A Spark of White Fire

Something you should know about me - I absolutely love and adore the Mahabharata since childhood. I've read so many versions of the epic by different authors in multiple languages and I keep continuing to do so even now. So, when I got to know about this book, I knew I was going to read it, despite the fact that I don't enjoy science fiction and never read books set in space. I just couldn't imagine not reading a YA novel based on the Mahabharata and I had very high expectations right from the beginning and I'm so so glad to say that this one didn't disappoint. I'm very happy to have read this amazing novel and upset that I have to wait a long time for the sequel. And thank you so much Nandini for reading this along with me, it's always show more fun discussing with you.

The first thing to keep in mind is that this book doesn't really read like traditional science fiction. You have your spaceships, space travel among stars, different planets and advanced technology - but you also have immortal gods and goddesses who enjoy interacting with mortals and meddling in their lives (albeit indirectly), boons and curses and destinies and prophecies, traditional warfare with bows and arrows and swords and celestial weapons, and kingdoms rife with political intrigue in a power struggle for the throne of Kali. The author does a wonderful job of combining science fiction with epic fantasy and that's what impressed me the most. The world building is lush and vibrant and very easy to understand and I loved the descriptions of the various kingdoms, the differences between the planets vs kingdoms on spaceships and how traditional warfare works in such a technologically advanced world.

The characters are definitely the main strength of this story. Esmae is what we would expect from a YA protagonist - strong, compassionate, loyal to her cause and family. What's surprising is that despite being abandoned by her family after her birth, she loves them a lot and wants to do everything in her power to restore her brother to his rightful throne. She has always hated her evil uncle, the usurper king and his son and makes plans and counterplans to gain their trust and to destroy them from within. But as she spends more time at home and gets to know them better, she realizes that no one is black and white and everyone has wronged or been wronged. Despite being a trained warrior, she is not a warmonger and wants her brother as King but not at the cost of thousands of innocent lives. All the side characters are well fleshed out and play important roles in the progression of the plot. Every single action has very unintended consequences and despite Esmae's meticulous planning and Max's efforts to stop the war, things don't always work out the way they want them to.

The writing is very easy to follow and probably even simple, but I really loved that. I got through this very quickly and in a single sitting, didn't want to put it down at all because it was very fast paced and action packed and I couldn't wait to read what happened next. The themes of importance of family - both blood and found, about destiny vs free will and how much control can anyone exert over their future when there are gods who have their own agendas, the justification of war and collateral damage in the grand scheme of things - all form the crux of this book and give us a lot of food for thought, while making us empathize with all the characters, whether we initially thought them as good or evil. The story is also full of twists and turns and just when you think you have figured out where the story is going, the author takes it in a very different direction and it shook me with all the emotional upheaval. The ending broke me because I just did not see that coming and it just raises the stakes in staggering ways for the sequel. A good thing is that this book doesn't end in a cliffhanger, but the story is nicely setup for a much explosive second book.

Obviously I couldn't stop myself from comparing every single action and character in the book to the Mahabharata and I had hell of a lot of fun doing it. There are lots of similarities but differences too and the best part is figuring out who is who. Resemblances to characters like Bhishma, Shakuni, Dhritarashtra and Gandhari are uncanny, but the fun is when I can't decide who Esmae and Max and Alexi or even my favorite sassy spaceship Titania represent - they are a mix of both the Pandavas and the Kauravas and I think it will be more fun to see where they go next in the upcoming books. The way the author blended Indian mythology with fantasy and science fiction is brilliant and I am so thankful to Sangu for writing this book. It just gave me so much joy that I can't describe and that's why this review of mine is pretty incoherent.

If you love space operas or fantasies with royalty and political intrigue, then this book is for you. If you enjoy stories of love, loss, family and betrayal, then this is for you. If you like reading about complex characters whose intentions are not always clear and not everything is as it seems, then this is for you. If you love the Mahabharata like me, then I promise you will love this book. What can I say - I recommend this gem of a book to anyone who loves a great story with awesome characters. show less

Wow!

It feels like it has been a while since I have rated a YA book 5 stars. This one just really hit it out of the park!

The world building here was very interesting and didn't feel like an info dump, neither did it feel too sparse. The writing and storytelling was smooth and flowed really well without scenes that felt useless to the plot.

The characters had many sides to them and each one grew throughout this book, despite it being a little on the short side. I went into this feeling one way about each of them, but by the end, my views had strengthened and even changed for each. I loved each character, even the "bad" ones.

Overall, I LOVED the setting of this story and the author's versions of the gods were very interesting. The story show more itself was compelling and the end threw me for a total loop. I cannot wait for the next book! show less

Esmae, the secret twin sister of an exiled prince, has a plan to see her brother regain his throne. It involves going against the advice of the war goddess Amba. It involves winning a competition, revealing her identity and pretending to take her uncle’s side. But she discovers that getting to know her family and taking sides is complicated.

This hooked me from the very beginning. I liked the worldbuilding and the complex family relationships and the sentient spaceship. I liked the prose. I liked how some of the twists took me by surprise.

And I’m also aware that it had the potential to make an even bigger impact, if it had me, the reader, as invested in all of Esmae’s relationships as Esmae is. There were a few places where the show more story needed to dwell longer, to show rather than tell. I thought Titania -- “I’m not a very bloodthirsty warship” -- was underused, too.

But I have high hopes for the sequel!

It’s like a game of Warlords. Wychstar is the checkered board where the battle for the crown must be fought today, the competition is the battle, and Titania is the crown. And as the minutes tick down, the pieces move into place.
A usurper king.
A heroic exile.
A jealous prince.
An old warrior.
A cursed mother.
A war goddess.
And a girl.
You’d be forgiven for thinking the girl is irrelevant. The other players are powerful, important, the kinds of people around whom legends are spun. They are mighty pieces on the board. The girl, on the other hand, is a pawn, noticed by no one, the least important piece in the game. show less

audio fiction (~10 hours, 1st book in trilogy) - the Mahabrahata retold as a space opera; raised on a distant planet at an orphanage for her safety, Esmae hopes to win an interplanetary competition, claiming the invincible sentient warship Titania offered as the prize, return to her home in Kali and help her twin brother take back the throne that is rightfully his.

A high-stakes, fast-paced adventure with lots of twists, not to mention prophecies, curses, and gods that bestow magical gifts--no one knows who they can trust, and/or who has ulterior motives, and there is lots of convoluted plotting with potential for so much betrayal in this and future installments.

Wasn't sure at first whether I was going to like this or not. It's written in first person present which is my least favorite tense but it is very common in young adult books and there weren't glaring tense mistakes so I got over that. Then of course I don't care much for gods and goddesses in fiction at all. Too many opportunities for deus ex machina. Then there was the fantasy element in a sci fi story. That one was the hardest to swallow. I love sci fi and like fantasy. Here they were all mixed up together which is just wonky.

So anyway the story was a bit predictable but fairly enjoyable for all that. I was interested in the events which were happening particularly how the duel was going to end up. I might read the next one.

I get this was YA but it felt like so much was missing or left out. Things didn't make sense especially with regards to how Esmae felt. They all seemed like caricatures and not fully developed characters.

My first 5 star read of the year! It was such an awesome read ✨!!! If you haven't checked this out then you should.

It sucked me in and I couldn't put it down and then when I got to the end I was thrown for a loop.

This book gave me a book hangover and ripped my heart out and then put it back.

You have to check this book out - go now!!!