Review: The Destiny of Shaitan

This is a book I've been waiting for.

Oh, I didn't know this author or that she was creating this book, but I have been wanting a fantasy novel set in an Indian-based world for years! I even tried to write one once, but I have no skill in the fantasy genre. I'm so glad that this book was created.

Now, unfortunately, the point of view is one of my least favorite possible. First person and present tense. Present tense is very difficult to do well and it feels much more contrived than the recent past that we're so used to reading in novels. (It's, in fact, easy to not realize one is reading past tense because it feels so natural, but if you pick up a book and look at the verb to be it will almost always be "was" rather than "is.") For me this makes it very difficult to get immersed in the story. I struggled with that a lot, however that is probably just a personal quirk!

I'm always impressed with the imagination it takes to make whole worlds and galaxies come to life. I have to congratulate the author on her creativity! The blend of ancient and future was very cool. I look forward to more books that bring Indian mythology and aesthetic into fantasy settings.

With this book, your enjoyment will depend a lot on taste, so I would suggest checking out the sample to see what you think. Also, as I am an official stop on the author's blog tour, I am participating in a giveaway!
It is tour wide and ends Nov. 25th. Click the link to enter... a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here is the description from the author:

Background: The Destiny of Shaitan, the first novel in The Chronicle of The Three series is a coming of age story, about a girl who falls in love only to realise that to be truly happy, she has to first find herself. Set in 3000 AD, when the galaxy is populated by humans as well as a half human, half alien race called half lives, this novel, tracks the protagonists from five to seventeen years old. 

Synopsis: When Tiina accompanies her ex-boyfriend Yudi on a mission to save the universe from the ruthless Shaitan, she seeks more than the end of the tyrant; she seeks herself. Driven by greed and fear for his own survival, Shaitan bulldozes his way through the galaxy, destroying everything in his path. Tiina wants Yudi to eliminate Shaitan, thus fulfilling the prophecy of the powerful autocrat being killed by his son, but she finds that Yudi is hesitant to do so. The final showdown between Yudi and Shaitan has unexpected consequences, for Shaitan will do anything in his power to win the fight—including getting rid of Tiina. The stakes are high and the combatants determined. Will Shaitan's ultimate destiny be fulfilled?

Return to 7 Islands, (Chronicle of The Three, #2): The Destiny of Shaitan, ends with Tiina, leaving everything she knows—including Yudi and the world she helped save from Shaitan—in search of herself.  The second novel in the series, titled Return to 7 Islands, follows Tiina as she lands in a futuristic Bombay—now  reduced by a tsunami to its original seven islands—and helps Rai, in defending his childhood orphanage from the clutches of Sharmila, Shaitan's daughter. As she struggles to come to terms with her origins in an attempt to understand herself better, she discovers a surprise about her past.