made_in_dna's review against another edition
5.0
An omnibus of freakin' awesome short pulp stories that cross cultural borders and pack plenty of humor, action, and sexy-strong gals. If you have an interest in Indian culture, traditions and social norms, this collection is a delight to read. Granted, it is fiction and takes a few liberties, but without a modicum of reality and truth, fiction wouldn't be that enjoyable.
tbr_the_unconquered's review against another edition
4.0
Southern India as much as I know is a fertile ground for pulp fiction. An entire generation of educated-but-unemployed women staved off boredom during the morose daytime hours in the company of fiction of the abovementioned genre. I have had my brush with this literary genre way before I even saw this book. The plot lines are simple but outrageously funny, the characters are nothing if not dramatic and its a fun ride.
This anthology gets four stars owing only to the fun factor. Where else can you expect to meet a dashing detective who manages to get a hard-on while listening to the villain's plan for world domination ? or a protagonist who gets a sniper rifle from his friend "Abroad" and shoots a minster outright in broad daylight ?? If you get my drift then go get the book, shut down your brain and enjoy the ride.
Such brainless fun is good for you once in a while too...
This anthology gets four stars owing only to the fun factor. Where else can you expect to meet a dashing detective who manages to get a hard-on while listening to the villain's plan for world domination ? or a protagonist who gets a sniper rifle from his friend "Abroad" and shoots a minster outright in broad daylight ?? If you get my drift then go get the book, shut down your brain and enjoy the ride.
Such brainless fun is good for you once in a while too...
tbr_the_unconquered's review
3.0
It was only natural that I would return to this series. A year or so ago, I read the first installment and liked the brainless entertainment it offered. The reading is effortless, the lines cheesy, the action non stop and the dialog unintentionally funny ! Welcome to the world of Indian pulp ! While Tamil pulp fiction might not represent the entire plethora that India has to offer, it definitely is dynamite. You get monsters, broad-chested policemen, women with swaying hips and heaving bosoms, murder, magic and mayhem to name a few ingredients in these stories.
Contrary to my usual style of writing reviews, I will not go into the details of individual stories, plots or characters. The reason is simple enough for they all rest on rather delicate clues which if given away will spoil the fun. Personally, I would recommend reading the first volume before getting into this one to get a taste of things to come.
Oh and if by any chance you do start reading them, leave your logic and reasoning safely locked up. If you let them out, they'd start screaming and raving at these poor souls !
Contrary to my usual style of writing reviews, I will not go into the details of individual stories, plots or characters. The reason is simple enough for they all rest on rather delicate clues which if given away will spoil the fun. Personally, I would recommend reading the first volume before getting into this one to get a taste of things to come.
Oh and if by any chance you do start reading them, leave your logic and reasoning safely locked up. If you let them out, they'd start screaming and raving at these poor souls !
astroprojection's review against another edition
3.0
In my immediate family, my dad is the only one with the reading proficiency to read Tamil literature, with multiple shelves devoted to his novel collection and active subscription to the websites of Tamil lit magazines like Ananda Vikatan and Thuglaq. I'm at the reading level where I can only attempt reading the titles on the covers so it's not really a hobby/interest that we've been able to discuss and share as a family. But I just really personally liked that this book helped us bridge that language divide. I was able to talk to my father about Tamil lit for the first time ever and, although it's been a while since he's read some of these authors, it was just really nice to be able to share this moment with him!
So, yes, a lot of these plots were wild, reminiscent of like B-movie Tamil movie plots, but this was the first time I actually even read anything translated to English from Tamil and I had this warm feeling of familiarity while reading.
Many of the stories were crime stories full of hard-boiled detectives and those are not super interesting to me but I hope the other volumes in this collection have other genre fiction as I'd love to read more of the romance and science fiction/fantasy stories. The one story I really really enjoyed was "Dim Lights, Blazing Hearts" by Ramanichandran, which was a contemporary-ish (dated 1997) romance that felt very Austenian, with misunderstandings, class differences, and a delicate yet lovely development of Feelings after the female protag rejects her love interest.
So, yes, a lot of these plots were wild, reminiscent of like B-movie Tamil movie plots, but this was the first time I actually even read anything translated to English from Tamil and I had this warm feeling of familiarity while reading.
Many of the stories were crime stories full of hard-boiled detectives and those are not super interesting to me but I hope the other volumes in this collection have other genre fiction as I'd love to read more of the romance and science fiction/fantasy stories. The one story I really really enjoyed was "Dim Lights, Blazing Hearts" by Ramanichandran, which was a contemporary-ish (dated 1997) romance that felt very Austenian, with misunderstandings, class differences, and a delicate yet lovely development of Feelings after the female protag rejects her love interest.
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