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The Blaft Anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction #2
The Blaft Anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction, Vol. II
A TERRIFYING MONSTER HOLDS A KEY TO
A HIDDEN TOMB!
A FAMILY OF DEBAUCHED MAHARAJAS FALLS PREY TO
AN EVIL CURSE!
A YOUNG WOMEN'S OBSESSION WITH BLUE FILMS LEADS TO
A BIZZARE MURDER!
... AND MANY MORE THRILLING TALES FROM THE INDIAN AND SINGAPOREAN MASTERS OF ACTION, SUSPENSE, AND HORROR!
Features a 60-page 2-color comic ("Highway 117", by Pushpa Thangadorai at Jeyaraj) and 8 pages of full color pulp cover reproductions.
RAJESH KUMAR | INDRA SOUNDAR RAJAN | INDUMATHI | M.K. NARAYANAN | JEYARAJ | PUSHPA THANGADORAI | RESAKEE
A HIDDEN TOMB!
A FAMILY OF DEBAUCHED MAHARAJAS FALLS PREY TO
AN EVIL CURSE!
A YOUNG WOMEN'S OBSESSION WITH BLUE FILMS LEADS TO
A BIZZARE MURDER!
... AND MANY MORE THRILLING TALES FROM THE INDIAN AND SINGAPOREAN MASTERS OF ACTION, SUSPENSE, AND HORROR!
Features a 60-page 2-color comic ("Highway 117", by Pushpa Thangadorai at Jeyaraj) and 8 pages of full color pulp cover reproductions.
RAJESH KUMAR | INDRA SOUNDAR RAJAN | INDUMATHI | M.K. NARAYANAN | JEYARAJ | PUSHPA THANGADORAI | RESAKEE
520 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
17 people are currently reading
280 people want to read
About the author
Pritham K. Chakravarthy
8 books7 followersPritham K Chakravarthy is an Indian actress, translator and theatre actor. She began her career performing in Sabha Nadagam at a young age, later joined the Gnani drama troupe, and in 2001 launched her own play Nirvana, focusing on the surgical transformation of transgender people. The play was selected for the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2001. She has worked in films including Framed (2007), Ilai (2013) and Psycho (2020). She is also an acting professor at Ramanaidu Film School in Hyderabad. Pritham was a former communist activist and has been working against the misrepresentation of women in cinema.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
December 30, 2012
It was only natural that I would return to this series. A year or so ago, I read the first installment and liked the brainless entertainment it offered. The reading is effortless, the lines cheesy, the action non stop and the dialog unintentionally funny ! Welcome to the world of Indian pulp ! While Tamil pulp fiction might not represent the entire plethora that India has to offer, it definitely is dynamite. You get monsters, broad-chested policemen, women with swaying hips and heaving bosoms, murder, magic and mayhem to name a few ingredients in these stories.
Contrary to my usual style of writing reviews, I will not go into the details of individual stories, plots or characters. The reason is simple enough for they all rest on rather delicate clues which if given away will spoil the fun. Personally, I would recommend reading the first volume before getting into this one to get a taste of things to come.
Oh and if by any chance you do start reading them, leave your logic and reasoning safely locked up. If you let them out, they'd start screaming and raving at these poor souls !
Contrary to my usual style of writing reviews, I will not go into the details of individual stories, plots or characters. The reason is simple enough for they all rest on rather delicate clues which if given away will spoil the fun. Personally, I would recommend reading the first volume before getting into this one to get a taste of things to come.
Oh and if by any chance you do start reading them, leave your logic and reasoning safely locked up. If you let them out, they'd start screaming and raving at these poor souls !
April 7, 2019
Fulllllll time pass.
January 3, 2022
This book contains some of the most lurid stuff that I have ever read. I mean stuff like this, when consumed regularly, is bound to do things to one's mind. However, I MUST state that despite all their improbable nature, I enjoyed the stuff.
My favourite works were~
1. Rajesh Kumar's Mystery "Hello, Dead Morning!" (best part of this book);
2. Jeyraj & Pushpa Thangadorai's graphic novel "Highway 117";
3. Indumathi's Horror Novella "Hold on a Minute, I'm in the Middle of a Murder".
Indra Soundar Rajan's Novel "The Palace of Kottaipuram", despite all its sensational stuff, demanded suspension of disbelief to such an extent which was rather beyond me. Rest were 'meh' types.
But the above-mentioned three works would take you through some really pulpy gun.
