Krishna
Here I go Gedge again!
This is a sequel to the House of Dreams, where the story of Concubine Thu continues. It starts off brilliantly and continues the pace almost to the end of the book.
The story unfolds through the narrations of three people – Kamen, a young warrior, Kaha the scribe who comes in the first book, and finally by Thu herself. The story is told in an engaging fashion, and many of the characters who populate it, like Hui the Seer, Paiis, his brother the General, Hunro the concubine, the crown prince, the Pharaoh, old and ailing now, are all the same as the first book. In spite of the characters being the same, this story stands on its own and you do not have to have read the first book for this to make sense. But if you have read the first book, you will know the history of these characters and that makes for a richer experience in reading this book. For example, the reminiscences
of Thu are more interesting if you have read the first book.
The first book, though, gives you the impression of a real story, if you simply look at the story shorn of all the adornments of storytelling that Gedge employs adroitly. But this book sometimes sounds like a Hollywood movie of revenge and retribution, and so, in my opinion, lacks full credibility. (But talking of improbability, most of Wilbur Smith’s books can be accused of the same deficiency.)
The narration is well told and the suspense is almost palpable at various places in the book. The ending is very strange and left me with a feeling of somehow being not satisfied. (That could have been just
my expectations).
I think that this book merits a 7/10
— Krishna