Amish draws from India’s rich culture to fictionalize the life of Shiva, the Great God Mahadev, of Hindu theology.
In faraway Tibet 3,000 years ago lived Shiva, a Guna warrior-chieftain. Weary of battle with the predatory Pakrati, he agrees when Meluha, "the richest and most powerful empire in India, "invites the Guna to emigrate. Resting during the trek, Shiva drinks Somras, a restorative potion, and his throat takes on a beautiful blue color. It’s a sign the Meluha believe marks him as the Neelkanth, savior and successor to immortals like Lord Ram and Lord Brahma. With that, Shiva is drawn into conflict between the Suryavanshi of Meluha and the Chandravanshi of Swadweep centered around Somras, which has created "a remarkable and near-perfect society." Amish offers a glossary and small map and, most interestingly, a synopsis on the various castes. There’s much about philosophy and architecture, somewhat less about dress and food, and little about everyday life in this dense but readily understandable immersion in Hindu culture. In Meluha, a "land of abundance, of almost ethereal perfection," Shiva meets and woos Sita, the emperor’s daughter. Sita’s been relegated to vikrama (untouchable) caste because of personal tragedy, but Shiva ignores tradition. Parvateshwar, Meluha’s chief general, proves an interesting character, a gruff and practical warrior, who refuses at first to believe Shiva’s the Neelkanth. Disconcertingly, Amish’s dialogue has noticeably anachronistic phrases—"can’t you take a joke?"; "Yeah, right." Shiva explores philosophy with assorted temple pandits, accepts his destiny, leads Mehula to defeat the Chandravanshi, only to discover that "terrorists" making random attacks—Nagas who look "like a vulture in human form"—are not agents of the Chandravanshi, as had been assumed.
With a cliffhanger conclusion, this first in a trilogy will appeal to those who enjoy delving into works like The Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia.
Pub Date: Dec. 2, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-62365-143-5
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Jo Fletcher/Quercus
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2014
An author to watch, Buehlman is now two for two in delivering eerie, offbeat novels with admirable literary skill.
Cormac McCarthy's The Road meets Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in this frightful medieval epic about an orphan girl with visionary powers in plague-devastated France.
The year is 1348. The conflict between France and England is nothing compared to the all-out war building between good angels and fallen ones for control of heaven (though a scene in which soldiers are massacred by a rainbow of arrows is pretty horrific). Among mortals, only the girl, Delphine, knows of the cataclysm to come. Angels speak to her, issuing warnings—and a command to run. A pack of thieves is about to carry her off and rape her when she is saved by a disgraced knight, Thomas, with whom she teams on a march across the parched landscape. Survivors desperate for food have made donkey a delicacy and don't mind eating human flesh. The few healthy people left lock themselves in, not wanting to risk contact with strangers, no matter how dire the strangers' needs. To venture out at night is suicidal: Horrific forces swirl about, ravaging living forms. Lethal black clouds, tentacled water creatures and assorted monsters are comfortable in the daylight hours as well. The knight and a third fellow journeyer, a priest, have difficulty believing Delphine's visions are real, but with oblivion lurking in every shadow, they don't have any choice but to trust her. The question becomes, can she trust herself? Buehlman, who drew upon his love of Fitzgerald and Hemingway in his acclaimed Southern horror novel, Those Across the River (2011), slips effortlessly into a different kind of literary sensibility, one that doesn't scrimp on earthy humor and lyrical writing in the face of unspeakable horrors. The power of suggestion is the author's strong suit, along with first-rate storytelling talent.
An author to watch, Buehlman is now two for two in delivering eerie, offbeat novels with admirable literary skill.Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-937007-86-7
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Ace/Berkley
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
At Buckkeep in the Six Duchies, young Fitz, the bastard son of Prince Chivalry, is raised as a stablehand by old warrior Burrich. But when Chivalry dies without legitimate issue—murdered, it's rumored—Fitz, at the orders of King Shrewd, is brought into the palace and trained in the knightly and courtly arts. Meanwhile, secretly at night, he receives instruction from another bastard, Chade, in the assassin's craft. Now, King Shrewd's subjects are imperiled by the visits of the Red-Ship Raiders—formidable warriors who pillage the seacoasts and turn their human victims into vicious, destructive zombies. Since rehabilitating the zombies proves impossible, it's Fitz's task to go abroad covertly and kill them as quickly and humanely as possible. Shrewd orders that Fitz be taught the Skill—mental powers of telepathy and coercion possessed by all those of the royal line; his teacher is Galen, a sadistic ally of the popinjay Prince Regal, who hates Fitz all the more for his loyalty to Shrewd's other son, the stalwart soldier Verity. Galen brutalizes Fitz and, unknown to anyone, implants a mental block that prevents Fitz from using the Skill. Later, Shrewd decrees that, to cement an alliance, Verity shall wed the Princess Kettricken, heir to a remote yet rich mountain kingdom. Verity, occupied with Skillfully keeping the Red-Ship Raiders at bay, can't go to collect his bride, so Regal and Fitz are sent. Finally, Fitz must discover the depths of Regal's perfidy, recapture his true Skill, win Kettricken's heart for Verity, and help Verity defeat the Raiders. An intriguing, controlled, and remarkably assured debut, at once satisfyingly self-contained yet leaving plenty of scope for future extensions and embellishments.
Pub Date: April 17, 1995
ISBN: 0-553-37445-1
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Spectra/Bantam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1995
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