Brajesh's Review : Blood Red Sari

While we have Ashok Banker’s entire Ramayana series on our book-shelf, I haven’t had the courage to pick up an 8 volume series. I really turned fan of Ashok Banker through the beautiful Ten Kings.

When I saw that Kindle was offering “Blood Red Sari” for free, I downloaded it to see how a master of historical fiction would treat a pure modern fiction. In the end my response to this book is kind of mixed. While I love the characters and speed of the narrative. I simultaneously felt the actual story line and situations were really far-fetched and believability was a big challenge.

The other irritation for me was to figure out at the end of the book that this was first in a series and most resolutions were left hanging for the sequel. I felt cheated that an author of this repute would hide the fact that the book is not complete and lure me to the last page and then leave me hanging. If the attempt is to make me buy the next few books (first being free on kindle) I must say the author and publisher both have failed miserably as they have an irritated reader at hand.

Rating : 2.5/5

Brajesh's Review : Blood Line

John J Davis, Blood line has a really interesting cast: Ex-CIA hit-squad agent married to a female Mossad assassin. No wonder their daughter is greatly gifted in all the cloak & dagger stuff. The book is the first in the Granger Series, and sets it up well.

The characters which will continue are all interesting, the history of the family intriguing although the plot of a rural defence supplier being blackmailed by a rogue FBI computer analyst is seriously clichéd. The best part of the book is when the parents go over their personal & family history to being the daughter uptodate. I might just pick-up the next one in series (Titled Bloody Truth), to see where the plot goes.

Rating : 3.5/5

Kim's Review : Star-Crossed Series - 1. Reckless Magic, 2. Hopeless Magic, 3. Fearless Magic, 4. Endless Magic

Rachel Higginson's Star-Crossed Series may seem like just another one of the Young Adult Fantasy novels featuring teenagers just discovering their magic, but there is something about this series that is eminently readable.

Yes, the heroine Eden Matthews is an orphaned child who gets into trouble in the normal world, because she doesn't know that she has magic - a common opening idea to almost all the Young Adult Fiction out there, but the story does build well.

Yes, Eden is a little irritating and self-absorbed at times, but isn't that teenager behavior?

In Reckless Magic - Eden Matthews is just discovering her magic and the World of Magic and the Rulesgoverning this world. In Hopeless Magic, she travels to India to test her magic. In Fearless Magic, she travels to Machu Pichu, Brazil, Paris, London, India, Morocco & Romania. Endless Magic brigs a natural conclusion to the series.

In most of the cities, she spends just a bit of time, but a considerable amount of Book 2 centers on her India experience and this is where I wish Rachel had spent just a little more time getting the setting right. A lot of the descriptions of Bangalore to Ooty seem to be impressions gleaned from a trip to Northern India. Indians don't use Indian breads to scoop up their rice and curry. Indian breads are eaten seperately from rice. Its like saying that Italians eat their pasta with risotto. These anomalies, don't ruin the story, but they do leave an uneasy feeling when reading through.

While Endless Magic brings about a natural conclusion to this series, there are a couple of supplementary novels concerning other main characters of this series.

The Reluctant King - Avalon St. Andrews
The Relentless Warrior - Jericho Bentley
Breathless Magic - brings the action right back to Eden Matthews
Fateful Magic - Lilly Mason
The Redeemable Prince - Sebastian Carter

The First Book is currently available for free on Amazon and ibooks, if you would like to try it out before buying any more.

Rating : 3.75/5



#100BooksPact 4/100, 5/100, 6/100, 7/100

Kim's Review : The Mime Order & On the Merits of Unnaturalness

Samantha Shannon's "The Mime Order" is second in her 7 part anachronistic, Dickensian, dystopian, steam punk, fantasy combination series after "The Bone Season", which released in mid-March this year. I absolutely LOVED "The Bone Season" and was really looking forward to The Mime Order and this one was very very good too, but it didn't have the impact that the first book did.

I guess my reaction was something like with "The Matrix" movies. The first one blew my mind because of the concept, the following ones were very good, but didn't have the "blow your mind" effect of the first in the series.

