A historical fantasy is a genre that conjoins two genres and hence brings together two types of readers. The challenge for the author is to satisfy both because the requirements and interests of both genres would be different. Gitanjali Murari has accepted and successfully accomplished the challenge through her book “The Crown of Seven Stars“.

Rolling the dice once more, Destiny prepares to bend Saahas to her will. She, not Saahas, must decide the winner of the Crown of Seven Stars.

The crown of seven stars

The story takes place in the imaginary city of Aum ruled by Basket. Basket is extremely attached to his military general Meghabhuti and trusts him to lead his two sons Anuj and Agra. Meghabhuti’s son Saahas is closest to Agraj and Vasuket is looking forward to crowning Agraj as the next king and Saahas as the next general but things don’t go as planned. Saahas, who sets out for a journey comes back to see that both Anuj, Agra, and Meghabhuti are murdered in an immature tussle created by Anuj and the queen dies of a heart attack, unable to bear the pain. King Vasuket, who is heartbroken leaves the administration in the hands of the cunning Chakrawaru, who has been training Anuj. Little did they know that Chakrawaru turns out to be a traitor who is feeding on the treasury. After three years, when Saahas comes back to Aum, he is shocked to see the figure that King Vasuket has become. With so much compassion, he brings back the king to life, and the King decides to crown Saahas as the next ruler of Aum. This shatters Chakrawaru’s plan and he, with a masterstroke, changes the whole scenario.

What the readers get to see further is a tale of betrayal, bloodshed, and a game of brilliance.

The plot

The plot is woven in a tight-knit fashion that there is no space left for loopholes in the plot. The initial characters are not given much space to develop but the author has compensated for it with the rest of the characters. Without making it lagging and boring, the author has established the characters and how they are inevitable for the plot and their idiosyncrasies lead to the cascade of events. The Kingdom of Aum seems analogous to India and hence it is relatable as a fictional account of history. The author has imbibed magic with the magical experience Saahas has, at Subaru. The introduction of the new characters in Aum has been done in a haste fashion and hence lacked conviction. What happens further is more or less a cliche.

USP of the book

The style of narration is the USP of the book. The author has treated the book with so much finesse that visualization of the scenario is done effortlessly. The intrigue to know what comes next has been maintained throughout. Saahas’s character is monolinear. His love for his nation, dedication, and panache are sure to entice the readers assuring that they get hooked on the book. The book is a representation of the history that we have already read. While the readers are apprehensive about why the crown with seven stars is not mentioned in the book, the Pagadi is introduced to the readers. Depiction of Destiny as a character is a unique style and has worked out positively for the book.

The round-up of the book is that it is an out-and-out entertainer, a fantasy with the flavor of Historical Fiction.