The Simoqin Prophecies. by Samit Basu

When I first started this book I was not sure that I would enjoy it. My friend told me that it was like "A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" but with a real plot and references to "The Lord of the Rings" and mythology instead of science fiction, an idea that sounded more than a little dubious to me. Now this series is my favorite of all time. It's funny, has well developed characters, and an involving plot. I noticed that one other review said that it was translated, but it was in fact written in English as is the authors blog, "The Duck of Destiny." Unluckily, it's sequel, "The Manticore's Secret", is not published in the United States, so it's a little hard to acquire. Gaaaah! Can't wait any longer for the third and last book to come out.

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.

Samit Basu has proven himself a brick-like ombudsman of an author. He's sharp, funny, irreverent, and spangly, all wrapped up in a literary cloak of many colors. I applaud him with both hands.

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.