The spell of the Caribbean islands, (The Spell series)

The spell of the Caribbean islands, (The Spell series)
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Armies of Hanuman (Ramayana series)
For 13 years, Rama and his companions in exile have defended themselves against the brutal incursions of the rakshasas. Finally, in the bitter battle of Janasthana, he achieves the long-sought victory, retiring to the sunny glades of Panchvati to wait out the last months of exile. But unknown to Rama, the demoness Surpanakha has survived and escaped—back to the hellish island kingdom of Lanka. There, she provides the key to resurrect her stricken cousin Ravana, lord of the rakshasas. And the resurrected Ravana seeks only one thing: vengeance against Rama...
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Customer Review: PLEASE READ THE INDIAN EDITIONS INSTEAD
If you are reading my Ramayana series, then I gently urge and request you to please not buy the UK or US editions, even if they're available at bargain prices. Which they probably are, since the publishers there have more or less put the books out of print, due to a lack of interest by non-Indian readers. The Indian editions are the definitive editions of my work, containing a lengthy Introduction by me titled 'Retelling the Ramayana', which provides an essential perspective on the work, the final versions of all the books--including some small but significant changes, particularly in some book endings--no glossary, thank God, and are generally the best-edited, designed and published versions, in my opinion at least. In short, they're the Author's Preferred Edition, particularly the new hardcover omnibus editions, which represent the story in the way I had originally intended and are truly sumptuous to hold (and behold). Also, significantly, they aren't packaged as 'Fantasy' or 'SF' like the firang ones, which is a ridiculously transparent attempt at cashing in on the commercial success of the fantasy genre a la LoTR and Harry Potter. Please, people, my Ramayana series is a retelling of an epic, and that's exactly what it should be called, 'Epic'. I'd venture to call it 'Itihasa', but even Mythology, which is the label Penguin uses for the books here in India, is acceptable. But certainly not Fantasy as in one of the ubiquitous Tolkien rip-offs that are churned out in droves by western publishers, or even SF, both genres that can sometimes be wonderful in their own right, but are totally inappropriate in the context of an epic that pre-dates Tolkien by some thousands of years, and the entire tradition of western literature as well! Frankly, I feel so strongly about this that I'd even go so far as to say, if you can't get the Indian editions, then don't read the books! That's why I'm currently in the process of re-acquiring the rights to the US and UK editions and they will soon be out of print everywhere but India. Which is how it ought to be: this is a quintessentially Indian story, written by a contemporary Indian for other contemporary Indians to read. And the Indian editions are really the only way to go. Ashok K. Banker www.ashokbanker.com
Customer Review: Not as good as its predecessors, but still amazing!
This book wasn't as good as I expected it to be, and by Banker's standards, it was definitely below his usual talent. I especially didn't like the description of Hanuman as a scrawny, small vanar without any confidence. I also expected a mace fight between the exiled vanar king Sugriva and the evil usurper Vali. But no, instead, Sugriva never encounters Vali in a one-on-one, and the usurper is killed in a different fashion (how I will not tell you). However, that is not to say that the book is bad. In fact, if you did not have as high of expectations as I did, you will really enjoy it. The book starts off with the riveting conclusion to the Battle of Janasthana (which goes on for seven, awesome chapters). The abduction of Sita is superbly written, and I could read that part over and over again and still get chills. All in all, this book is highly recommended, but keep in mind (for those Ramayana fans) that this book does have its flaws.