DAKINI: A Novel – K. Hari Kumar – Book Review
Title: Dakini: A Novel
Author: K. Hari Kumar
Publisher: Harper Fiction
Genre: Fiction/Horror
No of Pages: 352
Price: Rs 399 /-
Link to Purchase: Amazon
Synopsis:
A journalist of international repute, Mamta Mathews, decides to take up an assignment for the magazine Span. She is on contract for a story on one of the Indigenous Tribes of northern India. The village of Birpoor is home to the tribe named Aturas. Mamta is suffering from PTSD following an enervating and painful abortion. She decides the assignment is just what she needs to get back on her feet. Encouraged by her guardian Father Simon Franco from the orphanage where she grew up, and accompanied by a young intern Tara, she arrives at the village. She learns about the folklore of the demoness Dakini who is supposed to haunt the surrounding forests of Birpoor. Soon men are found slayed by the Dakini and the rest of the book is about how Mamta, aided by Tara unravels the mystery behind the slayings.
My Take:
The book is divided into three parts. The first part introduces us to the folklore of Dakini and the various characters who play a major role. This part of the book is the biggest and grows in intensity as it progresses, pulling the reader into a vortex of suspense, thrills and horror. The characters are well drawn out, especially the rustic villagers who play such an important role. The second part takes the reader through several twists and turns revealing identities, and finally, in the third part, we reach the denouement. The characters who remain etched in the mind are the protagonist Mamta, her assistant Tara, Chamba, Shera, Kusum and the police inspector Parashudhar Pande.
The narration exudes the right amount of stealth keeping the reader engrossed in its pages. The book is replete with horrifying descriptions befitting a tale belonging to this genre. The descriptions of the scenes in which the Dakini appears also leave the reader shuddering. The book has plenty of pace and leaves us aching for just one more chapter every time we want to take a break.
Mamta’s dream sequences are described with panache and aplomb. The flashbacks of her past that are brought out through her dreams bring home the pain and anguish of a woman in torment. This contributes a good deal towards the horror quotient of the book.
The author has done some excellent research into the supernatural aspects of the book, and this is evident from the detailed explanations given. In short, the author manages to be very convincing and cogent in his detailing of the supernatural elements. It is so convincing that every time I reached the parts where the supernatural is brought into the picture, I expected something to jump out from behind my chair and pounce on me.
But some parts of the book are a bit high on melodrama and the author could have avoided those and toned-down things a bit. I would also like to mention here that the author leaves too many hints as to the identity of the killer and that could have been avoided. It would have been better if that had been revealed as a sudden and chilling surprise. I would like to mention at this point that the author could have created a more convincing antagonist. But all this in no way detracts from the horror quotient of the book. Finally, it would be remiss of me not to mention that the vocabulary used in the book is outstanding.
Conclusion:
K Harikumar’s Dakini is an excellent book that chills the reader to the bones and is a perfect pick for horror aficionados. Do go for it.
Rating:
I am going with a 4.5/5 for Dakini. I am cutting off half a point for some of the reasons I have mentioned above.
Rating Scale:
1 Poor
2 Fair
3 Good
4 Excellent
5 Outstanding
This review is powered by the Blogchatter Book Review Program
