An enthralling story of nationalism filled with historical touches and lush details.
In this debut historical novel, the residents of an 18th-century Indian province fight a British company to protect their domestic commodities.
Bengal is India’s richest province in 1756 and the place for highly sought-after materials like silks and muslin. It attracts traders from around the world and such concerns as the British East India Company. But trouble begins with Bengal’s “shifting political landscape.” The province’s beloved ruler (or Nawab), Alivardi Khan, dies, and his grandson, Siraj ud-Daulah, is his heir apparent. Officials belonging to the Nawab’s court fear Siraj is too unpredictable while the leaders of the East India Company worry he’s aligned with their French trading rivals. Sure enough, newly minted Nawab Siraj sets his sights on Fort William, the company’s principal settlement in Bengal, which the British had begun fortifying even before Alivardi’s death. Despite this, Siraj’s army seizes the fort. Meanwhile, British warships had recently docked in India to confront French forces. But Robert Clive, governor of another British fort in India, uses that extra muscle to retake Fort William. He has Bengali allies, too, including Mir Jafar, a senior commander of the Bengal army who’s upset he was passed over as Calcutta’s governor, and Mehtab Rai, a financier whom Siraj senselessly humiliated not long ago. Bengali officials who help the other side may soon regret their decision, as the British, if they gain the upper hand, will be in a perfect position to exert their dominance in India—gradually taking away the country’s commodities as well as its identity.
In this tale, Roy smoothly mingles historical figures with fictional characters. For example, real-life Alivardi Khan and Siraj ud-Daulah are just as integral to the story as the fictional nobleman Javed Hussain and his assertive son, Sarfaraz. The spotlight actually hits quite a few well-developed characters, such that it’s truly shocking when someone dies or finds himself arrested for treason. At the same time, there’s a balanced mix of conflicts (“The gates of the fort groaned under the relentless blows of a battering ram, wood splintering with each strike”) and characters’ discussions of events that either have happened or most assuredly will. Readers unfamiliar with the history of Bengal will have much to take in, from India’s culture and local foods to the country’s political climate. But the author also dives deep into the story’s cast, as some individuals prove tirelessly greedy and others ultimately lament the choices they’ve made. One remorseful man even has an enlightening conversation with his reflection in a mirror and, later, an elaborate, ominous dream. Despite the book’s relatively short length, it scrupulously covers several years in the mid-1700s and wisely keeps the action in Bengal (regardless of where each character hails from). Roy’s lyrical prose makes reading this novel a breeze: “Reclining on a pile of silk cushions, his fingers trembled as he cradled the slender pipe…Outside, the faint sounds of the Nawab’s camp filtered through the tent—soldiers’ murmurs, the occasional neigh of restless horses, and the distant beat of war drums meant to rally courage.”
An enthralling story of nationalism filled with historical touches and lush details.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2025
ISBN: 9781764129909
Page Count: 250
Publisher: Emberline Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 5, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A standout in the series.
The sixth adventure of Harvard symbology professor Robert Langdon explores the mysteries of human consciousness, the demonic projects of the CIA, and the city of Prague.
“Ladies and gentlemen...we are about to experience a sea change in our understanding of how the brain works, the nature of consciousness, and in fact…the very nature of reality itself.” But first—Langdon’s in love! Brown’s devoted readers first met brilliant noetic scientist Katherine Solomon in The Lost Symbol (2009); she’s back as a serious girlfriend, engaging the committed bachelor in a way not seen before. The book opens with the pair in a luxurious suite at the Four Seasons in Prague. It’s the night after Katherine has delivered the lecture quoted above, setting the theme for the novel, which features a plethora of real-life cases and anomalies that seem to support the notion that human consciousness is not localized inside the human skull. Brown’s talent for assembling research is also evident in this novel’s alter ego as a guidebook to Prague, whose history and attractions are described in great and glowing detail. Whether you appreciate or skim past the innumerable info dumps on these and other topics (Jewish folklore fans—the Golem is in the house!), it goes without saying that concision is not a goal in the Dan Brown editing process. Speaking of editing, the nearly 700-page book is dedicated to Brown’s editor, who seems to appear as a character—to put it in the italicized form used for Brownian insight, Jason Kaufman must be Jonas Faukman! A major subplot involves the theft of Katherine’s manuscript from the secure servers of Penguin Random House; the delightful Faukman continues to spout witty wisecracks even when blindfolded and hogtied. There’s no shortage of action, derring-do, explosions, high-tech torture machines, attempted and successful murders, and opportunities for split-second, last-minute escapes; good thing Langdon, this aging symbology wonk, never misses swimming his morning laps. Readers who are not already dyed-in-the-wool Langdonites may find themselves echoing the prof’s own conclusion regarding the credibility of all this paranormal hoo-ha: At some point, skepticism itself becomes irrational.
A standout in the series.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780385546898
Page Count: 688
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
Maybe not the most thrilling thriller, but the role of AI in coping with grief gives this novel pathos and interest.
A widowed and disgraced plastic surgeon is drawn into a Russian oligarch’s evil schemes.
Witherspoon’s adult fiction debut, co-authored with thrillermeister Coben, opens as heart surgery performed by Dr. Marc Adams in a North African refugee camp is interrupted by the explosive invasion of armed militants. It's the last we will see of Marc in this dimension. The next chapter jumps ahead one year to a ceremony at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore where his widow, Maggie McCabe, is supposed to be presenting an award in honor of her mother. Miserable and anxious about appearing in public after having lost her medical license, she consults with her late husband on her phone—not via supernatural means, but using a "griefbot," an amazingly lifelike and functional AI app created by her genius sister, Sharon. Once the griefbot coaxes her to brave the sneering masses, she learns she’s been replaced on the podium anyway. But she runs into a former professor, a celebrity plastic surgeon, who requests a meeting with her at his office in New York and won’t take no for an answer. Next thing she knows, there’s $10 million in her bank account and she’s on a private plane heading to a palace outside Moscow where she’s been engaged to perform off-the-record surgery on billionaire Oleg Ragoravich (new face) and his girlfriend, Nadia (new boobs). And…we’re off. A whirl of surgeries, chases, and escapes ensues as Maggie gradually comes to understand who these people are and what they have in mind for her, and how it connects to Marc and their missing friend and business partner, Trace Packer. She is aided by her delightful father-in-law, Porkchop, owner of a biker bar in New York City and a very handy guy to have on your team if you've run afoul of an international criminal organization. From the palace in Rublevka the action moves to Dubai and then Bordeaux, climaxing in a high-stakes illegal heart transplant. But wait—is Marc really dead? What happened to Trace? Who is Nadia really? Though these smoldering questions don’t quite catch fire, it's a good first try for Witherspoon.
Maybe not the most thrilling thriller, but the role of AI in coping with grief gives this novel pathos and interest.Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9781538774700
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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