Since I am writing after a long self-imposed hibernation, I thought I would start off by writing about a book, which caught my eye. The Simoqin Prophecies is cleverly written. When I say cleverly, it is not because it has got an intricate tale or amazing characters. The tale is confusing, and the characters are more spoofy than amazing.
A mix of future sci-fi and history, a mix of characters from the past and from the future, the Simoqin Prophecies is about Danh-Gem, the demonic rakshas who has engraved poor Simoqin’s chest with a message that he will return after 200 years. And then there is the hero, called Asvin, who is destined to kill him when he arises.
Meet Maya, one of the best spellbinders in Kol, where the main characters are, or Kirin, the ravian, who discovers his future in his past, or Narak and Isara, who are supposed to be Kirin’s parents. Go with them as they go about procuring wonderful arms for Asvin, or as they escape the vanar king Bali, fight hideous monsters, or encounter dead zombies inside pharaoh’s tombs. Sounds interesting, right?
It is, but after a point of time, the plethora of characters leaves you a bit disturbed. You go through labyrinths of mazes as the Vanars the Xi’en people, the Rakshasas, Asuras, the Zombies, crows, and some trolls prepare themselves for the return of Danh-Gem. Nice names of fantasy lands as well. Artaxerxia, Kol, Xi’en etc. Too many things, sometimes all together.
But I still suggest you read, because there is something very interesting which maybe you would like, which might make you think, especially if you believe that the past holds the key to the future. Notice these things:
Main so-called-villain - Danh-Gem - spelt backwards - Meghnad, son of Ravana in the Ramayana
Vanar king, Bali - Killed his brother. Bali’s sister - Angada. In the Ramayana, Rama killed Bali on his brother’s behest, and Angada was Bali’s son.
Narak - Spelt backwards - Karan - in both cases, Mahabharata and Simoqin, he is the one who was a low-caste and went on to be renowned for his valor.
Akarat - The demoness who appears suddenly in between - Spelt backwards, Taraka, one of the demonesses in the Ramayana
I don’t know if these make sense to you. Maybe the author wants to convey a message. Maybe not. There are more instances in the book, I am sure. Was the author at a loss for names, or is there a connection? I leave it to you to decide. Read it once. Enjoy the fantasy while it lasts. It’s fun. I wouldn’t call it an epic. But then, I don’t think it was meant to be one either.