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Sunday, October 11, 2015

Among the Stars: A collection of short stories by Dhasa Sathyan : A Review



BOOK TITLE: Among the Stars: A collection of short stories
ISBN-13: 978-9352062225
AUTHOR: Dhasa Sathyan
GENRE: Fiction / Short Stories
NUMBER OF PAGES: 244
FORMAT: Digital
SERIES / STANDALONE: Standalone
REVIEW BY: Dhivya Balaji
HOW I GOT THIS BOOK: The author sent me a PDF copy for review.
SUMMARY:
          What would you give to know your future? What happens when poison becomes your only elixir? Does happily ever after exist for real? Does love transcend time and death? What would it take to make you kill your closest?
          “Among the stars” is a collection of stories that answer such questions we seldom ask aloud, as it treads along the gossamer thread that separates reality and fantasy, life and death, a hero and a villain.
          Arjun listens to the stories from his favourite hero, his dad - a magician who could spin stories that make the world disappear. Stories that change the way the world seems. The collection also portrays the magical relationship between a story teller and his faithful audience and how we hold our story tellers in our hearts as they shape us into who we are.
“Among the Stars they lie,
Our loved ones - they never die.
Spread your arms and fly
Far, far away into the starlit sky.”
REVIEW:
          A book that is unique, rare and a breath of fresh air from some of the books I have been reading of late.
First Impression:
          Since this is the digital copy, I do not have much of an opinion about the print and the pages (well, captain obvious, that is me!)
          But in the PDF I was give, the font was comfortably readable and I was really amazed with the clarity of Tamil verses. Dhasa Sathyan has done an amazing job and being a native of that state, I am slightly elated (yeah, somehow, somewhere) to read those rare bits of the language in an English book.
Now for a little more detail:
          I have always held that short story books need a lesser attention span than needed for novels. While they are not my most favourite genre, I still do love to read an occasional short story book in between novels. But some short story compilations keep you turning the pages in an eager thirst to know what comes next. Among the Stars was (mostly) such a book.
          The moment I started the book, I knew that writing an overall review without mentioning individual stories would be a difficult task. So this review is going to be a compilation of all the thoughts I wrote down as I finished reading each story. I have given with this review, the unedited version of the same. (There are a total of 22 stories)
Among The Stars
          If this is considered the first story of this collection, this captured my attention with a verse and somehow, set the pace for the book in a nice manner.
Why Do Babies Cry
          Good concept and thinking, but it takes some time to realise what the whole story is about. Death and Rebirth cycles are always much debated concepts and sceptics and cynics will find alternate view points about the story.
The Escape Route
          The first story of this lot that actually impressed me. Good one, thought it follows all the requirements of this genre, I really loved the description of the ‘nemesis of time’.
Distance Matters
          A beautiful, heart touching story. It is amazing how a simple story can connect with the readers on a deeper level - not only because the words are powerful, but also because the writing is powerful.
The Block
          This is a thrilling story about the ways and actions of the people of the underworld. It is written in crisp language with a good twist in the end. It also made a positive impression with me about the writing style though it brought an old ‘Goosebumps’ story to my mind.
Dream Of A Lifetime
          The flashback story had some second person and third person continuity errors, but still, enjoyable, per se. The blinding light and the overall beauty of the story really did touch my heart.
Free As A Bird
          Both heroes and villains are made, not born. And sometimes their fates are intertwined so much that they are made and fade together. Enough said about this story. I really loved the ending and the strong message.
The Mission
          I loved this story. Especially the end. And the father's description of a beast. This will be one of my favorites from this book.
Blood Money
          A good story with a message. I loved the writing and though it was confusing a bit, the story and the message it conveyed were good. Arjun's words in the ending were heartening.
The Muse
          I have always wondered about how people write touching and engaging stories. While the muse is not common to everyone, I still liked the way they were described.
