and he will find himself in a world of demons, monsters and nagins.
Little does Mehran know that the curse will soon visit him and he will find himself in a world of demons, monsters and nagins.
230 pages, Paperback
Published July 20, 2019
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May 1, 2023
Compared to a few decades ago, Pakistani literature is making huge strides these days, not only in the amount of content that Pakistani authors are producing, but also in the diversity of genres that they’re choosing to dabble in. While a majority of the books being written do have a certain narrow-minded focus on politics or religion—understandable in a country where so much of daily life is affected by these two factors—a number of writers are choosing to take a different path, veering into the lesser touched of the genres.
Among the best outcomes of this defiant risk-taking in Pakistani writing is the emerging interest in all things supernatural. With the joyous indulgence of Sami Shah’s Boy of Fire and Earth duology in all kinds of South Asian horror tropes, and Usman Tanweer Malik’s Bram Stoker Award-winning short stories, Pakistani writers are slowly gaining visibility in the marketplace, and the latest entry in this genre is Imran Kureshi’s In the Realm of Demons.
Combining historical fiction with a touch of both supernatural as well as horror, the author has managed to craft a pretty captivating story, given that this is only his debut novel. Starting off in pre-Partition India, we meet our hero as a young Rajput aristocrat in the royal palace of Hashtpur, an imaginary equivalent of a subcontinental princely state. Left with his widowed mother at the mercy of his uncle after his father’s untimely death, Mehran spends his days being unaware of the politics of the palace. Instead, he is too busy being enamoured with his young cousin, Koyel, the daughter produced as the result of a hasty love marriage in the nawab of Hashtpur’s youth, who is treated with as much disdain in the household as Mehran himself.
It is the curse on the nawab’s family—that each eldest child will be beheaded at the appearance of every red moon—that acts as a catalyst for our hero’s journey. On one balmy night in August 1945, a red moon appears and, while the nawab’s eldest son from his second marriage is hurriedly taken away for protection, his actual first child—his daughter Koyel—becomes a victim of the curse, carted off into oblivion by some unseen demon and never seen again.
Distraught at the disappearance of his cousin, Mehran grows up lonely but unable to focus on his misery given that Partition soon happens in the subcontinent—an event that affects not only the religious communities of the subcontinent, but also the princely states that dot the region. Moving into a decaying mansion in the newly created Pakistan with his mother, Mehran is forced to grow up quickly, handling finances and learning how to make adult decisions to keep his small family in respectable conditions. Kureishi does a good job in moments such as these of entwining the reality of living in that moment of history alongside the strands of the creepy and the unexplainable that run in his story. However, he never takes long to thread the story back into one where demons and djinns run amok, with spectres haunting nightmares and whispers in the dark that coalesce into mystical beings.
One of the most fascinating things about this book might be the fact that it actually does manage to create a pretty terrifying ambience for the reader, keeping the reader in a state of just enough heightened suspense to draw the scary parts into a moment where the heart starts to beat faster. It is the middle of the night when Mehran sees a vision of his young cousin Koyel, come to warn him that he is in danger. Galvanised by the thought of his cousin being alive, Mehran becomes obsessed with finding her, and it is this obsession that forms the majority of what we call the hero’s journey. From the pirs that he meets in his own city, to an exorcist with a demon for a wife that he bumps into at a wedding, Mehran becomes even more deeply intertwined in the mystery of his missing cousin as the book progresses.
Even beyond the fascinating multiple supernatural creatures that inhabit this book—from those in Mehran’s hometown, to the ones in Tibet where Mehran goes on a quest to find some answers, to a parallel demon-infested world with completely new and unique creatures—every aspect of the book feels like an author having fun with the world he is building. While the writing gets sketchy in a few places, with the dialogue placement becoming awkward and the sentences requiring some editing, there is still enough going on that can keep the reader hooked. Overall, there is definitely some odd phrasing in the book here and there, and the entire manuscript could have used a more deft editorial hand to clean out the awkwardness in the flow of the writing. But in some cases, it is the story that is more important than the means by which it is told, and Kureishi’s book might be a true example of this very phenomenon.
The novel also suffers slightly from the weak love story and the fact that Mehran is obsessed with a cousin he knew before he had even hit his teen years. While all stories which involve an epic journey require some reason for our protagonist to set out on his or her quest in the first place, in the case of this book it can stretch the reader’s disbelief a little that Mehran chooses to face such vicious, possibly life-threatening creatures, in the dark and alone, repeatedly, for someone he saw when he was so young. While it’s clear that the author had the more exciting aspects of the story planned out, a little forethought in this case would have served him well. As it is, though, it is the action and the suspense of the story that acts as the saving grace of the narrative, keeping us reading even when we must suspend disbelief in certain parts.
