A review by surdiablo
Song of Kali by Dan Simmons

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I have to admit, I found it difficult at first to write this review due to the controversial nature of this book and the conflicted feelings I had after finishing it. I have heard before that the author has made bigoted remarks in the past, but I frankly don't know much it and I generally try to separate art from artist. With that being said, I'm afraid the concerns or criticisms regarding this book being xenophobic are true and I do not say that just because he mentions the caste system or poverty or whatsoever. 

I will mention what I liked first. Racism/xenophobia/stereotypes aside, it's a well-written, disturbing, visceral psychological horror novel. You can feel palpable dread throughout the whole story to the point that it felt very suffocating. You can feel the protagonist's despair during crucial times and my heart pretty much sank during a key moment near the end. There were some excellent horror sequences that kept me on edge and also wondering if everything was real or not.
The message about finding hope was fitting and I am glad the story ended on an optimistic note
regardless of how dark it was overall. It's more of an atmospheric/psychological horror however and not your typical ghost story with jumpscares so keep that in mind if you want to check it out.

Now the things I didn't like or the reasons for me to consider it xenophobic, besides the obvious degrading descriptions about 'brown people'. First of all, I found the whole thing taking place in India and the use of Kali as an evil power unnecessary. Unnecessary in the sense that you could just change the location to some countryside, replace Kali with some cult hiding around doing creepy things, and it would still be an excellent horror novel. The author maintains a disturbing atmosphere very well as I mentioned earlier, except it was done by reinforcement of stereotypes and the perversion of a Hindu goddess, the execution of the latter which I found rather distasteful, even as an atheist. I didn't like that there was no resolution regarding the
cultists and their plans
but I can look over it since it wasn't the point, which brings me to the main criticism I have. For a story that ends with message of
finding hope and ignoring Song of Kali, to focus on other songs,to do good things, there's simply no hope for people of Calcutta at all.
From the beginning to end, Calcutta was just bashed as a city of evil with no redemption whatsoever.
So the protagonist wants to think about hope but at the same time, nuke the city? Of course, I understand he might feel that way after what happened there but you see
, there was never any attempt from the author to humanize literally anything in the city from the beginning. Yes, I know that the character's view doesn't necessarily fit the author, but the whole book just felt like a tirade about how the city and people in it sucks throughout the whole read. It felt like he went way beyond what was necessary, especially if it was just to set the atmosphere. Funny enough, regardless of my rant so far, I wasn't really offended by anything in particular, but that doesn't mean it was okay at all so I felt the need to mention this. It's a shame honestly since he seems like a wonderful writer otherwise. If you are not a Hindu and got a thick skin, with a penchant for good psychological horror, you might like this.
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