Samit Basu has written a story which is a mix of traditional western fantasy with eastern myths. The story revolves around important characters like Asvin, Kirin, Spikes, Mantric, Maya, Silver Dagger and also Chief Civilian of Kol. Before going into to the story it is imperative to understand the fantasy world.
In the ancient times Danh-Gem a powerful evil Lord wrecked havoc in the world. At that time the Rakshases, Trolls, Werewolfs, dragons, and Vanars all supported Danh-Gem until his eventual fall. But Danh-Gem promised he would return.
The other magical beings at the time of Danh-Gem were the ravians. Their presence heighted the magical activity causes the rise of the dragons, and other dark creatures. But once they left the magic quickly dissipated- this happens after Danh-Gem’s defeat.
The story begins with Asvin, the civilian prince, who sets out on a adventure with many mighty men of the palace, but the mighty men are not good as he suspected, but rather murderers. They try to murder him but he escapes, and meets the chief Civilian who is concerned with the rising magical activity around the country. This is when the prophecy of Simoquin in discussed. According to the prophecy Danh -Gem would return in the future, and so a hero will emerge to stop him. The Chief Civilian guesses that he would be the prophesied hero to stop the return of Danh-Gem.
On the other hand during this time Kirin comes to know that he has some mysterious powers. Kirin and Maya are good friends, and Kirin reveals to Maya that he is a ravian and that he was a stone for 200 years, until Spikes found him who is a pashan. Kirin wants to know more about himself, so he goes to the library to get his hands on the untranslatable books. But suddenly he understands the launguage that those books were written in.
He takes some books from the library, and he goes on the journey with Maya, Asvin, and spikes. But once in the forest, he has an encounter with the book, and the book introduces itself as Narak, the demon hunter who defeated Danh-Gem in the ancient battle. He tells that he is his (Kirin’s father). And he defeated Danh-Gem and now his son would defeat him. Narak asks Kirin to leave Maya and Asvin along with Spikes to join the followers of Danh-Gem to help bring Danh-Gem back so he would be able to defeat him once again. With great doubt Kirin along with Spikes finds Bali, the leader of the Vanar leaving Asvin and the group.
Maya along with Asvin travel with other fellow people to find the Mantric. Mantric is a powerful wizard and he is the father of Maya. Asvin is trained on various skills, and sent on many great expeditions so that he would become ready to fight against Danh-Gem when he returns back.
Kirin and Spikes act in favour of the vanar, and show their sincerity in bringing back dark Lord. However Kirin is guided by the book on various stages to get some ancient artifacts that Narak promises will help Kirin defeat the long run.
Kirin comes to understand the way to bring Danh-Gem by translating another book which is written in ravian. To bring back Danh-Gem they are in need of 5 objects, so the rest of the books explores the ways in which those 5 objects were obtained by Bali and his comarades. On the other hand Asvin and his company are trying to stop Bali and his company for possessing the 5 objects.
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“First, a claw from the hand of the son of Katar, lord of pashans, my most faithful servant and adviser. For I will unite the pashans again. Second, the most precious gem the humans own. For the strongest passion the humans feel is greed, and through greed and power-lust will I rule their hearts, minds and lands. Third, a jinn-lamp from the sands of the west. For jinns, ifrits and rakshases are my siblings, and their world is my world. Fourth, the iron crown of the asurs. For when the asurs are united, nothing can stand before them. Fifth, and most important, bring me the Gauntlet of Tatsu, that I may ride the dragons again.”
Excerpt From: Samit Basu. “The Simoqin Prophecies: Part One of the GameWorld Trilogy”. Apple Books.
Asvin and his company go through magical mirrors in search of the Gauntlet of Tatsu. In the mountain Asvin tells about his love for Maya, and Kirin watches them with jealousy for he too loved Maya. But Bali is betrayed and left behind by Kirin, and he goes to resurect Danh-hem on the Circle of darkness. Kirin waits with the sword of shadows that Naruk had given him to slaughter the dark Lord when he comes to power.
On the Altar all the five objects are placed, and Danh-Gem returns, and when Kirin tries to strike him with the Shadow Sword it becomes clear that Danh-Gem could not be destroyed. In the climax, Danh-Gem explains his diabolical plan and a flashback is narrated by him.
“The story begins centuries ago when a young rakshas, hunting in Vrihataranya, saw a shining light a little distance away, and went closer to look. When I reached the place where I had seen the flash of light, I found a young man lying on the ground. I was hungry, and charged at him in tiger-form, but even though he could not have seen me, he sprang up and out of the way.”