It is sad that Pakistan doesn’t have a booming film industry for books of this genre, because with the recent interest in all things supernatural, the possibility of an eager viewing audience for such stories is great. In the Realm of Demons might not win any awards for great literature, but it’s a quick-paced and fun read, worthy of a little time spent tucked in bed and reliving the way horror films make us feel. While we already have so many authors writing about the serious and alarming parts of living in Pakistan, it is authors such as Kureshi that need all the encouragement we can give them, to ensure that literature such as this continues to be produced in the same manner.
***
This review was originally published in Books and Authors on 24 November, 2019.
***
I review Pakistani Fiction, and talk about Pakistani fiction, and want to talk to people who like to talk about fiction (Pakistani and otherwise, take your pick.) To read more reviews or just contact me so you can talk about books, check out my Blog or follow me on Twitter!
Among the best outcomes of this defiant risk-taking in Pakistani writing is the emerging interest in all things supernatural. With the joyous indulgence of Sami Shah’s Boy of Fire and Earth duology in all kinds of South Asian horror tropes, and Usman Tanweer Malik’s Bram Stoker Award-winning short stories, Pakistani writers are slowly gaining visibility in the marketplace, and the latest entry in this genre is Imran Kureshi’s In the Realm of Demons.
Combining historical fiction with a touch of both supernatural as well as horror, the author has managed to craft a pretty captivating story, given that this is only his debut novel. Starting off in pre-Partition India, we meet our hero as a young Rajput aristocrat in the royal palace of Hashtpur, an imaginary equivalent of a subcontinental princely state. Left with his widowed mother at the mercy of his uncle after his father’s untimely death, Mehran spends his days being unaware of the politics of the palace. Instead, he is too busy being enamoured with his young cousin, Koyel, the daughter produced as the result of a hasty love marriage in the nawab of Hashtpur’s youth, who is treated with as much disdain in the household as Mehran himself.
It is the curse on the nawab’s family—that each eldest child will be beheaded at the appearance of every red moon—that acts as a catalyst for our hero’s journey. On one balmy night in August 1945, a red moon appears and, while the nawab’s eldest son from his second marriage is hurriedly taken away for protection, his actual first child—his daughter Koyel—becomes a victim of the curse, carted off into oblivion by some unseen demon and never seen again.
Distraught at the disappearance of his cousin, Mehran grows up lonely but unable to focus on his misery given that Partition soon happens in the subcontinent—an event that affects not only the religious communities of the subcontinent, but also the princely states that dot the region. Moving into a decaying mansion in the newly created Pakistan with his mother, Mehran is forced to grow up quickly, handling finances and learning how to make adult decisions to keep his small family in respectable conditions. Kureishi does a good job in moments such as these of entwining the reality of living in that moment of history alongside the strands of the creepy and the unexplainable that run in his story. However, he never takes long to thread the story back into one where demons and djinns run amok, with spectres haunting nightmares and whispers in the dark that coalesce into mystical beings.
One of the most fascinating things about this book might be the fact that it actually does manage to create a pretty terrifying ambience for the reader, keeping the reader in a state of just enough heightened suspense to draw the scary parts into a moment where the heart starts to beat faster. It is the middle of the night when Mehran sees a vision of his young cousin Koyel, come to warn him that he is in danger. Galvanised by the thought of his cousin being alive, Mehran becomes obsessed with finding her, and it is this obsession that forms the majority of what we call the hero’s journey. From the pirs that he meets in his own city, to an exorcist with a demon for a wife that he bumps into at a wedding, Mehran becomes even more deeply intertwined in the mystery of his missing cousin as the book progresses.
Even beyond the fascinating multiple supernatural creatures that inhabit this book—from those in Mehran’s hometown, to the ones in Tibet where Mehran goes on a quest to find some answers, to a parallel demon-infested world with completely new and unique creatures—every aspect of the book feels like an author having fun with the world he is building. While the writing gets sketchy in a few places, with the dialogue placement becoming awkward and the sentences requiring some editing, there is still enough going on that can keep the reader hooked. Overall, there is definitely some odd phrasing in the book here and there, and the entire manuscript could have used a more deft editorial hand to clean out the awkwardness in the flow of the writing. But in some cases, it is the story that is more important than the means by which it is told, and Kureishi’s book might be a true example of this very phenomenon.
