Inkredia - Luwan of Brida
- Sarang Mahajan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Note: I was offered a copy by the publisher in exchange of an honest review
I must confess that when the publisher approached me to review the book (through Goodreads), I was a bit excited, even though I could see that they had approached a number of people and I was in no way special. Yet, I first checked out what it was about (nope, not even the offer of a free book is enough to commit to the time and effort required for reading and reviewing). It seemed quite interesting – a thrilling journey set in a fantasy world. Moreover, it is heartening to see Indian writers venturing into different genres, and it looked like the kind of story that can elicit a wider response beyond Indian readers.
Once I started reading it, I finished it in a few hours (thanks to a mid-week holiday with no other demands on my time). It is an entertaining fantasy tale, complete with sorcerers and fantastic creatures, magic, talismans, and an unknowing, simple-minded person thrown into the midst of a dark and dangerous quest.
My usual style of “review” does not give a synopsis of the story, I feel any interested person can gather it from the book blurb, and if not, there are several other reviews that summarize the plot. I tend to write more about what thoughts I had in mind while reading the book, and what were the things that interested me or frustrated me. Once in a while, I do add a brief summary, to help a reader make sense of what I am going to say.
Inkredia is a vast, powerful empire, and the protagonist, Luwan, is a 17-year old boy, living in its remote mountain village called Brida. It is an inhospitable land, ruled by a cruel, tyrant lord named Gruwak. Luwan’s parents are dead, and his only family now is his elder sister Meg. On her deathbed, his mother gave him two heirlooms – a red book, and a black pendant with a silver spiral. Unable to pay the tax demanded by Gruwak, Luwan rebels, and then, fearing for their lives, he and his sister flee the village, taking nothing but his heirlooms and the little money Meg has saved. There is more to it, of course, than meets the eye, and soon he is embroiled deep into mysteries that he has no time to give thought to – chased by powerful and merciless Ghork Riders, he is too busy fighting for his life.
The story appears to have drawn some inspiration from other classic fantasy books. Lord of the Rings inspiration is indicated by the similarity in the way places are named, and the lead characters are addressed. Ghork riders specifically bear a resemblance to the Nazgul, and “nashques” to “the rings”. Though this is not necessarily a negative, and not just for the fact that LOTR is not everyone’s cup of tea. The Red Book is somewhat reminiscent of Tom Riddle’s diary, and coming face to face with legendary characters only heard in childhood stories reminds me of Tales of Beedle the Bard. Yet, Inkredia has its own flavor, it creates a world of its own, and a fast paced, engaging narrative. The flow is smooth, and in spite of the inspiration, the build-up is imaginative. It sets up the stage for subsequent books nicely, creating an interest with mysteries laid out and a premonition of evil looming ahead.
I think it can be quite appealing to middle graders, who are ready for a thrilling, if gory, adventure, but not mature enough for a highly complex universe like LOTR. For a relatively mature reader, it can be a light, enjoyable read, but not with the same kind of appeal. The style is simplistic, at times with redundant statements. I would consider it a YA fantasy, but even so, it can be made crisper. A discerning reader would find that the author “tells” us things, rather than “show”. Consider this – “Klaurus took a fistful of bone dust from his pocket and sprinkled it into the goblet, then sang a long and dark incantation”. If it was LOTR, for example, instead of “sang a long and dark incantation”, we would actually have a page or so of a song with a dark foreboding, not fully understandable in high likelihood. It also appears that the author has written with a screen adaptation in mind – on one page I counted three “fade-out” scenes :D
One great shortcoming, I felt, was that for the kind of fantasy that this is (or aims to be), the main protagonist(s) are weak character(s), showing little initiative of their own. In the early stages, they need to depend on their friend Narjo, and thereafter, they almost entirely bank on Kiliarn’s skills. While Luwan demonstrates bravery at several points, his sister Meg shows very few strengths. She is a typical damsel-in-distress for most part, and her cowardice puts others at grave risk. However, this is only the first part of the series, and I hope that the characters will evolve in the sequels.
Some things left me baffled – The Red Book had considerable significance in the first half, even though its manifestation was very simplistic (the riddles didn’t really seem puzzling). However, it didn’t have any mention in the second half. The dream that Luwan has, in the beginning of the story, is not explained (at least not yet), and it’s not clear whether the event actually took place in an alternative universe, or whether it was a foreboding. The latter may be addressed in later books, but the former can’t be undone.
Ideally, I shouldn’t have had to mention it, but I am glad to say that this is very well edited compared to other debut works by Indian authors I have come across. All in all, a promising start, and I do hope that the plot and style will evolve along the series.
The Princess Bride 
