Shah’s love for Indian mythology and folklore shines throughout, and the hordes of “evils” his tale unleashes prove vivid and frightening, the Rakashi with Viking swords, the pishachas playing drums as their footsteps shake the Earth, the shaitans who are “masters of leading people on the wrong path.” The action is lavish, and the stakes are high, as the everyday heroes—aided by villagers and eventually a buddy soldier and cop team right out of a Bollywood epic—face an invasion that will play out over the course of a series.
Readers should expect portals and caves, tunnel escapes, villains whose conferences update us on their plans, and surprise moments where music proves as powerful as guns; those familiar with the ancient epics and contemporary blockbusters that inspire Shah—Dansh is described as “a stranger with a harrowing physique and a burned face, just like how the horror movies presented villains” will appreciate the scope and sincerity. Key to the appeal of Bollywood action and this novel is a poker-faced solemnity no matter how over-the-top the escapades get: “It was as if Mother Nature was sobbing in consternation at humanity’s uncertain future,” Shah writes, describing the world’s reaction to the evils’ attack.
Takeaway: This vigorous supernatural adventure pits ancient evils against a couple in contemporary India.
Great for fans of: Imran Kureshi, Sudipto Das.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B
Marketing copy: B-