I must warn you, that if you do not remember too much of "The Bone Season", then you may need to catch up on the highlights, because The Mime Order doesn't really reintroduce characters, it just picks up where the first book left off. There are a few terms explained in the glossary at the end of the book. But if you don't remember characters and relationships, then you need to catch up on them before starting this one.

Paige Mahoney - The Pale Dreamer is back in London after escaping Sheol and concerned with how to bring awareness about the Rephaim and their plans to the population, while also being hunted down as "Most Wanted" by the administration.

Samantha's love for London, shines through this book and its details on local markets and landmarks.It's surprising that I haven't yet seen any "Bone Season" walking tours on the market yet.

There was a special limited edition offer for those who pre-ordered the book. And I'm very pleased to say that I am the proud possessor of "Copy 210 / 500" of "On the Merits of Unnaturalness - being an extraordinary treatise upon the Seven Orders of Clairvoyance" by an Obscure Writer.

This pamphlet is exactly as it is described in the series and while its not really a reference for the books, its a nice accompaniment, which details exactly what the title says.

Rating : 4.5 / 5

Kim's Review : Imdalind Series - 5. Burnt Devotion

Burnt Devotion by Rebecca Ethington is the 5th in her Imdalind Series that was released on March 22nd. Her books are still primarily available as ebooks rather than printed copies.

I had pre-ordered my copy on kindle and was quite impressed to see it pop up on my screen by 12:05am on 21st night/22nd morning. I'm not yet converted into a digital book aficionado, but I was impressed. (The current spree of ebooks that I'm reading is to lighten the load of my back when I travel by tube, for my favourite books and authors, I still prefer printed paper)

Burnt Devotion follows along the lines of the previous 4 books. The first half covers the same timeline as Book 4. - Soul of Flame, but this time from Wyn and Ryland's perspective and frame of reference. It was good to read about Wyn's background from herself and to finally understand from Ryland what is going on inside of his mind. The chapters on Ovailia really provided insight into her motivations for her behaviour.

Joclyn's voice comes back in the second half and the story moves forward from there, returning back into Prague, where there are quite a few surprises in store for the characters and for the reader. This part of the story is told through Joclyn, Wyn, Ryland, Ovailia and even Sain.

If you buy the book right now, there area couple of bonus chapters available as told by Ilyan and Rosaline. The Rosaline chapter is worth buying this book "right now".

Now its just a matter of waiting another 3 months for Book 6 - Dawn of Ash to come out.

Until then, I thought you may like this picture that I found on pinterest It doesn't have ribbons running through it and the roses are made from hair itself, but it did bring the book to mind.

Rating : 4.5 / 5

Kim's review : The Good Knight (Gareth & Gwen Medieval Mystery)

The Good Knight by Sarah Woodbury is part of her Gareth & Gwen Medieval Mystery series. This was the first time I was reading a tale set in Wales, added to that was the fact that it was Historical Fiction and a mystery to boot. Quite a potent combination.

The story is set in the court of Owain, the King of North Wales in 1143AD with a bit of the action spilling over into Ireland. Its not easy to find fiction set in Wales (or maybe I just haven't been looking in the right places), so it was an absolute pleasure to discover this book.

The kingdom is preparing for the marriage of the daughter of King Owain with an allied King Anarawd. But the groom is murdered on the way to his wedding. Gareth - a knight, and Gwen - the daughter of the exiled court bard — are tasked by the brides brother with bringing the killer to justice.

Behind-the-scene political machinations, intrigue, rivalry and suspicion run amok and suddenly the blame for the murder falls on Gareth himself, leaving Gwen to continue her search alone, until Gwen finds herself kidnapped and held to ransom.

There is a hint of a romance in this book, but its not too integral to the story. Think early seasons of Castle or Bones.

There are some mysteries hinted at in this book, which are covered in the prequel - The Bard's Daughter - the setting of that book is how Gwen turns into a spy / sleuth.

The pronunciation guide and the historical map of Wales are a good bonus at the start of the book.

I read that Ellis Peters is the author to read for believable medieval detective work and his "The Summer of the Danes" is set in the same time period. So I'm going to have to pick that one up next now.

