Sunday, June 23, 2019

Weekend Shorts - 'His Footsteps, Through Darkness and Light' by Mimi Mondal

Name - His Footsteps, Through Darkness and Light
Written by - Mimi Mondal
Ilustrated by - Kashmira Sarode
Edited by - Marco Palmieri
Published by - Tor.com

This one could have been so much more, it had an interesting mixture of Jinni from the lamp with the Indian mythology of 'devadashi'. It had interesting characters in an interesting setting going against social norms and injustice. But somehow the scope and the way the plot was handled didn't seem to evoke the amount of that could have been possible it seems.

The story centers around Binu, a trapeze master whose one simple act of compassion puts him and his circus mates on a collision course with a terrifying supernatural power.

Coming from an Indian background, Mimi did strongly depict the caste and social stigma system of ancient India and tried to implement fantasy elements into her setting. The world building was very promising, but it may be that the scope was too small but in the end the story left a lot to be desired.

I would have liked further glimpses into the mysterious Jinni and the violent god as well. It all left a rather sour taste in my mind, for want of more plot or at least some adequate closure.

This gets 2.5 out of 5 from me.

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