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Hypnos Bound: A Chthonic Rhythm
A ministry mysteriously killed. A kingdom in turmoil. Forces from the North coming down with might. King Gynther's days have been tumultuous since he mounted the throne. Add to this the sudden plague of insomnia, his wife's waxing madness, and the approaching death of his comatose son have him thinking that it might not all just be an unfortunate coincidence.
In Tartarus, the divinities are missing one of their lot; Hypnos, the god of sleep, whose letter the Fates and Thanatos have received. Much to their surprise he is trapped by a young man, Bromius, who is using Hypnos' powers to bring misery and death on all who wronged him.
This news has the autochthons of Tartarus divided; some contrive to rescue Hypnos, whilst others seek to empower his captor.
Enriched with Neoplatonic doctrines, Hypnos Bound is a verse drama that tells the tale of revenge, and the power of mental fortitude to shake the worlds.
In Tartarus, the divinities are missing one of their lot; Hypnos, the god of sleep, whose letter the Fates and Thanatos have received. Much to their surprise he is trapped by a young man, Bromius, who is using Hypnos' powers to bring misery and death on all who wronged him.
This news has the autochthons of Tartarus divided; some contrive to rescue Hypnos, whilst others seek to empower his captor.
Enriched with Neoplatonic doctrines, Hypnos Bound is a verse drama that tells the tale of revenge, and the power of mental fortitude to shake the worlds.
135 pages, Paperback
First published June 28, 2021
1 person want to read
About the author
Komal Mahmood
3 books13 followersDr Komal Mahmood is a graduate of Doctor of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharm-D) from Dow University of Health Sciences. She is currently an MPhil Research Scholar at Dow in Computer Aided Drug Design for managing redox states in the mitochondria. She is also the founder of CrowdSave; A non-profit aiming to provide quality health care to low-income emigrant (and resident) families in urban centers. She is the author of the verse drama "Hypnos Bound: A Chthonic Rhythm", and the epic poem "THEOMACHY:War of the Gods" which employ neoplatonic doctrine to address the problems with capitalism induced individualism, and a four volume magazine "The Eastern Orphica" which examines the historical development of the public sphere in the subcontinent and the contribution of global philosophical movements to the creation of Pakistan.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 26, 2021
Read a really great book after a really long time .. it gives Shakespeare's vibe ... and I love it more cause it is the perfect mixture of the dark underworld of Greek mythology, the Shakespearean drama which is set in a Gothic like environment.
A Book worth reading.
A Book worth reading.
July 15, 2021
I wrote this book so naturally I am biased and was about to rate this 5 stars but a pinch of humility takes one far therefore 4 stars it is.
I would however like to offer an objective critical review of the book (as objective as is possible for me in an authorial capacity). As noted in the preface, the play takes a Nietzschean look on the Greek Pantheon although the Olympians are marginalized to mere references in dialogues. The primary entities are the chthonic beings; the brothers Hypnos and Thanatos, the Furies, and the Dryads. Thus the name "A Chthonic Rhythm"!
On the surface it is a conventional revenge tale; the protagonist is wronged. He acquires a certain supernatural power. He takes his revenge. What maybe different here however, is a verse play that employs a neo-platonic theme to advocate the strength of Will to empower divine capability. Hypnos is not just a 'god of dreams', he signifies sleep itself as that level of consciousness that transfers souls between the worlds, not a mere activity for physical rejuvenation, the lack of which is treated in the book as one culprit among many.
"I who was summoned to rend the breast and seize a heart
And wash it with the currents of Lethe, gave in to the sinister mutterings of the sirens
Down into human realm I ventured and lusted for a mortal vessel. Detached myself from the assimilated One and longed for a baser Being
Tore down his cerebral blinds
Dissolved all apprehensions
And instead of cleansing his soul, degraded my own divine form"
A critique of the Enlightenment philosophy seemed indispensable; whilst discussing myths, souls, sleeplessness, it is only natural that the doctrine which perpetuates a severe rationalism in all aspects of human life be looked at. Adam Smith's economics gave rise to modern capitalism. Karl Marx atheistic anti-capitalist stance produced a communism divested of spirituality. Humanism and enlightenment here are at odds with a monstrous spiritism. With a sociology so polarized, it is only natural for society to birth monsters.
