Fantasy Book Critic: Sons Of Darkness by Gourav Mohanty (reviewed by Matthew Higgins)

Order Sons Of Darkness over HERE

Disclaimer: I did receive an ARC from Head of Zeus however this has in no way influenced my review

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Sons Of Darkness is a game changer.

If any reader is aware of Indian history and mythology, they will know of the embarrassment of untapped riches awaiting fantasy readers. We in the west are yet to rediscover some of the greatest stories in human history.

It is Mr Mohanty’s unenviable challenge to bring us along this journey and scale the heights of the legendary Mahabharata. With great aplomb, Mohanty thrusts the reader into a dark and enticing political landscape.

Krishna, the name perhaps most familiar to western audiences, is a farm boy risen to rebellion, and now ruler of the Mathuran republic. The former ruler of these lands, the Magadhan monarch, is very visibly unhappy at such a loss, especially when one considers his secretive general’s tactics of catapulting disease-ridden carcasses over the supposedly impenetrable walls of Mathura.

Have I caught your attention yet? Because Mr Mohanty certainly does.

This is a world where myth and history collide; of pirate princesses and sadistic torturers; of Greeks and giants; bloodshed amidst corruptive power.

Early on readers must stick with Mohanty as he pulls you into events in media res, a la Malazan. There will be lots of new words, names, and kingdoms to explore, along with some fascinating concepts of Vedic spirituality. With Mohanty’s trademark wit to entertain us, this is a journey into the dark, in a world one could easily lose themselves within.

As we slowly find our feet, characters from the rich tapestry of the Mahabharata are woven into the narrative. However, this is no mere retelling, for it is in fact a grand reimagining. Mohanty warns readers in his introduction that this may not be the story one remembers as a child, nor is it an India that embraces colonial concepts of what ancient Indians were capable of. This is a fantastical interpretation of ancient India, where throughout history many accomplished scholars achieved great feats of science and technology and wrote prodigious tomes of myth and history.

When one considers the breadth of what the Vedic people discovered or invented, and subsequently lost a large proportion of to the mists of time, one knows this will be a world to embrace and explore just like our other fantasy favourites.

(Inevitable Time by Mukesh Singh)

Readers will find themselves drawn to the larger-than-life characters splayed across the chessboard of the gods. From Satyabhama the sassy and fierce warrior; third wife to Krishna and yet certainly not playing third fiddle in the minds of each reader; to Mati the Kalingan pirate princess who would just as soon seduce you as stab your unguarded rear; Shakuni the ageing sadistic torturer; Shishupal the prince turned reluctant suitor, Kalyavan the bombastic Greek, and Draupadi the politically ensnared princess whose upcoming matchmaking instigates the potent politicking across kingdoms, these are characters that powerfully stick in the mind.

As a multi POV narrative, Mohanty’s command of character is smooth and confident. These are ancient characters, and yet he makes them feel modern and familiar. Combined with a self-assured prose that frequently left me highlighting, it is a persuasive mix.

Each subsequent part entices one into discovering a new piece of the puzzle unfolding, building on what came previously to make the reader feel more comfortable in understanding the world and these events, even if the events themselves aren’t always of the most comforting kind.

For make no mistake, this is a grimdark book, and it sets the stage right from the start. Perhaps this is even grimdark in the truest sense as many of these characters who come to entertain us are on the morally grey spectrum, or in Shakuni’s case full on sadist.

I would say that as the book went on the novelty of some of these grim aspects did wear off in the sense that one becomes a little desensitised and I have certainly read books that have turned the stomach and/or broke me further, however I would also consider it worthy of its content warnings for many readers.

Whilst the worldbuilding, of which more will be discussed later, and the characters are the standouts of Mohanty’s epic, I did find myself somewhat emotionally detached to a lot of the narrative. Whilst this is not necessarily a shortcoming for some readers, I found this to be a very personality driven narrative as opposed to a character driven one.

What I mean by this is that these characters are mighty and memorable; they earn their legendary status and imprint it into the page. However, they are, for the most part, not characters you will know as intimate individuals as if they were your closest companions.

Arguably this is a result of such a large-scale narrative and is certainly not a hinderance to one’s entertainment here. It is simply a personal preference for intimately written tales that some readers may share. Much of the focus here is on shock and spectacle, of which there is indeed an abundance of both. For readers who love politics and ticking turmoil, this will be one for you.

To return, as promised, to the worldbuilding, it would be remiss of me not to dive into the divine scheming at play here. For this is much of what occurs behind the scenes, beyond the human horrors of war and conquest. We have ancient prophecies and deadly deities splayed across the prologue, whilst throughout the narrative we are introduced to the mysterious concepts of Chakras, Mandalas, Vedic concepts of the soul and spirituality and much more besides. As a worldbuilding junkie this was the aspect to intrigue me the most, and yet the magical did often take a seat to the majestic.

Now this isn’t necessarily a bad aspect, as clearly Mr Mohanty is biding his time to allow the petty human squabbles to play out whilst our characters are blissfully unaware of the impending destruction headed their way. It creates this sense of dramatic ignorance and delighted me as a reader knowing the scale of the doom to come.

Where the worldbuilding really did shine and take to the forefront was in the cultural environment Mohanty creates with his work. This really does feel like an ancient world of myth and wonder. It satisfies the classic fantasy longings of some readers, whilst also feeling suitably at home within the history of our own world. It’s fully realised, fully dangerous, and fully loaded.

Whilst the first half did eagerly clench its grip into my mood reading mind, there was a slight slump in the pace for myself in the subsequent quarter. For a lot of readers, I know they found differently, that the first half was slow and unwinding, and the second half became a furious favourite. However, I am a reader with a preference for meandering character driven worldbuilding, which is precisely how I’d describe the first half. Gourav would treat us to a tantalising section with on character before shifting to another part of the world, successfully maintaining the momentum as he drew new characters inside my mind.

When events began to converge is when the plot lost some of its power for me, Things started to become a little disjointed and rushed to my mind, losing some of the potential enacted by the excellent first half as political manoeuvrings gushed into the open.

I would suggest avoiding the hype as much as possible, because this almost certainly impacted my reading experience, and lead to a dampened experience of a critical second half event. If you are a western reader unaware of the epic the Mahabharata unfolds, don’t research the original story, or read review after review; these things can be done once the book has been complete, and inevitably readers will want to discover the story behind Gourav’s work. Enjoy the show, delight in the ride and rejoice in the subsequent smorgasbord of fantasy Indian culture and history has to offer when you desperately need more upon completion!

For you will need more once you close those last pages; the final quarter managed to pull me back into a pulse pounding climactic thunderstrike of a finish. Despite a few cheesy one liners sneaking into the prose, it was a crowd-pleasing epic series of events. Full on battle rage to stir even the meekest of readers.

The story draws to a close not on a major cliff-hanger, but an invigorating augury of future events set to interrupt the petty politics at play on a human level.

And that endgame dear reader, like all the characters and the writing on display is oh so beautiful.

CONCLUSION: Sons Of Darkness is a highly accomplished debut sparkling with wit and blood. Mohanty embraces the dangerous and calculating politics of Game of Thrones, combining it with the rich depths of Vedic history and lore.