Customer Reviews

Goa (Blood of the Goddess/Kara Dalkey, 1)

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a disappointment to be in the middle of a story and suddenly the book just ends! Unbelievable. Was it the publisher's decision to split a fantasy novel into a "trilogy"? I can't believe an author would actually consider this 205 pages a standalone or even a piece of a trilogy. It was nothing more than a few chapters building a story. Very disappointing.

A slender volume of an intended trilogy which reads quickly and well. The subject matter, a young apprentice herbalist sent to India to trade for rare herbs and medicaments in the era of the Inquisition, is fascinating. The book is a little too short, and it is obvious within the first 50 pages that we are being set up for future volumes, which did not inspire me to read on. However, read on I did, and I quite enjoyed the blend of historical fiction and fantastical magic. I would advise waiting for the trilogy to be finished and then reading it all together in one go.

I picked up this book at the library a couple years ago after reading the Water triligy. The books were great! I love myths so I enjoyed the book. But, being 13 at the time, I found that some of the book was a little inapropriate. If you're thinking of gettting this book for a kid, get the Water triligy instead, wait a few years for this one.

In the 1500s the Inquisition was going strong, with its persecutors going after anyone who wasn't strictly confined to the doctrines of the Catholic church. This generally included Jews, Protestants and suspected witches, but in "Goa" there's a twist on that idea. This time the hounds of God are on the trail of a mysterious person that is producing a magical substance...the blood of an Indian goddess that supposedly can raise the dead. To the church, the mysterious goddess must be the incarnation of evil, and anyone who uses her blood for magic must be punished However, there is a secret mission on behalf of one of "God's men"...to gain control of the secret of the blood and use it for his own purposes.

Normally I read historical fiction to learn about history, but I enjoyed this sidetrip into a little fantasy, which also included some danger and suspense. The author had a great idea here, however, I think the she did herself a disservice by not combining the three shorts books of the trilogy into one bigger, more impressive book. Goa is followed by "Bijapur: Blood of the Goddess", and then "Bhagavati".

The author has done an good job in researching for the book. She brings out the flavor of 1500's India vividly, a world of clashing cultures clamoring for a piece of the action. I know of few other recent novels set in the India of this time period and any history buff would find the book absorbing. But that's where the good stuff ends. The plot is Rider Haggard all over again.

Such a book comes only once in a great while. An eastern/western conflict intertwined with restrained fantasy properties and historical details, all in a fantasy novel. Awesome.