Sons of Darkness

by Gourav Mohanty

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Epic fantasy and a pirate princess steeped in Indian folklore make for the downright stunning Sons of Darkness, a debut sure to endear itself to a multitude of fans. Dynamic characters and death-defying adventures tie together what is a Game of Thrones-esque narrative world with so much more to come.

THE HOUSE OF THE DRAGON MEETS SUCCESSION IN AN EPIC REIMAGINING OF THE MAHABHARATA

'An unforgettable wild journey set in re-imagined Vedic India' SF Book Review
'Like Game of Thrones in an Indian alternative universe... exhilarating... heralds the arrival of a special new talent' Dan Jones
'Mahabharata imbued with A Song of Ice and Fire, The First Law, & Malazan Book of the Fallen' Novel Notions

SOME BALLADS ARE INKED IN BLOOD

The Mathuran Republic simmers on the brink of oblivion, and Senator Krishna and his third wife Satyabhama have put their plans in motion to protect it from total annihilation. But they soon discover that neither gold nor alliances last forever – and they are not the only players on the board...

Mati, Pirate-Princess of Kalinga, has decided to change her ways and become a good wife. But old habits die hard, especially when one habitually uses murder to settle scores. Beautiful Karna hopes to bury his brutal past, but destiny is a miser when it comes to granting second chances. And while hero-turned-torturer Shakuni limps through a path of daggers, his foes and woes multiply, leaving little time for vengeance.

Their lives are about to become yet more difficult, as they converge where the Son of Darkness is prophesied to rise... even as forgotten Gods prepare to play their hand.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781035900251
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	01/14/2025
Pages:	688
Sales rank:	739,009
Product dimensions:	5.08(w) x 7.79(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Gourav Mohanty was born, and currently lives, in Bhubaneswar, the City of Temples. A connoisseur of mythologies and momos, he's been certified as a nerd ever since he graduated as a gold medallist from law school. He keeps things interesting by daylighting as a lawyer, moonlighting as a stand-up comic and gaslighting as a storyteller. Sons of Darkness is his first novel.

Editorial Reviews

Through humour, torture, gore, lust, magic, dangerous power games and bloodcurdling battles, Sons of Darkness takes us on an unforgettable wild journey set in re-imagined Vedic India.” —SF BOOK REVIEW

“Remarkable characterization and vivid worldbuilding bolster this riveting epic fantasy.” —Kirkus Reviews

“The sprawling scope of the epics with all the brutal and bleak nature of your favorite grimdarks. Complex geopolitical drama, strife, and military battles to rival the greats of the genre and will have you sitting by the seat of your pants. You're going to want to read this dark South Asian fantasy infused to the brim with Mahabharata and Malazan's DNA.” —R.R. Virdi

“In vivid prose, Mohanty combines ghastly tortures, sly political machinations, throbbing romance, and eerie religious and social rites into a demanding but rewarding epic and sets the stage for even more gasps in a coming sequel. This is an impressive feat” —Publishers Weekly

“Sons of Darkness is outstanding. Brutal, lyrical and imaginative, it is an inspired mix of mythology and grimdark fantasy that I just couldn't put down.” —Shauna Lawless

“An incredible debut that showcases the darkness of human hearts but also the heroic nature that resides within... easily one of the best epic fantasy debuts of the last decade & more” —Fantasy Book Critic

“Like Game of Thrones in an Indian alternative universe, Sons Of Darkness is an exhilarating, imaginative, genre-busting mash-up of high fantasy, timeless myth and ancient history, which heralds the arrival of a special new talent and a gripping new series in historical fantasy.” —Dan Jones

“The author's vision, and the world he has created is breathtaking and fascinating. The Indian Fantasy Fiction genre finally comes of age with this book.” —Anand Neelakantan, bestselling author of Asura and The Bahubali Series

“A stunning debut. Gourav Mohanty is the new voice of dark fantasy” —Michael R. Fletcher

“With bold and gut-wrenching twists, Gourav Mohanty fuses passion for gritty modern fantasy with the greatest epic ever told, delivering a fresh and page-turning spin on the Mahabharata. This is a series to watch!” —Philip Chase

“Mahabharata imbued with A Song of Ice and Fire, The First Law, & Malazan Book of the Fallen, Sons of Darkness is the best fantasy debut of 2022. The unbreached bastion for grimdark fantasy literature in India has been breached with Mohanty as the lead, and nothing can stop the novel from encompassing the entire world now.” —Novel Notions

“Sons of Darkness contains all the trappings of a high adventure. The saga is perfect for fans of Game of Thrones” —Midwest Book Review

“A wild, intriguing work of fantasy that will keep you glued from the beginning till the end.” —Online Book Club

“Sons of Darkness smashes open the fountain of originality, spilling insidious plot, incredible characters, and grim violence. I loved this book.” —Fanfi Addict

“Vast and sweeping in scale, even while it is attentive to the minutia of its characters motivations and inner lives, Sons of Darkness is a fresh new, grimdark fantasy built on old bones and perfect for those who love their stories epic and their worlds unique!” —Reedsy

“Nothing says summer like reading about a bunch of morally dubious people literally stabbing each other in the back!” —Winter is Coming

“House of Dragons meets Succession” —The Debut Digest

“A totally brilliant novel by a new force in historical fantasy… a saga of magic, deadly politics, war and outrageous ambition, superbly written. This is historical fantasy at its very best” —Historical Novel Review

From the Publisher

11/06/2023

Mohanty debuts with a hefty grimdark fantasy re-telling of the Mahabharata, inspired in part by Game of Thrones. He wisely supplies a list of characters and a map at the front of the novel to help readers wrangle the vast cast of, in Mohanty’s words, “real people faced with impossible choices,” and the several small kingdoms making up his “Narnia of India.” Made up of stories within stories, the tale fleshes out the history of a deadly 10-year war—thousands of years after the fact—and the ensuing fragile armistice between the once wealthy Republic of Mathura and the neighboring totalitarian Magadhan Empire. Now led by handsome former cowherd Krishna, who covertly works to abolish the ancient caste system, Mathura nears the end of its resources while the Empire threatens to resume hostilities, joined by strange allies from across various castes and even ancient Greece. In vivid prose, Mohanty combines ghastly tortures, sly political machinations, throbbing romance, and eerie religious and social rites into a demanding but rewarding epic and sets the stage for even more gasps in a coming sequel. This is an impressive feat. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

12/02/2023

DEBUT Inspired by George R.R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series and Indian mythology, this grimdark fantasy novel kicks off with a powerful prologue and then proceeds to follow a large cast of morally gray characters, including some from the epic Mahabharata. Witness the cunning of Krishna, the unflinching courage and loyalty of Satyabhama, the independence of the pirate princess Mati, the honor of Shishupal as a man who is tired of the games played by the powerful and the proud, and many more besides. Altogether, their riveting stories provide an original twist on classic mythology. The magic system of chakras and mandalas is seamlessly woven into a rich world, and the story smartly explores themes of ambition and vengeance. VERDICT This tome of a book is a slow-burning and sprawling epic where the reader's patience is well-rewarded by the fluid prose, the complex geo-political intrigue, and the harrowing war sequences. The saga is equal parts valor and depraved desperation, and the bleak violence is by no means for the faint of heart, though it will appeal to fans of Joe Abercrombie and Steven Erikson.—Andrea Dyba

Library Journal