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I actually finished reading this weeks ago but have only just got round to writing this review because I didn’t really know what I wanted to say. Some of you will remember that I read my first Dan Simmons novel towards the end of last year (my review is here) and that I absolutely loved it. The Song of Kali is a trickier proposition.
So the American poet Robert Luczak has been commissioned by a magazine to write an article about the Indian poet M. Das, who appeared to be dead but has now resurfaced with a new work. Luczak’s wife is Indian, so she and their baby daughter accompany him to Calcutta to locate Das and see if a deal to publish the new poetry can be worked out. And then, of course, it all goes horribly wrong.
Has Das come back from the dead? Is there going to be a new age of Kali where violence and destruction hold sway? Will the Luczak family get out of all of this unscathed?
This seems to me to be much more of a horror than a fantasy work; it’s incredibly dark, grim, violent and really, really disturbing in places. I struggled to finish it despite the fact that it is so well written, because it is pretty compelling stuff which lodges in your mind, and actually I wasn’t sure that I really did want to know how things were going to work out.
This is very much an acquired taste, and was my first read for the Once Upon a Time III challenge.
This week we will answer some crazy questions brought to you by Berleen & Kimber via phone & Skype conference, the color mango and the number 70566.
1. What color is your front door? White with glass panels
2. We discussed our folks in previous TT so now tell me about your siblings. Two brothers, both younger. Went to see a football match with the eldest (oldest?) one on Saturday and had a whale of a time. Seems better than ever now we are all over 40.
3. What color/type butterfly is your favorite? Red Admiral, have absolutely no idea why as I all I ever seem to see are Cabbage Whites. Glad you didn’t ask about moths (ugh!)
4. Will you be celebrating Cinco De Mayo? Nope
5. Oprah- love her, hate her, or don’t care? Don’t care
6. Are you worried about the spread of swine flu? Not really, these things happen
7. Hard or soft pillows? Soft pillows that can be scrunched up as necessary.
8. How many trees are in your neighbor’s yard? None
9. What was the color of the last car you saw? Silver
10. When does your driver’s license expire? Can’t drive so don’t have one.
11. Look at the clock on your computer and type the numbers backwards. 3391
12. When you put your pants on, what leg do you put in first? Right leg (I think, but now I’m not so sure…..)
13. How would you respond to this letter if you were an advice columnist? I could never be an advice columnist, my track record on dispensing advice is really, really poor. Your best bet would be to listen to what I have to say and go do the opposite. Not even going to try with this one.
Bride of the Book God 