Golden fire : a novel of ancient India /

Set in fourth century India, Fast's novel about subterfuge, thwarted romance and royal schemers depicts actual historical figures. Villainous Prince Rama, son of bombastic King Samudra Gupta, rues the fact that his harelip may prevent him from becoming India's sovereign after Samudra's death. To prevent his infant half-brother, Prince Candra, from later ascending to power, Rama instigates an abortive plot to murder the child. The king discovers the plan, and cunningly safeguards Candra by giving him a new identity as the son of a local silk merchant, staging a mock funeral to dupe the public into thinking Candra has died. Years later, Candranow called Dattakafalls in love with Rama's prospective bride. The lovers must part when Rama uncovers their liaison, and Dattaka flees to China disguised as a Buddhist monk, but he will eventually meet Rama in an awesome battlefield clash. Fast is a skilled raconteur, although a profusion of minor characters and of Sanskrit vocabulary slow the narrative. (March 31) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Veteran Fast (The Beast, The Inner Circle, etc.) checks in this time with stirring, enjoyable melodrama in the form of a retelling of an ancient Indian legend. In the fourth century A.D., in the land of Magadha, India, a blondehaired son is born to King Samudra Gupta and his Goth concubine, Savitridevi. The newborn child is called Prince Candra, and there are those who feel he fulfills an ancient prophecy--he will become universal emperor. Naturally, this doesn't sit well with the evil and perverted Prince Rams, Gupta's first-born son, who twice attempts to kill the infant, once filling a rattle full of scorpions. Aware of Rama's attempts, but unable to stop him without causing a civil war, Gupta and his advisors decide to fake Candra's death and send him to live with a silk-merchant named Govinda. There, his hair is dyed and his identity kept secret, even from Candra himself. Years later, a handsome young boy, he meets the beautiful and imperious Princess Dhruvadevi, who is in town for an arranged marriage with Rama. She wants him to sell her the rare and fragile Chinese silk known as Golden Fire; there's none to be found, but the two fall in love. Dhruvadevi refuses to consummate her marriage to Rama (whose sex aids include needles and scapels), but Candra leaves Magadha and heads for China in search of Golden Fire. After years, he finds it, and sends a bolt to Dhruvadevi, who joins him when he returns to India, and tells him of his true heritage. By this time, the treacherous Rama has murdered their father and taken over the country; Candra rides against him, and a marvelous confrontation ensues. A rich, impressively well-researched book--there are elephants and holy men and visionary philosophers and absolutely none of the obscure mumbo-jumbo one often finds in novels of India during this period. The book could be read for its secondary plot alone, which is the poignant story of a love affair between a doctor and a court concubine. All in all, an admirable performance. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.