My favourite works were~
1. Rajesh Kumar's Mystery "Hello, Dead Morning!" (best part of this book);
2. Jeyraj & Pushpa Thangadorai's graphic novel "Highway 117";
3. Indumathi's Horror Novella "Hold on a Minute, I'm in the Middle of a Murder".
Indra Soundar Rajan's Novel "The Palace of Kottaipuram", despite all its sensational stuff, demanded suspension of disbelief to such an extent which was rather beyond me. Rest were 'meh' types.
But the above-mentioned three works would take you through some really pulpy gun.
July 23, 2025
this book was below average at best. out of the 6 stories, only one of them (hello, dead morning) stuck out to me. the second story, which took the form of a graphic novel, was truly a pathetic excuse for a mystery/pulp fiction story. towards the later half of this book, my only motivation to keep reading was to click the “i’ve finished this book!” button on this app and write what is probably my most thoughtful review (because i had so many thoughts while reading). when i first picked this up, i really believed i would be engaged enough to read volumes I and III as well, but that is most definitely not the case.
if i hated it so much, then why the two stars?
the writing style of hello, dead morning appealed to me in some strange way; this might have been the only page turning story in the book. i enjoyed the way it reminded me of one of those old john green novels with the unconnected storylines that all converge at the end. this was the only story that had what i thought was an actual unexpected plot twist, although it was very anticlimactic. additionally, i appreciated how the first story shed light on the way many religious and superstitious practices often have no scientific background and make no sense in a modern day setting - i feel like many similar practices are still followed in indian culture to this day. i would also like to mention that the retro tamil book covers and movie posters separating each story were fun to glance over and acted as short intermissions or advertisements between the dreadful literature.
do not read this unless you are supremely bored (or are attracted to fun looking book covers).
if i hated it so much, then why the two stars?
the writing style of hello, dead morning appealed to me in some strange way; this might have been the only page turning story in the book. i enjoyed the way it reminded me of one of those old john green novels with the unconnected storylines that all converge at the end. this was the only story that had what i thought was an actual unexpected plot twist, although it was very anticlimactic. additionally, i appreciated how the first story shed light on the way many religious and superstitious practices often have no scientific background and make no sense in a modern day setting - i feel like many similar practices are still followed in indian culture to this day. i would also like to mention that the retro tamil book covers and movie posters separating each story were fun to glance over and acted as short intermissions or advertisements between the dreadful literature.
do not read this unless you are supremely bored (or are attracted to fun looking book covers).
June 15, 2024
it was pretty dark but there were stories that were really good
February 27, 2015
From my blog: http://thegloballycurious.blogspot.in...
In this second volume of Blaft's Tamil Pulp Fiction anthology, the editors have chosen to translate full-length novels and novellas from a variety of authors, including one from Singapore. Whereas a majority of the pieces in the first anthology were detective stories (a fact I mentioned in my review), this volume is mainly horror focused.
The stories include:
"The Palace of Kottaipuram" (1990) by Indra Soundar Rajan
The royal family has been haunted by a curse for generations: the men all die before they turn 30, and no female children survive for long after their birth. The younger prince of the current generation is well-educated and does not believe any of this nonsense - until his brother is killed by a cobra. Now the younger prince's girlfriend has to investigate the origins of the curse and the strange social order surrounding the royal family if she wants to save the man she loves.
"Highway 117" (1980) by Jeyaraj & Pushpa Thangadorai
This full-length comic book features Karate Kavita, a super-strong female hero, who teams up with an archaeologist to uncover the man responsible for stealing the treasures from several temples.
"Hold on a Minute, I'm in the Middle of a Murder" (1979) by Indumathi
Inspired by the Exorcist and similar movies, Indumathi's horror novella is a tale of demonic possession and murders by supernatural forces. When the doctor and head of a psychiatric institution finds one of his patients has killed his colleague, he is stunned. The police take up the investigation, but very odd things begin to happen to everyone even vaguely related to the doctor or his patient.
"The Bungalow by the River" (2000) by M. K. Narayanan
A ghost story by a Singaporean Tamil author. A woman flees from her alcoholic husband when she learns about the affair that is consuming him. Years later, a lawyer contacts their son with the message that the father has died and left the property to him. The son wants nothing to do with it, but decides to visit the property with his lawyer before it is sold. Strange things start happening when they arrive. As they find themselves trapped by a sudden monsoon, will they be able to survive in the house until morning?
"Hello, Good Dead Morning!" (1986) by Rajesh Kumar
A detective wakes up to a phone call - the police have found a body, and they're not sure if it's a murder or suicide. As he investigates, we are introduced to a young woman who has recently become obsessed with "blue films" (i.e. pornography). To maintain and hide this obsession, she begins to lie to her brother and others, resulting in the murder of one of her brother's employees...