Rating : 3.75 / 5

Kim's Review : Imdalind Series - 1. Kiss of Fire, 2. Eyes of Ember, 3. Scorched Treachery 4. Soul of Flame

I was introduced to the Imdalind Series courtesy a free download of "Kiss of Fire" on kindle. It was so amazing, that after finishing Book 1 by Rebecca Ethington, I promptly bought Eyes of Ember (Book 2), Scorched Treachery (Book 3) and Soul of Flame (Book 4) in the digital form because I couldn't wait for the paperbacks to reach me.

Burnt Devotion (Book 5) is due on March 22nd - already pre-ordered and Dawn of Ash (Book 6) is due in June 2015.

If you are the type who cannot teeter on the edge of suspense while waiting between books, then I heavily recommend that you wait until they are all out. I read the first 4 books in 2 days flat and can't wait for the next 2.

The Imdalind Series is fantastic. The first time I got a feeling was when I read Harry Potter, the next was Hunger Games, the Immortals of Meluha, then Samit Basu's Gameworld Trilogy, and now this one. The feeling I got was that these books would be phenomenally popular (I had read them much before they exploded on the scene) Samit Basu's Gameworld Trilogy is still waiting for its big break, but once it is "discovered" by the right people, there will be no stopping it.

The Imdalind series is in the same league and will soon become a phenomenon. Mark my words.

The series is much better written than "Twilight" and will connect instantly with most Young Adults. All the standard plot staples are very much present.

A teenage girl who feels alienated from the world around her, except for one special friendship. The discovery that she is special with paranormal abilities. Early loss of parental figures. The discovery and training of her powers. An impossible love triangle. A terrible persecutor who is bent on destroying the world. While these might seem like staple plot lines, they are woven together beautifully.

Well etched characters, well thought through plots (though I do have a few minor issues that haven't been explained yet, like if Ryland knew he was being watched through cameras, why did he take Joclyn to his room where he knew they would be watched. If they didn't realise who Joclyn really was, why was Cail watching her apartment for over a year) and an engrossing style of story telling.

The first 2 books are from Joclyn's perspective. But in Book 3, Rebecca switches to tell us the tale from Wyn and Ilyan's perspectives. So a part of the story is a repeat of Books 1 & 2, but with more insight and information from a different point of view. (so its not pointless, unlike Four - A Divergent Collection). Book 4 goes back to Joclyn's perspective and while its all set in one location, the story does move forward. I however did feel that book 4 is the weakest of the lot and could have been made shorter, maybe combined it with book 5, but since book 5 isn't released yet, we'll just have to wait and see.

Pick these up as soon as you can. As far as I know, the author is self publishing, so its quite hard to get your hands on paperbacks, but the e-versions are quite easy to download. Kiss of Fire is currently a free download on flipkart too.

Rating : 4.5 / 5

Kim's Review : The Winds of Hastinapur

The Winds of Hastinapur is the third book by Sharath Komarraju and the first in his series - on The Ladies of Hastinapur. The series plans to tell the story of the Mahabharat through the eyes of some of its leading ladies. Winds of Hastinapur is the tale told by Ganga and Satyavati, the next one will feature Amba, Kunti and Gandhari. However Sharath has promised that Ganga will be the main narrator and that she will remain in the story until the end of the series.

That is not surprising given his interpretation on the immortality of the Gods of Meru, which is an interesting concept and in itself makes this book worth reading. Sharath has tried to bring about some reality into the fantasy and fantastical elements of the Mahabharath, but other elements remain.

The concept of Leading Ladies retelling the Mahabharat is not a new one, we have seen Pratibha Ray's Yajnaseni & Chitra Diwakaruni's Palace of Illusions which told the tale through Draupadi, The Outcasts Queen tells the story through Princess Uruvi - Karna's Royalborn Wife. Manu Sharma has written multiple female perspectives in Hindi - Draupadi ki Atmakatha, Gandhari ki Atmakatha etc However, I think this is the first time that they have done so in sequence, by a single author.

This book wouldn't really be classified as Speculative fiction, but it is more an interpretation of the events as they happen through a different perspective. The speculative portion of this story is negligible compared to facts from the original. The churning of the Ocean of Milk is the only incident which is reinterpreted in terms of Speculative Fiction and perhaps Bhishma's discoveries before he comes back to take his place as his fathers heir.