A Cartesian analogy is used:
"The eyes move under the lids to spin the fabric of dreams
The rheum distills both nightmares and life’s pleasures sweet
What is real and true?
What is false and untrue?
Had not one philosopher put reason to good use?
Made Dream the ravenous contortionist of reality
The burn of a finger as it passes through the candle flame
Or the seethe of skin as it swipes across the molten tallow
Or the pulse of flesh as it touches the hot wick
All hurt equally be it life be it sleep…
A triangle has three sides. A square has four
But in the space of dreams works no logic nor lore"
With the rise of capitalism, birth rates were equated with rationing of food. Labor and productivity turned into a necessary means of assigning value to a life. Gradually the peasants became a burden to trade and state expansion:
"Then they set their devilish economist’s feint at plenitude
“Tax the land! Tax the cattle! Tax the bread! Tax the very air they breathe!”
Earn all credit at our expense, establish an artificial cornucopia
“No man is born with his ration; no corn grows with a newborns’ name”
Did they not curse the poor for being born?"
Being the author, I would end by saying, that this book has been written with an end; a critique of the over-population theory, malthusian movement, rationalism, and enlightenment economics. Much evil it has brewed and has potentially suppressed the voice of the soul of the modern man.
Happy Reading!
I would however like to offer an objective critical review of the book (as objective as is possible for me in an authorial capacity). As noted in the preface, the play takes a Nietzschean look on the Greek Pantheon although the Olympians are marginalized to mere references in dialogues. The primary entities are the chthonic beings; the brothers Hypnos and Thanatos, the Furies, and the Dryads. Thus the name "A Chthonic Rhythm"!
On the surface it is a conventional revenge tale; the protagonist is wronged. He acquires a certain supernatural power. He takes his revenge. What maybe different here however, is a verse play that employs a neo-platonic theme to advocate the strength of Will to empower divine capability. Hypnos is not just a 'god of dreams', he signifies sleep itself as that level of consciousness that transfers souls between the worlds, not a mere activity for physical rejuvenation, the lack of which is treated in the book as one culprit among many.
"I who was summoned to rend the breast and seize a heart
And wash it with the currents of Lethe, gave in to the sinister mutterings of the sirens
Down into human realm I ventured and lusted for a mortal vessel. Detached myself from the assimilated One and longed for a baser Being
Tore down his cerebral blinds
Dissolved all apprehensions
And instead of cleansing his soul, degraded my own divine form"
A critique of the Enlightenment philosophy seemed indispensable; whilst discussing myths, souls, sleeplessness, it is only natural that the doctrine which perpetuates a severe rationalism in all aspects of human life be looked at. Adam Smith's economics gave rise to modern capitalism. Karl Marx atheistic anti-capitalist stance produced a communism divested of spirituality. Humanism and enlightenment here are at odds with a monstrous spiritism. With a sociology so polarized, it is only natural for society to birth monsters.
A Cartesian analogy is used:
"The eyes move under the lids to spin the fabric of dreams
The rheum distills both nightmares and life’s pleasures sweet
What is real and true?
What is false and untrue?
Had not one philosopher put reason to good use?
Made Dream the ravenous contortionist of reality
The burn of a finger as it passes through the candle flame
Or the seethe of skin as it swipes across the molten tallow
Or the pulse of flesh as it touches the hot wick
All hurt equally be it life be it sleep…
A triangle has three sides. A square has four
But in the space of dreams works no logic nor lore"
With the rise of capitalism, birth rates were equated with rationing of food. Labor and productivity turned into a necessary means of assigning value to a life. Gradually the peasants became a burden to trade and state expansion:
"Then they set their devilish economist’s feint at plenitude
“Tax the land! Tax the cattle! Tax the bread! Tax the very air they breathe!”
Earn all credit at our expense, establish an artificial cornucopia
“No man is born with his ration; no corn grows with a newborns’ name”
Did they not curse the poor for being born?"
Being the author, I would end by saying, that this book has been written with an end; a critique of the over-population theory, malthusian movement, rationalism, and enlightenment economics. Much evil it has brewed and has potentially suppressed the voice of the soul of the modern man.
Happy Reading!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews