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A review by amrsalehduat
The Spice Gate by Prashanth Srivatsa
5.0
Tell me a fantasy story is based on something other than medieval Europe and you’ll have my attention. Tell me it’s based on Indian culture and oh boy I’m going to obsess over it.
Ok, I’ll obsess over the story in a moment but first, let me gush about the writing for a second. Srivatsa’s prose in the Spice Gates is phenomenal! So much in fact that I’m honestly shocked that this is his debut novel because if he’s already on that level at his worst I can’t wait to see him with a decade of experience under his belt. He is one of these authors whom I like to call painters in the sense of him being able to paint incredibly vivid images with his words. I could feel, sense, and most importantly, smell and taste the world as I was reading. Truly I can’t describe how good the writing is.
As for the story itself, this is very much a fantasy story. What I mean by that is if you’re the type of reader who wants his fantasy worlds to have so many details to dig into then you’ll really enjoy the Spice Gate. This is not the type of book that you can read while a part of your mind is thinking about the errands you have to run. This, as any great fantasy novel should, demands your attention. The world is incredibly well detailed and the time and care Srivatsa put into planning and building this world will become very clear very fast.
Another reason why the Spice Gate demands attention while reading it is the themes. This story deals with heavy themes such as class and religion and I think Srivatsa did an incredible job exploring these topics while also driving the plot forward, focusing on his character work, and introducing us to the world. I think choosing spice as the narrative key was a very smart choice from the author. I won’t get much into this because 1) spoilers and 2) it’s more my personal interpretation, but as someone who loves to read about history I know how something as trivial as spice can change the entire world order. If you don’t believe me, I encourage you to look into the European colonial era and you’ll see the real-world equivalent of spice addiction.
As for our protagonist, Amir, what I can say here while keeping this review spoiler-free is that I LOVED the internal struggles he had to process throughout the story. But I think the part I appreciated the most was that Srivatsa was able to balance working on Amir’s character arc and making it a focal point while also keeping the sense of the grandeur of the world present. Throughout the story and despite Amir being the focus and my investment in his story, I couldn’t help but feel that he is just one person in a colossal world that could crush him at any moment and not even notice his destruction. That’s such a delicate balancing act and I really hope readers notice how incredibly difficult it is to pull it off and how talented the author has to be to keep that balance maintained throughout the story.
The Spice Gate is an incredible debut by Prashanth Srivatsa. It’s a colorful, epic, heartfelt, and intelligently written story that will open your eyes to the endless possibilities of fantasy once more authors can introduce their unique cultural backgrounds into the genre. At the end of my review, I can’t help but echo my initial thoughts: if that is how Srivatsa’s debut looks like I sure can’t wait to see what he does next.
Ok, I’ll obsess over the story in a moment but first, let me gush about the writing for a second. Srivatsa’s prose in the Spice Gates is phenomenal! So much in fact that I’m honestly shocked that this is his debut novel because if he’s already on that level at his worst I can’t wait to see him with a decade of experience under his belt. He is one of these authors whom I like to call painters in the sense of him being able to paint incredibly vivid images with his words. I could feel, sense, and most importantly, smell and taste the world as I was reading. Truly I can’t describe how good the writing is.
As for the story itself, this is very much a fantasy story. What I mean by that is if you’re the type of reader who wants his fantasy worlds to have so many details to dig into then you’ll really enjoy the Spice Gate. This is not the type of book that you can read while a part of your mind is thinking about the errands you have to run. This, as any great fantasy novel should, demands your attention. The world is incredibly well detailed and the time and care Srivatsa put into planning and building this world will become very clear very fast.
Another reason why the Spice Gate demands attention while reading it is the themes. This story deals with heavy themes such as class and religion and I think Srivatsa did an incredible job exploring these topics while also driving the plot forward, focusing on his character work, and introducing us to the world. I think choosing spice as the narrative key was a very smart choice from the author. I won’t get much into this because 1) spoilers and 2) it’s more my personal interpretation, but as someone who loves to read about history I know how something as trivial as spice can change the entire world order. If you don’t believe me, I encourage you to look into the European colonial era and you’ll see the real-world equivalent of spice addiction.
As for our protagonist, Amir, what I can say here while keeping this review spoiler-free is that I LOVED the internal struggles he had to process throughout the story. But I think the part I appreciated the most was that Srivatsa was able to balance working on Amir’s character arc and making it a focal point while also keeping the sense of the grandeur of the world present. Throughout the story and despite Amir being the focus and my investment in his story, I couldn’t help but feel that he is just one person in a colossal world that could crush him at any moment and not even notice his destruction. That’s such a delicate balancing act and I really hope readers notice how incredibly difficult it is to pull it off and how talented the author has to be to keep that balance maintained throughout the story.
The Spice Gate is an incredible debut by Prashanth Srivatsa. It’s a colorful, epic, heartfelt, and intelligently written story that will open your eyes to the endless possibilities of fantasy once more authors can introduce their unique cultural backgrounds into the genre. At the end of my review, I can’t help but echo my initial thoughts: if that is how Srivatsa’s debut looks like I sure can’t wait to see what he does next.