I loved the tale of Ganga, it is turned in to something so natural and Satyavati's intentions in her perspective seem so pure, yet the results of those intentions caused serious repercussions.

The question still remains though, how much is actually in our hands and how much is decreed by fate / God?


Rating : 3.75 / 5

Kim's Review : Devi 1, 2 & 3- Shekhar Kapur's Graphic Novel

When Virgin comics launched itself in 2006, their brief was to create Graphic novels with original story lines, that were Indian culture based, but for the international market. the company itself was a collaboration between Richard Branson's Virgin Group (Virgin Airlines, Virgin music etc), acclaimed movie director Shekhar Kapur, spiritual Guru Deepak Chopra (and his son Gotham) and Gotham Entertainment Group (South Asia's largest comics publisher)

They created 4 distinct lines of comics.

Director's cut for Directors to get into print, projects that may not have been viable on the big screen. Collaborators here include : Shekhar Kapur, Guy Ritchie and John Woo.

Voices / Maverick line to feature new talent and collaborations with actors and musicians. The line's first release was written by Eurythmics frontman Dave Stewart.

The Shakti line featuring Indian mythology, art, history, classical stories, and other related themes, often with a modern twist. This is the line that debuted with "Devi" and "The Sadhu"

And Others to tap into innovative creators in comics, film and entertainment from around the world.

While created by Virgin Comics, they soon went out of circulation in India, but some of these Graphic Novels are now published in India by Westland & Graphic India (who made the pages smaller, the paper less glossy, but seem have kept the colour and print quality intact - to my unprofessional eyes). And Virgin Comics has been remodelled as Liquid Comics.

Devi features "a modern take on a very ancient myth", in which the title character Devi becomes a "warrior of the light" after the pantheon of gods rebirth her in response to "the rapid decay of the city of Sitapur" caused by "fearsome renegade god Bala."

Each book is divided into 5 parts / chapters and the entire series has had a couple of different authors. the first 2 parts were written by Siddharth Kotian. 3 - 10 were written by Samit Basu (whose Gameworld Trilogy, I simply adored) and 11-15 (maybe ~20 too)have been written by Saurav Mohapatra who is the author of Mumbai Confidential and has converted the Bengali classic Chander Paher / Moon Mountain into a Graphic Novel for kids.

The artists of the series so far, include - Mukesh Singh, Aditya Chari, Saumin Patel, Siddharth Kotian and Edison George.

Devi - Part 1 starts with the origins.

Bodha is the King / Father of the Gods. During the second century of Mankinds arrival on Earth, Bala - one of Bodha's sons, rejects the old ways of the Pantheon and forces mankind to worship him, he feeds off that and becomes too powerful for the pantheon to take him on.

The Gods then all sacrifice a part (power) of themselves to create an entity who is - "Devi"!

Devi is placed among the Durapasya clan - warrior/priests who fight alongside the pure Gods and she leads an Army of Goda & Warriors against Bala. She wins, but just as she is about to kill him, Bodha steps in to save his sons life and instead imprisons him in what he hopes is a secure location - Jwala - the prison of Fire & Stone, deep within the Earth.

To prevent another incident of a God getting too egoistical and powerful, Devi is awakened in a mortal woman who will die, each time her mission is accomplished and lie dormant until she needs to be brought back to life again.

Cut to present day and Bala is threatening to raise his ugly head again in the fictional town of Sitapur. And Tara Mehta is destined to be the Devi for this Generation. Tara is currently dating Iyam (one of Bala's generals) unaware of her potential, the Durapasya ae looking for her, they intend to sacrifice her life, so the Devi can inhabit her body (as they have done for centuries), but Agantuk - one of the priests, believes that they should let the human Tara live and the Devi and her share the body.

Through a series of events, the priests are unable to kill the mortal Tara before the Devi inhabits her body and with the help of Inspector Rahul Singh, she temporarily defeats Bala's army and leaves the Durapasya behind to manage on her own and take her own decisions.

 The artwork is brilliant, very well thought out and you should definitely read the notes and sketchbook at the end to see how Devi's look was conceptualised.

Devi - Part 2 has Bala playing a more prominent role and there seems to be trouble in the ranks of his followers, with each one battling for supremacy and some of them involved in Double Crosses.

