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A review by starryeyedenigma
Dark Things by Sukanya Venkatraghavan
4.0
I had read Magical Women earlier this year, that was edited by Sukanya Venkatraghavan, in which one of my favorite stories was written by her too. So when I spotted this in Crossword, I knew I had to buy it. I mean, look at the cover, it was almost as if I had been bewitched by that beautiful and dark Yakshi myself!
In short, the story revolves around four major characters - Hera, the evil queen of Atara, Ardra, the Yakshi who is central to the storyline, Dara, the unbelievably handsome monster slayer who has secrets of his own, and Dwai, the human, who is immune to Yakshi magic and is looking for answers of his own.
I was drawn into the story from the first page, and luckily, had a holiday in between so I could immerse myself completely in the story and finish it within a day! It is really good, the way the author wraps up all the different twists, the way she tantalizes us readers with little snippets of secrets, but never gives us the whole story, until towards the end of the book. I felt like a Yakshi myself, reading this book, because I was lusting for more secrets, my desire to know what was the past and the future of these characters had been tremendous! I loved the author's writing style, so simple and yet beautiful and elegant at the same time.
I'm not sure if there are any sequels planned for this book, but the amount of world building that is necessary for one book, is there in this. Beautiful descriptions of Aakasha, and eerie descriptions of the passage on the river of death and Atala, made me want to see illustrations of them!
I was impressed with how the author has twisted stereotype roles - by changing the heroine to the hero, by drawing a thin line between monsters and Gods. This was a story where the monster is the hero and that was such a refreshing concept for me. My favorite character were the shadow creature and Morana! haha You'll know who they were if you read the book. But I would've liked to know a little more about Dwai's past and a bit more about his character as well, since he isn't given a lot of space towards the end.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and would highly recommend it to readers who are looking for a single book fantasy story that will hold their attention, a story inspired by Indian mythology and mythological figures :)
In short, the story revolves around four major characters - Hera, the evil queen of Atara, Ardra, the Yakshi who is central to the storyline, Dara, the unbelievably handsome monster slayer who has secrets of his own, and Dwai, the human, who is immune to Yakshi magic and is looking for answers of his own.
I was drawn into the story from the first page, and luckily, had a holiday in between so I could immerse myself completely in the story and finish it within a day! It is really good, the way the author wraps up all the different twists, the way she tantalizes us readers with little snippets of secrets, but never gives us the whole story, until towards the end of the book. I felt like a Yakshi myself, reading this book, because I was lusting for more secrets, my desire to know what was the past and the future of these characters had been tremendous! I loved the author's writing style, so simple and yet beautiful and elegant at the same time.
I'm not sure if there are any sequels planned for this book, but the amount of world building that is necessary for one book, is there in this. Beautiful descriptions of Aakasha, and eerie descriptions of the passage on the river of death and Atala, made me want to see illustrations of them!
I was impressed with how the author has twisted stereotype roles - by changing the heroine to the hero, by drawing a thin line between monsters and Gods. This was a story where the monster is the hero and that was such a refreshing concept for me. My favorite character were the shadow creature and Morana! haha You'll know who they were if you read the book. But I would've liked to know a little more about Dwai's past and a bit more about his character as well, since he isn't given a lot of space towards the end.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and would highly recommend it to readers who are looking for a single book fantasy story that will hold their attention, a story inspired by Indian mythology and mythological figures :)