The novel also suffers slightly from the weak love story and the fact that Mehran is obsessed with a cousin he knew before he had even hit his teen years. While all stories which involve an epic journey require some reason for our protagonist to set out on his or her quest in the first place, in the case of this book it can stretch the reader’s disbelief a little that Mehran chooses to face such vicious, possibly life-threatening creatures, in the dark and alone, repeatedly, for someone he saw when he was so young. While it’s clear that the author had the more exciting aspects of the story planned out, a little forethought in this case would have served him well. As it is, though, it is the action and the suspense of the story that acts as the saving grace of the narrative, keeping us reading even when we must suspend disbelief in certain parts.
It is sad that Pakistan doesn’t have a booming film industry for books of this genre, because with the recent interest in all things supernatural, the possibility of an eager viewing audience for such stories is great. In the Realm of Demons might not win any awards for great literature, but it’s a quick-paced and fun read, worthy of a little time spent tucked in bed and reliving the way horror films make us feel. While we already have so many authors writing about the serious and alarming parts of living in Pakistan, it is authors such as Kureshi that need all the encouragement we can give them, to ensure that literature such as this continues to be produced in the same manner.
***
This review was originally published in Books and Authors on 24 November, 2019.
***
I review Pakistani Fiction, and talk about Pakistani fiction, and want to talk to people who like to talk about fiction (Pakistani and otherwise, take your pick.) To read more reviews or just contact me so you can talk about books, check out my Blog or follow me on Twitter!
December 29, 2019
We all have heard about stories of haunting of places around us right? Many a times we have visited a fort or a derelict place only to hear a terrible story behind the ruins?
In The Realm of Demons by Imran Kureshi is a horror story which begins in the pre-partition India. The story begins in the Royal Palace of Hashtpur. Our protagonist Mehran, or Meeru, lives in the palace with his widowed mother. Apart from Meeru and his mother, the other occupants of the palace are his uncle, the Nawab, his second wife, and Meeru’s cousin Koyel. The family has a curse on them which has becomes active on the night when the moon becomes red. On such a fateful day, the heir of Hashtpur gets beheaded. With ample historical events, the family believes the curse to be true and when the moon turns red this time, fear starts coursing through the family. Tragedy occurs when on one such red moon night, Koyel gets taken by the curse.
What happens next takes us through a ride through the world of demons, monsters and nagins. Mehran is determined to find Koyel and he takes up the adventure that takes him from Pakistan to Tibet and then back to Hashtpur where we see our protagonist face his fears.
I generally do not opt for horror as a genre, but this book did compel me to take this ride. Designed beautifully, the cover is an instant attraction for everyone who loves a wonderful book.
Talking about the characters, most of the book deals with Mehran who is our protagonist. Multiple incidents paint a picture of Meeru as a character. Faced with supernatural entities on the way of finding his soulmate, he takes each step with bravado and is quick in making decisions. He is a family man and decides to move his family out of harm’s way before he begins his quest. In Tibet, he is faced with unimaginable horrors but again perseveres in the face of hardship. Imran has patiently introduced all the antagonists that we encounter throughout the story. The halfling that follows Mehran is described vividly and his powers even more so. His cohorts are also described in detail and we can imagine the scenes as they play out. Other demons that we encounter include the Air-demon who is a major plot twist in the story, a friendly demon and some weird demons. All in all, it is a hero-wins-all story with the protagonist jumping hoops to finally cross the finish line.
The plot of the book is good with some wonderful plot points and unexpected turns. The book turns a bit boring for a bit in the middle but the last couple of chapters make up for it. The Climax is beautifully done, though expected, the execution is interesting. A bit more of context to the curse could have been a value addition to the plot but that is just an additional thing that could have come up.
For me, the book scores a 3.8/5.
In The Realm of Demons by Imran Kureshi is a horror story which begins in the pre-partition India. The story begins in the Royal Palace of Hashtpur. Our protagonist Mehran, or Meeru, lives in the palace with his widowed mother. Apart from Meeru and his mother, the other occupants of the palace are his uncle, the Nawab, his second wife, and Meeru’s cousin Koyel. The family has a curse on them which has becomes active on the night when the moon becomes red. On such a fateful day, the heir of Hashtpur gets beheaded. With ample historical events, the family believes the curse to be true and when the moon turns red this time, fear starts coursing through the family. Tragedy occurs when on one such red moon night, Koyel gets taken by the curse.
What happens next takes us through a ride through the world of demons, monsters and nagins. Mehran is determined to find Koyel and he takes up the adventure that takes him from Pakistan to Tibet and then back to Hashtpur where we see our protagonist face his fears.