"Sacriledge to Love" (2009) by Resakee
A girl is plagued by unwanted suitors and an overprotective brother who violently punishes anyone who falls in love with her. Then she falls in love herself, and the former targets of her brother's ire conspire to help the lovers deal with him.
Women
I applaud the translator for selecting works that depict strong, active female characters (again, something that I complained about in my review of the first volume).
My favorite story was, again, the novel by Indra Sounder Rajan. His female protagonist demonstrates courage and intelligence throughout the story; in fact, if not for her investigation the source of the curse would have gone unnoticed. She is the active one in contrast to her boyfriend's weepy terror.
Something that bothered me, however, was the way she was frequently over-sexualized in descriptions that had no basis in the plot. It seemed like the author felt that he had to sprinkle references to her glorious curves or swelling breasts in order to make the rest of the novel palatable. Despite this random over-sexualization, I really enjoyed her character and the rest of the novel.
The better of the two volumes
I enjoyed this second volume of the series much more than the first one. Whereas Volume 1 attempted to give a wide variety of short pieces (some of which were mediocre...), Volume 2 is much more substantial. I appreciated the full-length novels and novellas, which give the reader a much better picture of each writer's style.
This volume also demonstrates some of the variety available in the Tamil pulp fiction world. From comics to Exorcist-style horror stories, I enjoyed these peeks into other areas outside of the detective story. The inclusion of a work by a Singaporean Tamil writer was also brilliant, as it emphasizes the importance of the non-Indian Tamil population.
Once again, Blaft has created a unique and brilliant collection, and I'm hungry for more. I hope to see a third volume soon, and maybe some other novels by Indra Soundar Rajan?
In this second volume of Blaft's Tamil Pulp Fiction anthology, the editors have chosen to translate full-length novels and novellas from a variety of authors, including one from Singapore. Whereas a majority of the pieces in the first anthology were detective stories (a fact I mentioned in my review), this volume is mainly horror focused.
The stories include:
"The Palace of Kottaipuram" (1990) by Indra Soundar Rajan
The royal family has been haunted by a curse for generations: the men all die before they turn 30, and no female children survive for long after their birth. The younger prince of the current generation is well-educated and does not believe any of this nonsense - until his brother is killed by a cobra. Now the younger prince's girlfriend has to investigate the origins of the curse and the strange social order surrounding the royal family if she wants to save the man she loves.
"Highway 117" (1980) by Jeyaraj & Pushpa Thangadorai
This full-length comic book features Karate Kavita, a super-strong female hero, who teams up with an archaeologist to uncover the man responsible for stealing the treasures from several temples.
"Hold on a Minute, I'm in the Middle of a Murder" (1979) by Indumathi
Inspired by the Exorcist and similar movies, Indumathi's horror novella is a tale of demonic possession and murders by supernatural forces. When the doctor and head of a psychiatric institution finds one of his patients has killed his colleague, he is stunned. The police take up the investigation, but very odd things begin to happen to everyone even vaguely related to the doctor or his patient.
"The Bungalow by the River" (2000) by M. K. Narayanan
A ghost story by a Singaporean Tamil author. A woman flees from her alcoholic husband when she learns about the affair that is consuming him. Years later, a lawyer contacts their son with the message that the father has died and left the property to him. The son wants nothing to do with it, but decides to visit the property with his lawyer before it is sold. Strange things start happening when they arrive. As they find themselves trapped by a sudden monsoon, will they be able to survive in the house until morning?
"Hello, Good Dead Morning!" (1986) by Rajesh Kumar
A detective wakes up to a phone call - the police have found a body, and they're not sure if it's a murder or suicide. As he investigates, we are introduced to a young woman who has recently become obsessed with "blue films" (i.e. pornography). To maintain and hide this obsession, she begins to lie to her brother and others, resulting in the murder of one of her brother's employees...
"Sacriledge to Love" (2009) by Resakee
A girl is plagued by unwanted suitors and an overprotective brother who violently punishes anyone who falls in love with her. Then she falls in love herself, and the former targets of her brother's ire conspire to help the lovers deal with him.
Women
I applaud the translator for selecting works that depict strong, active female characters (again, something that I complained about in my review of the first volume).
My favorite story was, again, the novel by Indra Sounder Rajan. His female protagonist demonstrates courage and intelligence throughout the story; in fact, if not for her investigation the source of the curse would have gone unnoticed. She is the active one in contrast to her boyfriend's weepy terror.
Something that bothered me, however, was the way she was frequently over-sexualized in descriptions that had no basis in the plot. It seemed like the author felt that he had to sprinkle references to her glorious curves or swelling breasts in order to make the rest of the novel palatable. Despite this random over-sexualization, I really enjoyed her character and the rest of the novel.
