“Shah Jahan’s empire lay sprawled below me like a painted map feathered with dark forest and threaded with road, stretched across the rocky table of the earth. The lamp of the sun was still hidden behind the edge of that table, though its light had begun to creep up the vaulted tent of the heavens, weakening the pinholes of the stars. The cobweb of clouds had torn apart after the rain, and hung threadbare in the dawn.”
if you are looking for a spooky, gory, sexy, queer (i mean gay AND weird), unique story i really recommend “the devourers” by Indra Das. It is not often that I reach the final section of a book and am unsure of its ending with an inability to guess. What a delight, to be lead along a journey without foreseeing the end!
I will give a content / trigger warning about a rape that is a central plot point. It is not graphic, but is one of the suns this story orbits (others include: the nature of love, regret, loneliness, family). This novel breathes rare air as a book that skillfully interrogates our culture of pervasive sexual violence, its causes and effects (on individuals, on the stories we tell), without justifying or glamoring oft covered up grotesque realities. Characters approach the best and worst of humanity from many angles, and with a little help from your local library, you could join them on their journey.
Lani.Tech 