I generally do not opt for horror as a genre, but this book did compel me to take this ride. Designed beautifully, the cover is an instant attraction for everyone who loves a wonderful book.
Talking about the characters, most of the book deals with Mehran who is our protagonist. Multiple incidents paint a picture of Meeru as a character. Faced with supernatural entities on the way of finding his soulmate, he takes each step with bravado and is quick in making decisions. He is a family man and decides to move his family out of harm’s way before he begins his quest. In Tibet, he is faced with unimaginable horrors but again perseveres in the face of hardship. Imran has patiently introduced all the antagonists that we encounter throughout the story. The halfling that follows Mehran is described vividly and his powers even more so. His cohorts are also described in detail and we can imagine the scenes as they play out. Other demons that we encounter include the Air-demon who is a major plot twist in the story, a friendly demon and some weird demons. All in all, it is a hero-wins-all story with the protagonist jumping hoops to finally cross the finish line.
The plot of the book is good with some wonderful plot points and unexpected turns. The book turns a bit boring for a bit in the middle but the last couple of chapters make up for it. The Climax is beautifully done, though expected, the execution is interesting. A bit more of context to the curse could have been a value addition to the plot but that is just an additional thing that could have come up.
For me, the book scores a 3.8/5.
July 30, 2019
》A good fantasy book has the ability to teleport you to a different realm with much ease. One such book that I came across was In the realm of demons by Imran Kureshi. The book is a refreshing read.
.
》The writing style of the author has an ease which effortlessly gets the readers involved in the story. I was 20 pages in into this book and I was hooked. .
》The plot gets complicated because of the unforeseen and smart twists the author adds to punctuate the story. You just can’t predict what will hit you next and that’s a factor which makes this book a page turner. .
》Talking about the fantastic beasts, this book hosts some amazing otherworldly creatures – Yatuviras, dhakanas, bhasakalas etc- of which I hadn’t heard about before. And then there were some familiar beasts like the djinns, demons and nagins. .
Detailed review: https://ofbookbabiesandmore.wordpress...
.
》The writing style of the author has an ease which effortlessly gets the readers involved in the story. I was 20 pages in into this book and I was hooked. .
》The plot gets complicated because of the unforeseen and smart twists the author adds to punctuate the story. You just can’t predict what will hit you next and that’s a factor which makes this book a page turner. .
》Talking about the fantastic beasts, this book hosts some amazing otherworldly creatures – Yatuviras, dhakanas, bhasakalas etc- of which I hadn’t heard about before. And then there were some familiar beasts like the djinns, demons and nagins. .
Detailed review: https://ofbookbabiesandmore.wordpress...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 20, 2019
One of my first horror book and loving the genre.
Firstly, the description of Nagins and demons was so crazy. I could imagine every bit of it. The plot is set in Hashtpur and Mehran, the protagonist lives in the Royal Palace with his mother and extended family.
The family cursed and it was believed that the heir will be beheaded on the day Moon turns Red. Mehran and his family is scared and fearful about who shall be next.
Luckily its not Mehran, but someone will be taken by the curse and he is determined to find out it. His search takes various places like Pakistan and Tibet.
Who is taken up by the curse? Does Mehran find about it? Will he succeed in protecting his family?
The plot is good with twists and Strangely scary. The characters are described in details.
Overall, a page turner.
Firstly, the description of Nagins and demons was so crazy. I could imagine every bit of it. The plot is set in Hashtpur and Mehran, the protagonist lives in the Royal Palace with his mother and extended family.
The family cursed and it was believed that the heir will be beheaded on the day Moon turns Red. Mehran and his family is scared and fearful about who shall be next.
Luckily its not Mehran, but someone will be taken by the curse and he is determined to find out it. His search takes various places like Pakistan and Tibet.
Who is taken up by the curse? Does Mehran find about it? Will he succeed in protecting his family?
The plot is good with twists and Strangely scary. The characters are described in details.
Overall, a page turner.
December 3, 2019
The story revolves around Mehran who lives at the royal house of Hashtpur with his mother & some other family members. As the legend (curse) goes, the heir of Hashtpur is destined to die when the moon turns red. Everyone embraces themselves as the day comes but to their surprise instead of Mehran, Koyel his cousin gets taken away as per the curse. This makes our protagonist determined to go on a journey to unravel this curse & this journey is what makes Mehran meet his inner devils.
Read the full review on Just Another Bookaholic
Read the full review on Just Another Bookaholic
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