Devi & Tara learn to share their body and the mind. Devi starts to trust Tara's judgement more and Tara realises that she can use Devi's powers to do good. Devi's judgements and actions are tempered by Tara's emotions.

However, it is Tara's emotions that leave them devastated in the end, inspite of her almost vanquishing Bala, who is again saved by Bodha.

Bodha wants to take Devi back to the Citadel in Akarshit, but Devi & Tara decide to stay behind to right the many injustices on Earth.

Most of the Chapters in Part 2 have outdoor locations and the architecture that has been conceptualised is complex and beautiful.

Devi - Part 3 starts with a lovely explanation by Shekhar Kapur on how Devi was conceptualised. This is the book, where the story reveals its roots with the backgrounds of Tara, Kratha (the Apsara Assassin) and Inspector Rahul Singh.

With Bala vanquished (for the time being at least), a new Anti-Hero was needed. This position is first played out by Ismael Bhai who stands for everything that devis against, but Ismael is mortal. The Superhuman anti-hero comes in the form of the "Horseman of the White Steed" who is drawn to this world as he feels that Devi & Tara sharing the same body is an abomination that needs to be ended.

Tara who is depressed with the events of Part 2 finds the uglier part of her raising its head, who finally manifests as Daani - the Demoness.

Do not miss Saurav Mohapatra's note on "Enter the Demoness" at the end, its a beautiful insight into the story creators perspective.


The stories are well written and engaging.  Based in Mythology and Indian Culture and even a bit of Mythology from other parts of the world thrown in (Refer - Devi's gifts)

The colours, the dream sequences, the action sequences, it is all a testament to the artists translating the writers visions beautifully.


Its a very interestingly done series. Its strange to see an Indian Goddess dressed in a Bollywood Item Number costume, but she grows on you.

Part 4 was re-released by Westland & Graphic India in February this year and I have just placed my order for it.

Rating : 3.5 / 5

Kim's Review : Mortal Instruments Series - City of Bones

Cassandra Clare's - City of Bones is the first in her 6 part Mortal Instruments Series for Young Adults.

I'd loved her Infernal Devices Trilogy and since the Mortal Instruments Series also revolves around Shadowhunters, but in the current era, I was quite hopeful to find another series I would love.

Sadly, this was not the case. City of Bones, felt very simplistic after the Infernal Devices and there was a huge feeling of deja vu in this book. A girl with shadow hunter blood who doesn't know her true origins, a love triangle with her in the center. A fashion conscious yet bitchy, supporting heroine, etc etc.

Magnus Bane who is a constant in all Cassandra's series (and even has a 10 part e-book series starring him) is still alive and an essential part of the ensemble.

You would expect that with a passage of over a 100 years, there would be some upgradation in Shadowhunter technology and techniques, however it felt like only the clothes had been somewhat modernised and the setting shifted from London to New York.

I'm glad that on the recommendation of some other book loving friends, I had only bought the 1st book in the series, rather than all 6. After reading City of Bones, I just wikipediaed the end :) and will not be buying or reading the rest of the series.

If you do have a Young Adult in the house, then they may enjoy this series, especially if they are huge fans of this author and her characters.

Rating : 3 / 5

Brajesh's Review : The Bone Season

Move over Voldemort, Dementors, Dumbledore, Horcruxes, Hogwarts, Hermione and Harry Potter .... It's now time for Nashira, Buzzers, Jaxon, Numa, Oxford, Nick and Paige Mahoney.

I think you may have got the essence of this review by now. So while the world waits to see if Samantha is going to be the next Rowling or not, you should enjoy the 1st in the seven series chronicle of clairvoyant dream-walker Paige.

The Bone Season is surely not kid-fiction like Potter, I would classify it as teen-fantasy-fiction, though critics call it a supernatural-dystopian novel. The world conjured by a 23 year old Samantha is fascinating and exciting.

The book is a page turner and kept my wife awake for 3 nights till she finished it. While I did not find the book that gripping, I loved the characterization and constant surprises that the story throws.

I can't wait to get my hands on part 2, titled 'Mime Order' which releases on 21st Oct.

