Bhagavati (Blood of the Goddess/Kara Dalkey, 3) [Hardcover]

Kara Dalkey (Author)

Book Description

Series: Blood of the Goddess/Kara Dalkey, 3 | Publication Date: June 1998

A young English apothecary's apprentice, sent to collect rare herbs in Africa and India, is shipwrecked off a Portuguese colony and captured by forces of the Inquisition. He saves his life (temporarily, at least) by pretending to know the source of a mysterious powder that can restore life to the dead.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the conclusion to Dalkey's brilliant trilogy begun in Goa and continued in Bijapur, Thomas Chinnery, an apprentice apothecary whom fortune and the Fates have set adrift far from his native England, winds his way ever deeper into the labyrinthine interior of India. There magic and medicine peel away the layers of accepted reality, and dread spirits and forbidding gods fight for possession of his body and soul. Thomas is trying to revive his dead Hindu ladylove, Aditi, by bringing her to the source of the miraculous potion rasa mahadevi (literally, the "blood of the goddess"). On this dangerous quest, he is surrounded by characters both historical and fictional, all with their own deeply held faiths and conflicting and complex motivations. They include a brutal Catholic inquisitor who?himself returned from the dead?has begun to doubt both his profession and beliefs; an angelic Christian boy-child with an eclectically erudite nature; a Sufi mystic traveling a difficult path to enlightenment; a Scottish scholar with mysterious allegiances; a battalion of hostile soldiers; a noble Hindu leader and his venal foil; and various fantastical creatures personifying myth and madness. Dalkey's touch is sure, as deft at describing the lore surrounding an herb as at luring her readers into devouring her tale. Rarely has research, religion and fine writing been blended into such a literate and lively elixir.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Having survived the tortures of the Portuguese Inquisition, English herbalist Thomas Chinnery travels to the fabled city of Bhagavati, reputed as the source for a wondrous powder capable of raising the dead. Dalkey's conclusion to a stunning fantasy series that includes Goa (Tor, 1996) and Bijapur (LJ 4/15/97) combines the mythology of India with the legends of ancient Greece, creating an unusual and exotic historical fantasy that belongs in most libraries.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 382 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (June 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031286003X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312860035
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,635,710 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Confrontation with a Medusa-like Goddess, April 2, 2002

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S. Brand "sandra807" (United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bhagavati (Blood of the Goddess/Kara Dalkey, 3) (Hardcover)

This is the last book of the trilogy "Blood of the Goddess", and the one with the most action and suspense. Thomas Chinnery, a trader, has made a bargain with the Inquisition who has arrested him, that he will be freed if he leads them to the source of the magical powdered blood, which can bring the dead back to life. Chinnery only pretends to know how to find it in order to save his life, but he also wishes to obtain the blood to revive the murdered Aditi, whom he loves. This expedition, as well as an expedition of Moghuls, are headed for Bhagavati, the city of the goddess Mahadevi.

During the journey, no one can be trusted, but arriving in Bhagavati, the expeditions face their greatest danger in a magnificent palace, which is infused with an atmosphere of cold beauty and dark magic. Mahadevi exercises her power to turn men into stone (like Medusa), but Thomas escapes within the walls of the palace. The struggle between Chinnery and Father Gonscao, who wishes to destroy this place, this goddess, continues here.

Although this is not my usual genre of reading material, I found the series, especially this last book, quite enjoyable, and in particular, the palace of the Mahadevi has left a memorable visual impression.