The Simoqin Prophecies marks the debut of an assured new voice. Written with consummate ease and brimming with wit and allusion, it is at once classic SFF and subtle spoof, featuring scantily clad centauresses, flying carpets, pink trolls, belly dancers and homicidal rabbits. Monty Python meets the Ramayana, Alice in Wonderland meets The Lord of the Rings and Robin Hood meets The Arabian Nights in this novel-a breathtaking ride through a world peopled by different races and cultures from mythology and history.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
And I picked it up on a whim.,
This review is from: The Simoqin Prophecies (Paperback)
A short while ago, I happened to be wandering the isles of Borders looking for something new to read. I had currently read almost all of the "big fantasy/sci-fi" series, as well as numerous other classic novels. I saw this book on the side of a shelf, and picked it up because the cover intrigued me. Upon reading the back of the jacket and seeing that not only did it get glowing reviews, but it was the first translated fantasy book from India, I decided to support it and try it out. Boy was I surprised.
Quickly, Simoqin became one of my favorite modern fantasy novels. As other's stated, it takes many ideas from "legendary" fantasy series; but as an homage, not a rip. If you've ever considered yourself a large fantasy fan, read LoTR, enjoyed Arabian Nights, etc. you owe it to yourself to pick this one up. From start to finish there are jokes, great characters, and great dialogue. But don't let the fact it's a parody turn you away. On its own, it still has a wonderful story that readers of all ages can enjoy. It's a world full of magic, heroes, dark lords, science, and humor. Mr. Basu made an amazing debut into the literary world, and really does his fellow Indian writers proud. We can only hope now that when the inevitable sequel gets written it gets translated as well, because the ending leaves plenty of room for advancement. With how disappointing George R.R. Martin's newest novel was, I would place this as my favorite fantasy read of 2005.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Transcends its Unoriginality,
This review is from: The Simoqin Prophecies (Paperback)
This is the kind of book which everyone can enjoy, from die hard fans of the genre to newcomers alike. The latter because it is a masala page turner with plenty of babes, gore and humor; and the former because the content is quite unoriginal. Now you would think that being unoriginal is a bad thing. But not in this case because the author's value add comes from picking the right amount of references from a large number of sources and placing them in just the right place at the right time. It comes out as a very entertaining book. The die hard fans will enjoy it because all the years they have *cough* wasted *cough* reading SFF pays off because they will get all the tongue-in-cheek jokes that newcomers will not.
This is not to say that certain parts of the book could not have used the services of a really good editor. But such creatures are probably rarer than nandus in this day and age, and the amount of rough edges is thankfully negligible.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent introduction to what could be a wonderful world,
By
This review is from: The Simoqin Prophecies (Paperback)
This book could be the start to a wonderfully rich world of fantasy that until now has been closed to Indians.
As should be clear to any reader of Samit Basu's 'The Simoqin Prophecies' Indian myths are ripe for the pickings of any good fantasy author. And yet this low hanging fruit has not been picked. Satyajit Ray's attempts at science fiction never reached the heights of his other efforts. And it never attempted to draw on the rich cultural heritage available to him. Samit's new start has references to every possible cannon of fantasy literature. Indian and Greek myths, of course. But also Terry Pratchett's influence is very obvious in many pages. J. R. R. Tolkien peeks out from numerous corners of the book. There are nods to J. K. Rowling and C. S. Lewis as well. And yet the book is distinctively Samit Basu's. The best part of the book is that it doesn't reveal everything about it in the first reading. The action is unrelenting and absorbing. This is quite a page turner. The reader is forced to read through the book in first sitting. But there are so many layers to the book, that it should be a pleasure to return to it and attempt to uncover references rushed through in the first reading. This is a particularly important book, given the paucity of such material in Indian writing. This book is written to an audience reasonably familiar with the fantasy genre, both ancient and modern. This is the only reason for a 4 star review. A casual reader would enjoy it, but you really need to have read some fantasy before, or at least have nodding familarity with Indian culture before you can fully appreciate it.
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