2 out of 4 stars
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As a "modern independent girl," Oormila or Mila goes against a marriage proposal from her mother and elder brother. And now, they've all abandoned her, including her dad who, while growing up, "egged her to indulge in whatever she wanted." All alone and holed up in the imposing double-story bungalow that used to be the family home, she is now without warning experiencing fainting spells, but this is only the beginning of a series of attempts on her life orchestrated by the spurned groom.
The novel Daisies and Dragon Slayers of the Equator by Penny Singham is classified under the Sci-fi/ Historical Fantasy genre. And while I think this information offers a clue in making head or tail of this novel, it may also be a setback as the plot doesn't yield as easily. This is because the author, Penny, has taken tremendous leeway in the historical narrative that it quickly becomes apparent it may be superfluous as far as building an impeccable background to his story is concerned. Frankly, it took me a lot of patience in keeping up with his worldbuilding, with chapter one, for example, comprising of eight disjointed parts and covering almost one-third of the novel. Due to this, he ended up compromising in introducing and developing his characters and conflict early enough. Consequently, he constrained the tension or excitement till way into the second half of the novel.
When the storyline does get compelling, we get to understand the protagonist, Mila, better. She moves from a space of "adoring her mother because of her treasure trove of knowledge" to going against her when the issue of an arranged marriage crops up. This speaks volumes about her integrity, notwithstanding that the intended groom, Kevin Venkat Kandasamy (VK), is wealthy and of noble blood, and easily able to sway her character. On their first date, for example, he spends lavishly on her and crowns the day with a $50K-billboard advertisement uttering the words: "Oormila, will you marry me?"
Despite a gripping storyline, I felt the author didn't do a good job in controlling the pacing of the story. His dialogue, for example, had irrelevant information that can be classified as routine or not too interesting and therefore made the storyline slacken. For example, he doesn’t have to point out to the reader to an impending dialogue where he uses such phrases like: "...the following ensued." Or including plain greetings in the dialogue: "Shan: Hello Dr. Ratnam (Mila's father), how are you?
Dr. Ratnam: I'm o.k. How's everything with you?
Shan: Fine, thank you."
In my opinion, a more pared-down approach to the dialogue would be more appropriate.
I could describe the author's tone as animated. He is vibrant whilst pursuing the themes of forced marriages, dilution of indigenous culture due to modern cultural influences and sorcery. Indeed, the book cover and book title are an allusion to the latter. His historical narratives, as mentioned earlier, were confusing and spasmodic, so I didn't find a subject I could assess for historical accuracy. However, the major weakness of the novel has to do with its editing. As a self-published novel, it didn't seem to be professionally edited. I found grammatical mistakes, missing punctuation marks, run-on sentences, misspelled names, and a repetition of a paragraph. And while I wouldn't recommend the book now because of the mentioned weaknesses, I think the writer has a passion for storytelling. I enjoyed, for example, his broad vocabulary and prolific style. I rate the novel 2 out of 4 stars.
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Daisies and Dragon Slayers In The Equator
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