The Simoquin Prophecies

I was a bit apprehensive when my library wallah handed out this book to me.Not that his choice is usually bad but off late I was getting this notion that I had been used as a guinea pig on one or two occasions when I had to plod through two out and out romantic books and I remember going through them in a vain hope of finding some twist somewhere but it was not to be.Also,considering the fact that I had returned all three LOTRs after reading just 1.5 of them weighed heavily on my mind as I stood there thinking of reasons to turn it down.
TSP is anothere of those fantasy books like LOTR,Harry Potter and the Douglas Adam and Terry Pratchett series of books. However,shaking my head, I just took it and decidedly for the last time.

It took me ten days, a "nothing at all to do" itinerary and a lazy Sunday afternoon to open the book for the first time and my worst fears came true.The book started off by reeling off unpronouncable names and innumerable characters each from a different world and having different physical characteristics, weilding different kinds of powers and having different number of heads.I closed the book in disgust and and then on it took me another week to get to page 50 of the book.However,by that time I was able to identify a few central characters and I decided to concentrate on them.What led me on was an excellently dishes subtle sense of humour which pervaded throughout the book and made it see saw between being a genuine fantasy or a spoof of the same.

By the time I reached page 100, I was hooked to say the least and not even weekdays or busy schedules or anything could keep me off it. This book,written by a 23 year old Indian Samit Basu, is a brilliant attempt at writing fantasy books in a way which would appeal to both readers who love such books unconditionally and people like me too who hate them. The characters in the book have an inherent sense of humor which is never allowed to come out fully.It is there as an undertone waiting to be discerned and relished.The events unfold quickly inspite of an abundance of characters and there is a lot written about all the different worlds that are mentioned at any point in the book.The central characters have their own weaknesses and that makes them real.

The author borrows heavily from LOTR, Harry Potter and a lot of Indian epics too. He has picked up events from a lot of epics and eras and tweaked them to fit into his own epic. Having said that,this book is not a copy.Its like a movie that has some scenes interspersed with the themes of other movies to heighten some effects.Although,the whole book is great,there are episodes that stand out for their stark commentary.The best is his take on heroes in a fantasy book.He introduces a school that churnes out heroes who would later be written about.He also tells about the chroniclers who move along with heroes to record their feats and how they were not averse to tweaking them to hide the hero's cowardice or to exaggerate an accout of slaying of a dragon who could hav e died on its own due to illness.Also mentioned is the role of a central figure who is usually an Oracle and whose sole duty is tp predict falsely of a dark age so as to set up a perfect launchpad for a not-so-heroic hero.

One of the many hillarious episodes is the merging of Robin Hood and the carrying away of Sanyukta by Prithvi Raj chauhan,which is an Indian historical event to hysterical heights.There is also a preparation of a so-called hero and the existence of an understated one.It is through these two characters that the book swings between what could be called a spoof to a genuine fantasy tale.However,the best character is the female lead and her typically acerbic comments on why there are more heroes than heroines in history and the delightfully wicked use of her magical powers to get her ends unabashedly.The only possible chink could be the end which is not as grand as it builds up to be but the grandness lies in the sudden twist that the story takes towards the end and this is where he defenestrates all existing norms about grand stories having grand endings too.Infact the way he has set it all up,it is excitingly poised for a sequel which I hear is underway.

Next time I wont have to think at all if offered the sequel.