Empire of Sand

Tasha Suri

The fantasy romance format, with Bollywood undertones of the Mughal empire, whisks you along until you suddenly realise you're deep in metaphysical uncertainties. The dreams and nightmares of the Gods, and the power-hungry demands of Empire for supernatural legitimation, spark depths of passion and violence, but they are fragile constructs compared with the inner strength of one woman.

Extract

Amun began teaching Mehr the sigils necessary for the Rite of the Bound the next day. Mehr was familiar with the language of the daiva, but the sigils of this rite were a new tongue - a cryptic, clever thing that twisted her fingers into knots. These sigils, Amun told her, were the language of the Gods. Amun demanded utter precision from her. Every movement had to be perfect. The angle of her wrist, the flick of her fingers, the height of her hands, all had to match Amun's demonstrations exactly.

Parallels