Devi: Samvara

Devi (collected editions) #2

by Samit Basu, Shekhar Kapur

The power of the goddess is unrivaled. Forged by the strength of the gods, the force the goddess Devi retains is meant to bring balance among gods and men. But the current Devi Incarnate is different. Her female host, Tara Mehta, is still alive and struggles to comprehend the awesome responsibility she now faces. Humanity is threatened by the fallen Lord Bala and salvation rests in the hands of a goddess-torn in two. Devi wields the power of the gods, but now the virtue that makes the female entity so distinct, yet so vulnerable: compassion. The Divine and Diabolical collide in an epic battle, culminating in a night of reckoning in Devi: Samvara, the exciting sequel to the first trade paperback

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 17, 2007

About the author

Samit Basu is an Indian novelist best known for his fantasy and science fiction work

Samit's most recent novel, The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport, was published by Tordotcom in the US and Canada in Oct 2023.

His previous novel, the anti-dystopian near-future The City Inside (Tordotcom, '22) was on the Washington Post and Book Riot best SFF of 2022 lists and earlier shortlisted for the 2020 JCB Prize (India) as Chosen Spirits.

Samit's first novel, The Simoqin Prophecies, published by Penguin India in 2003, when Samit was 23, was the first book in the bestselling Gameworld Trilogy and marked the beginning of Indian English fantasy writing. The other books in the trilogy are The Manticore’s Secret and The Unwaba Revelations.

Samit’s US/UK debut, the superhero novel Turbulence was published in the UK in 2012 and in the US in 2013 to rave reviews. It won Wired‘s Goldenbot Award as one of the books of 2012 and was superheronovels.com’s Book of the Year for 2013.

Samit has also written children's books, published short stories for adults and younger readers in Indian and international anthologies, and has been a columnist and essayist in several leading Indian and international publications.

Samit also works as a screenwriter and director. His debut film, House Arrest, was released as part of Netflix’s International Originals in 2019, and was one of Netflix’s top 5 most viewed Indian films that year. He wrote the film and co-directed it with Shashanka Ghosh.

Samit’s work in comics ranges from historical romance to zombie comedy, and includes diverse collaborators, from Girl With All The Gifts/X-Men writer MR Carey to Terry Gilliam and Duran Duran.

Samit was born in Calcutta, educated in Calcutta and London, and currently works between Delhi and Kolkata. He runs a newsletter, Duck of Dystopia (samit.substack.com) and can be found on social media at @samitbasu, and at samitbasu.com

Reviews

[Vikas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now we are talking, this was the finishing arc of the original story of Bala and yes it was satisfying. Why I cut one star has again to do with the quality of the book as soon as you open the page the cover came in my hand. The quality of the binding has to improve. Now coming back to the story the story continues from the first vol. 1 where in first volume was about the creation of Devi this vol. shows us what does Tara Mehta does with her powers of Devi. Two thoughts living in the same mind. Two souls in the same body. The drawing is very good very few niggles here and there. Love this series.

My dream of being a writer is realized and I am now a Goodreads Author. I have always loved comics, and I hope that I will always love them. Even though I grew up reading local Indian comics like Raj Comics or Diamond Comics or even Manoj Comics, now's the time to catch up on the international and classic comics and Graphic novels. I am on my quest to read as many comics I can. I Love comics to bit, may comics never leave my side. Doga is one of my most favorite character and I love him to bits and don't leave any chance to devour any of his stories. So here goes again my mission to read as many Raj comics from the beginning. My childhood re-run. I love reading this and more, you should also read what you love and then just Keep on Reading.

[Nancy McQueen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loud, rocking and beautiful story.

[Poonam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly I bought this book since it was on Landmark sale and had Samit Basu;s name over the script - I wasn't disappointed. This is the first book I have read out of this series. Though this was fine, I do not have much intention to read other books in the series.

Devi is an incarnate female warrior who has this time resurrected in a girl called Tara Mehta, a modern-day female super hero created by Gods to deal with a 'God-child' gone rogue. In this book, it seems Devi takes on her own independent personality out of God's control, a superhero with her own mind. There is an inspector Rahul, who awakens this personality, with his genuine concern for the devi's human hostage Tara Mehta. There is an ongoing struggle between Durapyasa, Devi's followers on earth and rogue Gods. Interesting.

Graphics are great, one reason why I bought the comics to check how have we been faring. I loved the names of chapter - Sandeha, Aks, Samsara, Yudh, Samvara - befitting words from Sanskrit. Story for this volume was alright too, only I wouldn't know how other volumes fare.


P.S - Why do most Indian stories take Rahul as most common name for an Indian hero?!

[The Hissing · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had picked up this book with a lot of scepticism especially after seeing that the book was being recommended by Priyanka Chopra! What motivated me was Samit Basu. Now this is definitely a decent read but not something that hooked me so well that I would want to re-read it again. The story seems to be heavily borrowed from Tolkien and melded along with the usual clichéd characters. The writing too is nothing to write home about and felt almost hurried. The art work on some of the panels is pretty awesome and I think they did a great job in rendering the character of Devi as well as Lord Bala and Iyam. There is definitely more coming in this series and I seriously hope they put in some effort on the writing and fleshing out the story. Looking forward to the next installment and let's hope that we don't get another half baked product.

[Tathagata Kandar · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was much more riveting than the 1st part. You get to know a few back stories about the characters; some plot holes are covered and the story progresses at tremendous pace. Which is all well and good but the artwork sucked - not so good for a 'graphic' novel. The faces were devoid of expression which was irritating and at times they had the wrong expressions which was hilarious (not in a good way).
The characters of Tara, Rahul and Iyam developed further and we were able to delve a little into their past. However, Kratha remained as she was - probably to allow the other characters to catch up. Amara was a pivotal character whom we did not come to know properly.
Loved the costumes though.
Anyway, loved the story - waiting for more...

[Patsy Frey-Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe it's because I didn't read #1, maybe it's because I'm not at all familiar with the faith and culture this story is steeped in, maybe it's my own unconscious prejudices but I found myself feeling quite bored through most of this book. It just seemed to add nothing new at all to the "person possessed by deity who through their connection learns humans might have some decent thoughts after all" trope. The climactic battle was fun and all, but this isn't a story I'd seek out other volumes for. I kind of think by tomorrow I'll have forgotten it entirely.

[Ceejay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chapters six thru ten of this Indian graphic novel are every bit as enjoyable as the first collection. Volume one basically set up the story and introduced the readers to the various characters. We now get to see police officer Rahul working with the goddess Devil to help those who need help, and to try and stay out of the way of the gods and demons. There is a truly exciting ending to this series that makes us rush on line and look for volume 3 of Devi. The art work is great.The writing is great. And the use of Hindu culture make this a must read series.

[Jon]

Artwork varies a bit, particularly with the Devi. Some gorgeous work, but then there seems to be an awkwardness about portraying the Devi's facial expressions. Not a bad read, not great. There seems to be potential, but the story seems rushed. (Almost felt like they had expected more issues to tell the current story arch, but then had to rush to close it.)

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought Vol. 2 was more nuanced and more compelling than Vol. 1.

[Rukmini · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first volume showed some promise, but this one is poor. The quality of the art has deteriorated. The plotting, characterisation and dialogue are all painfully clichéd. Not recommended.

[Kumiko Mae LovingSunshine · Rating 3 out of 5]

didnt get to read vol 1 so took me a long while yo understand the arc. but i like how it ended. im intrigued