Tantrics of Old by Krishnarjun Bhattacharya

Source: Goodreads

Tantrics of Old
Krishnarjun Bhattacharya
2014, Fingerprint! Publishing
447 pages, dark fantasy

Thank you to Fingerprint! Publishing for providing me with a free review copy of this book. 

Adri Sen, a renegade tantric living illegally in New Kolkata, wakes to find Death sitting at the end of his bed. He is given 24 hours to get his affairs in order before Death will return for his soul.

Hoping to escape the clutches of the Horseman and discover who is behind the plot to kill him, Adri is led on a merry chase through the war-ravaged areas of magical Old Kolkata. Accompanied by Maya Ghosh, a student at New Kolkata's Jadavpur University with a secret purpose of her own; Maya's younger brother, Gray Ghosh; and a highly trained assassin who has been hired to assure Maya's safety, Adri must use all of his knowledge and abilities to survive in the harsh wasteland of the old city.

Set in a magical, post-apocalyptic alternative-universe Kolkata, peopled with demons, sorcerers, tantrics/necromancers, angels, witches, and others, this high fantasy novel will fulfill your craving for great speculative fiction in the vein of JRR Tolkein or Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere.

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Tantrics Of Old

from the Eye of my Mind by TGC Prasad

Source: Goodreads

from the Eye of my Mind
TGC Prasad
Random House India 2012
303 pages, humor, romance, other way of looking at the world

Mallika, an autistic 18-year old girl, likes to have everything stay exactly how she wants it. If there is no soap in her bathroom, she can't use it. She does not speak to strangers, which includes everyone outside of her family, her teacher, and her only friend.

She remembers everything that she sees and reads, and loves to recite information to the people in her circle. She is not stupid, as some people call her; she just thinks differently than other people do.

When her parents want her elder brother Ananth to get married, she refuses. No strangers in the house! No matter what they do, she does not want things to change.

Meanwhile her brother is arguing with their parents about the arranged marriage. It turns out he loves someone else. But her background might be a bit of a problem...

Buy the ebook online from Flipkart: 

From the Eye of my Mind

Eega, directed by S. S. Rajamouli

Eega
India (Telugu), 2012
145 min, speculative, revenge, satire, comedy
Directed by S. S. Rajamouli

Nani has been trying to attract Bindu's attention for two years, and although she hasn't expressed it he thinks she likes him. Bindu works for an NGO focusing on children's education and creates micro art in her spare time. Sudeep is a manipulative bastard of a CEO who believes that he can get any woman to sleep with him in a blink of the eye.

When Sudeep sets his eyes on Bindu, he becomes enraged because she pays attention to Nani instead of to him. He kidnaps and murders Nani, with the intention of capturing Bindu in her weakened emotional state. Unfortunately for him, Nani is reborn as a fly and comes to wreak havoc upon his murderer.

But how can a fly take revenge on a human? And how can Nani make Bindu understand who he is?

Watch the first half on youtube: 

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EEGA Special Edition Telugu DVD Fully Boxed and Sealed - 2 Disc set

The Blaft Anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction: Vol. II, selected and translated by Pritham K. Chakravarthy and edited by Rakesh Khanna

Source: Goodreads

The Blaft Anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction: Vol. II
Selected and translated by Pritham K. Chakravarthy (from Tamil)
Edited by Rakesh Khanna
Originally published 2010, I read 2011
467 pages, mystery, horror, detective, romance

In this second volume of Blaft's Tamil Pulp Fiction anthology, the editors have chosen to translate full-length novels and novellas from a variety of authors, including one from Singapore. Whereas a majority of the pieces in the first anthology were detective stories (a fact I mentioned in my review), this volume is mainly horror focused.

The stories include: 

"The Palace of Kottaipuram" (1990) by Indra Soundar Rajan 

The royal family has been haunted by a curse for generations: the men all die before they turn 30, and no female children survive for long after their birth. The younger prince of the current generation is well-educated and does not believe any of this nonsense - until his brother is killed by a cobra. Now the younger prince's girlfriend has to investigate the origins of the curse and the strange social order surrounding the royal family if she wants to save the man she loves.

"Highway 117" (1980) by Jeyaraj & Pushpa Thangadorai

This full-length comic book features Karate Kavita, a super-strong female hero, who teams up with an archaeologist to uncover the man responsible for stealing the treasures from several temples.

