About

The Revenge of Kaivalya is Sumana Khan's debut novel. This was originally self published before being published by Westland.

The Revenge of Kaivalya book cover

Blurb

In the lush forests of Sakleshpura, a tribal man dies under mysterious circumstances, his body branded with words in an ancient Kannada script, and only the eerie silhouette of a young woman to be seen. Nearby, in modern-day Bangalores concrete jungle, Neel, young, handsome and till now carefree, uneasily wonders if his friends on the party circuit are playing a prank on him - his penthouse reeks of charred flesh, and he thought he saw a young woman out of the corner of his eye.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the Sakleshpura forest reserve, newly-married Shivaranjini experiences a devastating siezure, emerging with a terrifying new personality. What are the mysterious forces at work here and how are all these things related? How does an audacious kidnapping investigated by a svelte police officer fit in? Is it a case of paranormal activity, as believed by the beautiful Tara, or something much less sinister? Neel and his friends are caught up in the vortex of these seemingly unrelated events, until the day they unravel the truth and discover the revenge of Kaivalya.

Review

This was a fast paced thriller and the writing was easy to follow. Interesting events kept popping up almost every page. The setting spans multiple eras and all of them were nicely set-up. Between my first read and re-read about 4 years later, I had trekked a lot and came to know Bangalore better. This helped me relate to many landmarks in the book and enhanced my re-reading experience.

The characters were well written and many remained memorable between my two readings. Flashbacks were interesting as well (too many for my liking though).

The plot is not a whodunnit, but the suspense was palpable. Events and characters (seemingly unrelated) made it very difficult to put aside the book. At times, I felt that the author has slipped up, but something else was brewing up! It felt like the author purposefully did it to subvert the reader's expectations.

Though some coincidences were subtle (the way I like them), some were just too convenient. But then perhaps, fictional novels aren't supposed to mimic the real world. Falling in love at first sight, stylish men and women, expressions like 'biggest in a decade', etc gave a filmy touch, which I personally feel could have been toned down or completely avoided. One particular support character disappearing in the later half felt quite odd. The ending was bit of a letdown, but didn't feel out of place during the re-read.

Overall, this is one of my favorite books written by an Indian author, despite its flaws and 😱 horror elements. Planning to re-read it again someday.

My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

What others are saying

From Aayesha Khan's review on goodreads:

The weaving in of the multiple storylines is handled quite well and keeps one on the edge wondering what’s happening in the other storyline at that moment! The only flipside of this was that the climax terminated quite rapidly than expected.

From Dola Singh's review on goodreads:

Overall, This is a must-pickup-to-read book if you love the paranormal genre or if you are just looking to get a little (or a lot) spooked. I thoroughly enjoyed the book think that this is a brilliant effort for a debutante.

Bingo

/r/Fantasy/ 2021 bingo categories:

  • Set in Asia (HM)
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  • Revenge-Seeking Character (HM)
  • Title: _____ of _____
  • Debut Author