Rating : 4 / 5

Also read Kim's Review of The Bone Season

Kim's Review : The Bone Season & JLF Meet the Author - Samantha Shannon

The most amazing book I've read in the last year or so. I picked it up, because Samantha Shannon was one of the authors invited to JLF 2014. When discussing the authors who were coming and possible books that we would like to pick up, Brajesh said that "The Bone Season" was rocking the online world since it was released in August 2013. (I've been quite busy for the last couple of months, so I haven't been spending too much time online)

I started reading it on 18th night and couldn't put it down until 5am, when I had to force myself to get some sleep, so I could absorb at least a little of the next days sessions. And on 19th night, I just stayed up, until I finished it and now I can't wait for the next book to be released.

Fortunately, Samantha has promised to be more J K Rowling and less George Martin in the releases of her six subsequent novels in the series and hopes to be able to release at least one a year, even though a film deal has been signed with her as creative consultant and she will be busy overlooking that too.

The Bone Season is an anachronistic, Dickensian, dystopian, steam punk, fantasy combination set in 2059. The heroine of the book is 19 year old clairvoyant Paige Mahoney. The setting of the tale begins in Seven Dials (in Covent Garden) in the criminal underworld of Scion London and later moves to the familiar, yet completely unrecognisable, dystopian Oxford.

23 year old Samantha, writes beautifully. The plot is multi-layered and complex. Characters are well fleshed out, except the ones she wants to keep us guessing about. The story hurtles forward at break neck speed. I could not read anything else for the next couple of days, because anything that I picked up, just seemed too slow in comparison.

Its really tough to review this book, without revealing too much of the story line, but I'll try to give you an initial glimpse.

In the year 2059, all clairvoyant behaviour is illegal and they are pushed out into the fringes of society. If caught, it mostly results in torture, imprisonment and death. However, there is an underground network, controlled by multiple mime-lords loosely grouped under an overseer which works almost like a crime syndicate, which hires clairvoyants and uses their abilities. Like seers who channel dead masters and paint masterpieces that are sold as long lost originals.

Paige's boss - Jaxon Hall - is one of the stronger mime-lords and has a passion for discovering new types of clairvoyancy and classifying them. Paige finds her place in this world and manages to exist in it, while keeping her "gifts/abilities" a secret from her father.

However a stressful chance encounter on a train, forces Paige to confront the extent of her power while turning her whole world upside down.

We are introduced to new breeds of super creatures - other worldly - called the Rephaim and they are an extremely important part of the story.

I'd rather not give away any more of the story line, as you need to read it and figure it out for yourself.

Bone Season for me is a combination of Harry Potter, the Hunger Games, Game of Thrones  and many other fantasy - epic favourites of mine. Samantha herself said that she is heavily influenced by Margaret Atwood.

The germination of the idea for this series she said, came from when she was interning in Covent Garden and walked around the Seven Dials area. There were a lot of interesting shops here, including those that sold crystal balls and other magical knick knacks. These shops set her creative juices and wild imagination racing, which is why the novels are partly set in this area.

A lot of the slang and terms used in the book, come from19th Century slang, including words like mollisher which later developed into gun moll.

The title "The Bone Season" is a combination of the French Bonne Season as in - The 'Good' Season and Bones which signify skeletons and death.

In her mind Paige and the other characters are dressed in Neo Victorian clothes. With Paige specifically in boyish clothes and a Page Boy hat.

The genesis of the current situation was the Solar Storm of 1859 during the Victorian era and the story is set in 2059 (200 years later) this is partly the cause for the anachronistic nature of the story.

For Samantha, (who is not yet 25), her story keeps evolving as she travels. For eg: She spent 6 months on the 1st draft of The Bone Season and then she visited Ireland, so she just had to include it in the book, so she added more to The Bone Season using the Cromwellian Conquest of Ireland as a take off point.

She hopes to include more locations in her future books and is going to keep us guessing about the motivations of some of the other character and the romantic parts of the story line

I'd heavily recommend this book to anyone 15 and above who is interested in fantasy, anachronistic, steampunk novels. you will not be disappointed. However if you hate having a tale left hanging, you may be better off waiting for her to complete the series before you start.

Rating : 5 / 5