"Hold on a Minute, I'm in the Middle of a Murder" (1979) by Indumathi

Inspired by the Exorcist and similar movies, Indumathi's horror novella is a tale of demonic possession and murders by supernatural forces. When the doctor and head of a psychiatric institution finds one of his patients has killed his colleague, he is stunned. The police take up the investigation, but very odd things begin to happen to everyone even vaguely related to the doctor or his patient.

"The Bungalow by the River" (2000) by M. K. Narayanan 

A ghost story by a Singaporean Tamil author. A woman flees from her alcoholic husband when she learns about the affair that is consuming him. Years later, a lawyer contacts their son with the message that the father has died and left the property to him. The son wants nothing to do with it, but decides to visit the property with his lawyer before it is sold. Strange things start happening when they arrive. As they find themselves trapped by a sudden monsoon, will they be able to survive in the house until morning?

"Hello, Good Dead Morning!" (1986) by Rajesh Kumar

A detective wakes up to a phone call - the police have found a body, and they're not sure if it's a murder or suicide. As he investigates, we are introduced to a young woman who has recently become obsessed with "blue films" (i.e. pornography). To maintain and hide this obsession, she begins to lie to her brother and others, resulting in the murder of one of her brother's employees...

"Sacriledge to Love" (2009) by Resakee

A girl is plagued by unwanted suitors and an overprotective brother who violently punishes anyone who falls in love with her. Then she falls in love herself, and the former targets of her brother's ire conspire to help the lovers deal with him.

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The Blaft Anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction - Volume 2 (The Blaft Anthology of Tamil Pulp Fiction, #2)

The Secret of Kells, directed by Tomm Moore

The Secret of Kells

Irish (English), 2009

75 min, animated, children's, faery tale

Directed by Tomm Moore

Brendan has grown up within the walls of the abbey where his uncle is abbot, taught to fear the outside and, in particular, the inevitable attack of the northmen. The coming of Brother Aidan, a famous manuscript illuminator, gives Brendan the opportunity to express his creativity - if, that is, his uncle will let him spend time away from the construction of the walls meant to shelter the community from attack. 

On his first expedition into the forest, Brendan meets a faery who shows him the wonders of the natural world. With the help of his friends, he works to promote beauty and knowledge by working on a brilliant manuscript that will "turn darkness into light."

The Garlic Ballads by Mo Yan, Translated by Howard Goldblatt

Source: Goodreads

The Garlic Ballads
Mo Yan
Translated by Howard Goldblatt (from Chinese)
Originally 1988, I read Arcade 2012
286 pages, satire, romance, prison story

The farmers in Paradise County are normal, law-abiding citizens under the Chinese communist regime. They follow the government's orders to plant a bumper crop of garlic, only to end up with piles of unsellable rotting crops as warehouses fill up and prices drop precipitously. When the government does nothing to help the crowds of farmers struggling to move their goods anywhere but back home, the ordinary citizens are forced to take extreme measures to see that something will get done.

Among the farmers watching their carefully-tended crops rot in their fields are a collection of very human characters: parents trying to arrange marriages for their children; their daughter who is in love with another man; and a neighbor whose landowning family history makes him an immediate suspect for any crime.

Mo Yan's novel, which was banned in China after the 1989 Tiananmen square protests, paints a vivid portrait of the common man's daily struggle for survival under an uncaring, corrupt, and draconian regime.

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The Garlic Ballads: A Novel

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez, translated by Edith Grossman

Source: Goodreads

Love in the Time of Cholera
Gabriel García Márquez (1927-2014)
Translated by Edith Grossman (from Spanish)
Originally 1985, I read Vintage International 2003
348 pages, historical fiction, romance

In their youth, Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza fell in love through letters and glances. After they meet and Fermina Daza decides that she doesn't love him after all, Florentino Ariza is devastated. He decides to preserve himself and wait for the time when Fermina Daza is available again - when her husband dies.

Florentino Ariza spends decades having affairs, moving upwards in the hierarchy of his uncle's company, and brooding over his continuing love for his childhood sweetheart. Fermina Daza spends decades traveling, raising children, and caring for her husband, a renowned doctor and center of attention in the local high-class society.

When Fermina Daza's husband dies, Florentino Ariza takes advantage of the opportunity that is finally available to him. But how will Fermina Daza, ever the strong and emotional character, react to his reassertion of his love in the wake of her tragedy?

Read a sample or buy from Amazon: 

Love in the Time of Cholera (Oprah's Book Club)