The better of the two volumes
I enjoyed this second volume of the series much more than the first one. Whereas Volume 1 attempted to give a wide variety of short pieces (some of which were mediocre...), Volume 2 is much more substantial. I appreciated the full-length novels and novellas, which give the reader a much better picture of each writer's style.
This volume also demonstrates some of the variety available in the Tamil pulp fiction world. From comics to Exorcist-style horror stories, I enjoyed these peeks into other areas outside of the detective story. The inclusion of a work by a Singaporean Tamil writer was also brilliant, as it emphasizes the importance of the non-Indian Tamil population.
Once again, Blaft has created a unique and brilliant collection, and I'm hungry for more. I hope to see a third volume soon, and maybe some other novels by Indra Soundar Rajan?
August 12, 2019
I read most of the book except 2 stories. The stories in this volume were a little less interesting than the previous anthology. But the first one was really good.
March 30, 2025
What tripe! Rajesh Kumar was good! Most mediocre to intolerable. Jeyaraj s artwork was awesome.
July 14, 2022
Gore, murder, mystery are my favourite genre and what is better than a four hundred pages thick book that has stunning full colour pulp cover reproductions, five thrilling criminal mysteries and a graphic short story within? Blaft publication's anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction features stories by Indra Soundar Rajan, Jeyaraj, Pushpa Thangadorai, Rajesh Kumar, Indumathi, M.K.Narayanan, and Resakee. Reading these six stories was like watching episodes of Aahat with less powder faced witches and and more drama, thrill and horror.
The first story, "The Palace of Kottaipuram", by Indra Soundar Rajan weaves the story of the royal clan of Kottaipuram, the male heirs of which were doomed to die on their thirtieth birth anniversary. The deaths were a result of Vanjiammal's curse, a young woman, the mother of a month old baby who was sexually assaulted by the rajas of that sarmasthanam(specific region under a Raja's rule). The story begins with the camera zooming in on Viswanathan Rupasekaran Kottaipurathaan, or Visu, the next in line to the throne after his elder brother who turned thirty the same day. Finding out whether our protagonist will be able to break the curse or not was one impressive ride, which somewhat reminded me of Bhool Bhulaiya, the one starting Vidya Balan and Akshay Kumar.
The second story, a colour comic by Pushpa Thangadorai and Jeyaraj, "Highway 117" delineates the adventures of a karate champion and her boyfriend who set on an expedition to hunt down the notorious thief who stole idols from temples. My favourites of the lot were of course "The Palace of Kottaipuram"; and, Rajesh Kumar's "Hello, g̶o̶o̶d̶ dead morning!" where we find our protagonist thinking of the girl he hoped to marry when the ringing telephone broke his reverie and the caller broke the news of a perplexing death by hanging. I loved every minute of reading this collection!
The first story, "The Palace of Kottaipuram", by Indra Soundar Rajan weaves the story of the royal clan of Kottaipuram, the male heirs of which were doomed to die on their thirtieth birth anniversary. The deaths were a result of Vanjiammal's curse, a young woman, the mother of a month old baby who was sexually assaulted by the rajas of that sarmasthanam(specific region under a Raja's rule). The story begins with the camera zooming in on Viswanathan Rupasekaran Kottaipurathaan, or Visu, the next in line to the throne after his elder brother who turned thirty the same day. Finding out whether our protagonist will be able to break the curse or not was one impressive ride, which somewhat reminded me of Bhool Bhulaiya, the one starting Vidya Balan and Akshay Kumar.
The second story, a colour comic by Pushpa Thangadorai and Jeyaraj, "Highway 117" delineates the adventures of a karate champion and her boyfriend who set on an expedition to hunt down the notorious thief who stole idols from temples. My favourites of the lot were of course "The Palace of Kottaipuram"; and, Rajesh Kumar's "Hello, g̶o̶o̶d̶ dead morning!" where we find our protagonist thinking of the girl he hoped to marry when the ringing telephone broke his reverie and the caller broke the news of a perplexing death by hanging. I loved every minute of reading this collection!
November 16, 2019
Very readable stories. All are thrilling. It includes a comic book also.
The stories involve ghosts, murders, thieves, etc. all in a very interesting manner.
After reading the stories you come to the conclusion that thought people speak different languages, they share the same feelings and desires. Humans are same everywhere.
The stories involve ghosts, murders, thieves, etc. all in a very interesting manner.
After reading the stories you come to the conclusion that thought people speak different languages, they share the same feelings and desires. Humans are same everywhere.
