Homepage
Reviews

BOOK REVIEW: Cult of Chaos by Shweta Taneja

Indian writers creating the word of fantasy is rare. Mostly are busy writing of what happened in past, but Shweta Taneja’s Cult of Chaos— a fantasy sprinkled with the touches of dystopia is indeed an attraction to a reader.

Since the time I received the book, the cover meticulously designed, I knew this book will be a good one to read. To arouse my interest, I read first few pages and was amazed by the amount of humour used.

The story is set in Delhi and surroundings, which has been taken in upon by a different society. A society with humans as well as devas, asuras and more importantly Tantriks of different clans. They have their own council, police and justice systems. Each clan has its own set of followers but Anantya, a bright young Tantrist is taken in by the road to independence. She is powerful and lives life by her own strict moral code. Her glory lies in the help of humans and her own from where a new enemy has arisen. Incidentally, hell and chaos is just where the world is headed.

In Delhi, little girls are being sacrificed in a tantrik ritual. A desperate daeva is trying to blackmail Anantya. Someone is trying to call up the God of Chaos. A three-headed giant cobra turns up in old Delhi. The White and Red tantriks are facing off, and there is one or more Black tantric brewing some dangerous shakti (power). As Anantya struggles to stop the madness, the supernatural underworld – peopled with creatures humanoid, barely human and inhuman, comes alive in all its bloody, gory glory. If humour is not enough, the supernatural stuff touch might do the work for you.

The downside of the story is the Bollywood touch that author has experimented with, which after a point becomes platitudinise. Moreover, the momentum of the plot is lost somewhere in between at times because of it.

The setting of the story is what I liked the most. The reader who is familiar with city of Delhi will find it quite fantastic as much as the one who is not much familiar. Author has done her readers justice by keeping the language comfortable and inducing characters in the plot with the constant build-up.

3.5 out of 5!

Author’s Bio: Shweta Taneja is an author with a weakness for the occult, the eccentric and the oral traditions of Indian mythology. Her latest book Cult of Chaos is a tantrik detective fantasy based in Delhi. Find more of her at www.shwetawrites.com or @shwetawrites

Check out the book: Cult of Chaos, an Anantya Tantrist mystery on AMAZON or FLIPKART.

Check out the Guest Post she wrote for Confessions of a Readaholic: Five procrastinations in writing and how to strike them down

View Comments

athling2001 says: April 12, 2015 at 12:09 AM Great cover!
Hp20508 says: April 12, 2015 at 11:47 PM Hey Aman, usually I don't read this type of books but this sounds interesting. I could may be check it out. Anyways, Thanks for sharing! :)
thewolfofstarbucks says: April 13, 2015 at 12:29 AM I nominated you to for the Versatile Blogger Award!! :) Click on the link for more info: https://thewolfofstarbucks.wordpress.com/2015/04/11/the-versatile-blogger-award-2/
The Chaos Realm says: April 14, 2015 at 11:30 PM Ha, I was just thinking YESTERDAY about wanting to read a fantasy book set in India...and then you reviewed this book...adding it to my to-read list on Goodreads :-) Happy Serendipity!

Great cover!

Aman(@amanhimself) says: April 12, 2015 at 3:30 PM I know.

I know.

Hey Aman, usually I don't read this type of books but this sounds interesting. I could may be check it out.

Anyways, Thanks for sharing! :)

Aman(@amanhimself) says: April 14, 2015 at 3:56 PM Sure. You're welcome!

Sure. You're welcome!

I nominated you to for the Versatile Blogger Award!! :) Click on the link for more info: https://thewolfofstarbucks.wordpress.com/2015/04/11/the-versatile-blogger-award-2/

Aman(@amanhimself) says: April 14, 2015 at 3:56 PM Thanks :)

Thanks :)

Ha, I was just thinking YESTERDAY about wanting to read a fantasy book set in India...and then you reviewed this book...adding it to my to-read list on Goodreads :-) Happy Serendipity!

Aman(@amanhimself) says: April 15, 2015 at 10:26 AM I hope you enjoy reading it. What a chance! :)

I hope you enjoy reading it. What a chance! :)

BOOK REVIEW: Elephants in the Room by Suraj Laxminarayanan What is a better crime fiction novel where a crime revolves around not the detective…
BOOK REVIEW: Unforeseen by Chandan Sen Gupta Cleverly woven plots are often a delight for me to read. There are many factors…
#BookReview: Dystopia by Manoj Jain With a peculiar cover Manoj Jain, this is his 5th book release. I have read some…

What is a better crime fiction novel where a crime revolves around not the detective…

Cleverly woven plots are often a delight for me to read. There are many factors…

With a peculiar cover Manoj Jain, this is his 5th book release. I have read some…

BOOK REVIEW: Elephants in the Room by Suraj Laxminarayanan

What is a better crime fiction novel where a crime revolves around not the detective who tries to fit pieces…

Book Reviews
Books

BOOK REVIEW: Unforeseen by Chandan Sen Gupta

Cleverly woven plots are often a delight for me to read. There are many factors why I like these type…

Book Reviews
Books
Fiction

#BookReview: Dystopia by Manoj Jain

With a peculiar cover Manoj Jain, this is his 5th book release. I have read some of his work in the…

Books

#BookReview: Influencer by Brittany Hennessy

Brittany Hennessy does a great job on writing a book about that targets Instagram as the platform to promote your…

Book Reviews
Books
Non-Fiction

#BookReview: How To Earn $10,000 While Learning To Code by Rob Percival

Learning how to code is a common asset these days for the interested ones. As a full-time software engineer and…

blog
Blogging Tips
Books

Ten Day Book Blog Posts Challenge #1

One of the hardest thing about blogging is consistently writing and publish blog posts and for that, you have to…

BOOK REVIEW: Cult of Chaos by Shweta Taneja - Confessions of a Readaholic