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afdzg's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
lakshmis's review
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
nivedd's review
5.0
my fifth reread and i don't know how she does it but tashan mehta wrecks me every time - this book is perfect
parshuham's review
3.0
In an alternate history where birth charts are real and the future is already written and mapped and micromanaged by said birth charts, Zahan Merchent is a cosmic mistake. His fate is in a limbo, meaning he has no steady birth chart. This cosmic mistake allows him to wield an unusual power: the ability to weave reality with his lies. But of course, there's a catch, they must be believable. If his lies are caught, the order of reality is restored. Now imagine the consequences.
Ever since I read the otherwise an okay-ish anthology Magical Women, one story that stood out the most was Tashan Mehta’s – The Rulebook for creating Universe. I was instantly hooked. So I wanted to explore other works of the author, and this was it. The premise intrigued me. (So much so, in my head I was hyping it for more than necessary.)
But unfortunately, this turned out to be an underwhelming read. It did not meet my expectations. Let’s start with the setting – the alternate history, more specifically pre-independent India. The setting is the back-bone of the story. But here it was never utilised significantly. There were just fleeting mentions of the certain events here and there, but overall it did not add anything to the story at all. It could have been set in post-independent India or anywhere to be tbh. The second, the prose. I’m a sucker for good prose and by that I don’t necessarily mean the Purple. But this was neither here nor there. It was just plain…weird? Not only did it made hard to follow through the story but also quite jarring and off-putting. Characters were kinda under-developed, not quite memorable and devoid of producing any emotional impact. I was never in on the journey, so to speak. Not to mention I had already guessed the major two plot twists in the first 50 pages itself.
This was such a unique and fun premise. Think of the far reaching impact it could have made on the very fabric of reality, the uncountable paradoxes, the entanglement of pocket realities and the tussle between free-will and Predeterminism instead author chooses an easy way out and gives us a dumbed-down version of a rather fun, inventive and an infinitely complex speculative fiction.
Ever since I read the otherwise an okay-ish anthology Magical Women, one story that stood out the most was Tashan Mehta’s – The Rulebook for creating Universe. I was instantly hooked. So I wanted to explore other works of the author, and this was it. The premise intrigued me. (So much so, in my head I was hyping it for more than necessary.)
But unfortunately, this turned out to be an underwhelming read. It did not meet my expectations. Let’s start with the setting – the alternate history, more specifically pre-independent India. The setting is the back-bone of the story. But here it was never utilised significantly. There were just fleeting mentions of the certain events here and there, but overall it did not add anything to the story at all. It could have been set in post-independent India or anywhere to be tbh. The second, the prose. I’m a sucker for good prose and by that I don’t necessarily mean the Purple. But this was neither here nor there. It was just plain…weird? Not only did it made hard to follow through the story but also quite jarring and off-putting. Characters were kinda under-developed, not quite memorable and devoid of producing any emotional impact. I was never in on the journey, so to speak. Not to mention I had already guessed the major two plot twists in the first 50 pages itself.
This was such a unique and fun premise. Think of the far reaching impact it could have made on the very fabric of reality, the uncountable paradoxes, the entanglement of pocket realities and the tussle between free-will and Predeterminism instead author chooses an easy way out and gives us a dumbed-down version of a rather fun, inventive and an infinitely complex speculative fiction.
freedompages5's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
wordylocks's review
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
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