“ong I chased him, but he was quick, and he had mysterious powers. He brought branches crashing down on my head – sometimes he flung me back by just pointing at me. Try as I might, I could not catch him. I was fascinated – I wanted to learn these new tricks. I chased him deep into the forest and he was lost. I knew he could be no human, that he was not of this world. I took human form, spoke to him and befriended him. His name was Narak, and he was a ravian. A low-caste apprentice who had been sent from the world the ravians were planning to leave, to see if this one was inhabitable. As we walked through the jungle, I questioned him skillfully – he revealed all he knew about the ravians and their customs. I knew right then that a new power was going to enter our world, a power that would change the world even if it did not seek to dominate it. And I was worried. I killed Narak and ate him, and then took his form. Days later, when more ravians came to our world, they found me. I told them[…]”
Excerpt From: Samit Basu. “The Simoqin Prophecies: Part One of the GameWorld Trilogy”. Apple Books.
This is how he befriended the ravians.
“Their magic in particular amazed me, and I decided to learn it. My toys, made with rakshas magic, fascinated them, and they paid me good money, money which I put to good use. And then, one day, I saw the princess Isara. I forgot everything else, and was consumed with love. I tried to abduct her in rakshas form, and she defeated me with magic but did not kill me. I returned to Asroye with a new mission in life – I resolved to win her hand. I resolved to be worthy of her. My family was powerful amongst rakshases even then. In those years, we were waging war against the armies of Ventelot, who were trying to clear Vrihataranya to set up their foolish cities. As my power grew, so did our might. I learnt all about politics and war from ravian books, and put my new knowledge to good use. We began to expand our territory, and our power grew. Slowly, as they learnt to look beyond their own territories and immediate needs, rakshases from all over the world began to flock under my banner.”
Excerpt From: Samit Basu. “The Simoqin Prophecies: Part One of the GameWorld Trilogy”. Apple Books.
“With the asurs, we rakshases conquered Imokoi and set up a rakshas kingdom there. I learnt the secret of pashan birth, and I made the asurs build giant furnaces in Imokoi. There I raised my elite pashan soldiers, and was delighted by their strength and cunning. ”
Excerpt From: Samit Basu. “The Simoqin Prophecies: Part One of the GameWorld Trilogy”. Apple Books.
“I found allies in Artaxerxia and Skuanmark – I fanned the age-old hatred that lay between these two kingdoms and Avranti and Ventelot, and used their armies to overrun Elaken and Ventelot. But I had no intention of harming the ravians. Neither did I attack Kol then, for they already had the favour of the ravians. Lord Simoqin used to travel to Kol often, and the power of the spellbinders was stabilized by his gift, the Heart of Magic.”
Excerpt From: Samit Basu. “The Simoqin Prophecies: Part One of the GameWorld Trilogy”. Apple Books.
Following this it becomes apparent that Danh-Gem acted as Narak, but he was the father of Kirin. And Kirin was born for the Ravian princess, and Danh-Gem a Raskhases. But Danh-Gem knew he could not defeat the Ravians, and he knew they would leave the world. So he waited binding his time to return to power.
“nitially. But then the idea was born in my head – why not make my own prophecy true? If the ravians fought me, I would disappear, I would return when they had gone. The Prophecy, if it were made known throughout the lands, would ensure that my followers remembered me when I returned from hiding, and that they would be ready to obey my commands. I wanted the ravians to read what I had written, for only then would my brother be avenged. So, as Narak, I returned to Asroye, with Simoqin. The fool was barely alive, and quite mad. He kept on babbling about some dream he had seen, of a mirror and a hero. He repeated this to Isara, and died.”
Excerpt From: Samit Basu. “The Simoqin Prophecies: Part One of the GameWorld Trilogy”. Apple Books.
“You will decide your own destiny from here, Kirin. You are my heir, the heir of Danh-Gem, the heir of Isara, and probably the greatest power alive on this earth. Soon I will wake your companions. The choices before you are very simple. You may leave, or you may stay. ”
Excerpt From: Samit Basu. “The Simoqin Prophecies: Part One of the GameWorld Trilogy”. Apple Books.
At the end Danh-Gem gives him a choice. He tells either he can leave or get the power for himself. Kirin once again thinking about Maya decides to keep the power. He is the master of the dragons, and Danh-Gem son Kirin had returned to power. The chief, Maya, Asvin and Mantric can feel the return of Danh-Gem’s return.
Critical Aspects:
Okay this is long novel, but the similarities are many
Kirin-sounds like Skywalker in Star Wars
Asvin- Harry Potter or a little like Don Quixote
Maya- Hermonie from Harry Potter
Spikes- the side kick
Mantric-Gandalf from Lord of the Rings or Dumbeldore( a powerful wizard)
Danh-Gem- Lord Voldemort( A book!) or Ravana
So this is a story with a mix of both western and eastern ideas. Even Vencelot is a reference to Camelot.
I will give 3.5/5 for the world building. Hoping to read the next book in the series.