Into Oblivion
          A very good story with a lesson in the ending. A beautiful piece of writing, and somehow painful and stinging the conscious.
The Lone Soldier
          Life is not black and white. It is a murky grey. A brilliantly written story that left a bitter taste in my mouth.
First Kiss
          I had been forewarned about this story before I read this, and though the end surprised me, I had kind of expected it to be horrific. Convoluted ending on an age old folklore.
The Fork
          My favorite of the lot. This one is the classic example of choices defining the ending. An amazing piece of write up. I have read way too many ghost stories to be caught unawares but still, this one was a really pleasant twisty end.
Poison Elixir
          What do you do with an ailment that keeps you awake? What do you do with a poison that is also an elixir. What do you do with something that you know is your life force and is also killing you? Another nicely written story.
The One Who Never Was
          The story already is titled in such a way that you could easily guess the ending. The one who never was is a story about the one who could have been. While the chalking was nice, the unknown reason is still not the right conclusion to this story. Could have been written better using a literary license.
The Hitchhiker
          Another favorite. Though this one is macabre, kudos to the author for writing this. I will never look at an orange the same way again.
Happily Ever After
          A story that connected with me on a personal level. Written nicely and a bittersweet tone to show exactly how uncontrollable life actually is.
The Uncertainty Factor
          Is the cat meant to be up on the wall? What would happen if you knew your future? Will worrying about it help? A great story with a good ending. This is how stories should be written.
Coin Flip
          A story that deals with the psychological effects of disciplining a child by caning. Subtly written, and nicely phrased. The gory ending caught me off guard.
Tear Of Love
          With this story the author has proved that he can write multiple genres. Though a bit paranormal, the story still holds a melancholic closure, a poignant sadness.
The Second Genesis
          Somehow, I found this story the hardest to complete in the whole book. And this story was the only one that delayed my reading. Not because it was six times longer than the other stories, not because it was split into many parts, but because I really could not understand the point, not until the very end. This easily is my least favorite story in the whole lot.
Overall Comments:
          The book is a really nice potpourri of stories. I loved the attempt and the writing style. While the language could do with polishing, it is still leaps better than most books. The book boasts of an amazing dream to put the writings of a muse and a wanderer into print and will leave you with a similar effect. There are some confusions during the plot and only seasoned readers will have the patience and the understanding that by the time the book ends, the pieces would all connect.
WHAT I LIKED:
·        The concept and the execution
·        The overall set of stories and the surprise element in a few of them
·        The dialogues between father and son and the mystical quality of the writing
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:
·        Too convoluted for a beginner to read
·        Some parts are still standing out as loose ends
·        The book needs to be a little less confusing and a little more engaging to make sure readers do not lose continuity.
·        Just how many people are going to understand the significance of using the same character names over and over again? (I personally have an opinion – one which I am not sure is right)
VERDICT:
          A different book. Expect paranormal stories, set in the twilight zone, realistic fiction and most importantly, something that demands your complete attention and ability to patiently sit through words until you could grasp the point.
Go for it. It is unique, after all!
RATING: 3.75/5
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
          Dhasa Sathyan, is the pseudonym under which the Chennai-based Engineer and writer, Yamunai Thuraivan pens down his stories. He believes coffee and good books hold the key to our souls. He writes short stories and poems for several blogs and e-magazines including the online monthly - Reflection. He connects with his readers through his social networks and pens his thoughts regularly in his blog, musestruckwordsmith.blogspot.in. He also has penned down many songs in his mother tongue for several short films. A movie buff and a wanderlust, he spends his leisure hours experimenting with his culinary and gardening skills or by going on long bike rides to explore new people and places. He marks his entry into the print media with his debut book “Among the Stars”. - See more at: https://notionpress.com/read/among-the-stars#sthash.k4tIAM0q.dpuf
EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Paperback, Kindle
PRICE: Rs. 125.62 for Kindle, Rs. 259 for Paperback.
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