March 6, 2025
3.5⭐️
Pulp fiction refers to a genre of fiction dealing with lurid/ racy or sensational subjects, often printed on rough, low-quality paper manufactured from wood pulp. And all the stories in this volume of the Blaft Anthology deliver this in spades!
I read Volume 1 last year and was greatly entertained. So reading book #2 was no hardship.
The reading is uncomplicated, the lines cheesy, the action exciting and the dialog campy yet so amusing.
It was a fun read but please suspend all logic and reasoning as you read it to fully enjoy the experience 😂
Pulp fiction refers to a genre of fiction dealing with lurid/ racy or sensational subjects, often printed on rough, low-quality paper manufactured from wood pulp. And all the stories in this volume of the Blaft Anthology deliver this in spades!
I read Volume 1 last year and was greatly entertained. So reading book #2 was no hardship.
The reading is uncomplicated, the lines cheesy, the action exciting and the dialog campy yet so amusing.
It was a fun read but please suspend all logic and reasoning as you read it to fully enjoy the experience 😂
May 8, 2017
Complete 'time pass!'
Read it when you need to be entertained without having to expend much thought.
Read it when you need to be entertained without having to expend much thought.
August 10, 2017
Tamil fiction, thrilling to core as usual!!
September 16, 2019
I really enjoyed most of the stories. Different way of writing and fast developing story lines. Despite all the tragedies it us funny as well.
July 27, 2021
Absolute time pass reading.
October 27, 2022
One of the best books that I read this year. Simple no frills translation - Awesome stories - The book is surely worth a read!
June 24, 2024
Great collection but the stories got progressively less enticing. It started off strong with my favourite of the lot, classics nonetheless. More explicit and cathartic than I expected.
August 9, 2024
Lots of fun stories!
October 13, 2016
Just finished reading the first novella, "The Palace of Kottaipuram" this is so entertaining! Thoroughly enjoyable fare, when you just need to escape from the dreariness of life and serious reading!
Highly recommended for those who love this genre!
Highly recommended for those who love this genre!
January 14, 2013
I loved the first set of stories I pretty much right away bought this book. I loved this set of stories too. Though this collection has way more horror stories (which I personally love) and less of a mixed bag than the first anthology. I enjoyed the stories, even though some of them were fairly predictable, this was an enjoyable read.
February 19, 2013
You may like to go thru my review written for TPF (Vol-I).
The stories of TPL Vol-II are more or less in line with those in Vol-I in terms of substance.
A few brilliant ones but mostly crap meant to titillate the lowest denominator.
However if you are game for road side fiction and don't mind leaving all the logic and reasoning aside, then go for it.
The stories of TPL Vol-II are more or less in line with those in Vol-I in terms of substance.
A few brilliant ones but mostly crap meant to titillate the lowest denominator.
However if you are game for road side fiction and don't mind leaving all the logic and reasoning aside, then go for it.
May 21, 2014
read the first story in this anthology, and thought the translation by Pritham Chakravarthy was brilliant.
The story was also well chosen - representing all that tamil pulp is well known for - battles between men fought on the person of women (virgin pubescent girls), status quo-ist plot lines, and two-dimensional characters.
The story was also well chosen - representing all that tamil pulp is well known for - battles between men fought on the person of women (virgin pubescent girls), status quo-ist plot lines, and two-dimensional characters.
September 20, 2012
Pulp fiction, sometimes a little trite, but a decent insight on Tamil magazine stories that our mums and grandmums used to pore over, especially for me, because I cant read Tamil and this is as close as it can ever get, to reading the originals.
April 1, 2022
The palace of Kottaipuram - Indra Soundram Rajan
Highway 117 - Pushpa Thangadorai
Hold on a minute, I'm in the middle of a murder - Indumathi
The Bunglow by the River - M.K. Narayanan
Hello,Good Dead Morning - Rajesh Kumar
Sacrilege to love - Resakee
Highway 117 - Pushpa Thangadorai
Hold on a minute, I'm in the middle of a murder - Indumathi
The Bunglow by the River - M.K. Narayanan
Hello,Good Dead Morning - Rajesh Kumar
Sacrilege to love - Resakee
November 16, 2012
The stories in the second part of Tamil pulp fiction were really just average. No great shakes. A bit disappointed. 2.5 stars.
January 26, 2013
An enjoyable bunch of stories but I preferred the first volume's range of pulp fiction.
May 27, 2014
I did like the Indra Soundar Rajan's Kottaipuratthu veedu. But didnt like the kind of English used.
Apt title, its just pulp fiction!
Apt title, its just pulp fiction!
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews