Sravika's Books - Reviews and Other Trivia

The Lost Apothecary  By Sarah Penner  Rating: a solid 5/5 Genres: Historical fiction, 18th century England, magical realism, awesome read, 2021-read, reviewed  My God! What an amazing book. I wasn't sure what I was expecting when I started on this one but I just couldn't put it down.  I usually read multiple books together but after I picked this one - I could focus only on this till I finished it! Its just very gripping!  This is a story of uncovering some mystical events that happened during the late 18th century in England with a fictitious female apothecary, Nella. She inherited and learnt her trade from her late mother who wanted her shop to be a rescue from women's maladies. When Nella is young, she is betrayed by a man and later when chance presents, she dispenses her medicine in heavy dose leading to his death. This starts her journey in which not only helping and healing the physical ailments of women, she also becomes the dispenser of poiso...

 2010 : Odyssey Two by Arthur C. Clarke Genres: Science Fiction, Space travel, Aliens, human intelligence, artificial intelligence,2021-read,reviewed. Rating: 5/5   Awesome Read!! More than reading like fiction, it felt like I was reading a history book. Without going too much into every intricate detail, he has covered a lot of material. One of the worst fears I have in life is getting hopelessly lost in space. Although all the science fiction space related stories(like this one and project hail mary etc) eventually end on a note of success and hope, the stakes couldn't be higher in those challenging and harrowing situations for the astronauts should they arise in reality. It might all depend on the success of a minute calibration, ship orientation and it invariably is life or death with no in between. This book is a gripping read - as most/all Clarke's books are - which made me forget both time and number of pages read/left to read etc. :D  This book is a continuation t...

Death With Interruptions Jose Saramago  Genres : death, speculative fiction, humor, satire,2021-read Rating 5/5  💕💕 Loved it!! "Death" is conquered. By Love!! This is an abnormally endearing book. Its ripe with impossible hypothetical possibilities and they are just mind blowing!  The reader along with the citizens of a lucky/unlucky country are taken for a ride by Death which wants to test human fragility. Then Death comes up with some ideas of her own - because she can and who is there to question or deter her? Yeah! Its a very hilarious write up and the comical timing is so apt!  I didn't anticipate this to be a love story but that's what it has turned out to be and a pretty touching one too - in its authenticity, honesty and it just had my knees go weak. I waited with baited breath as to how it would end - for how many can have a successful love affair with Death? Little bit into the story. For a brief period of seven months, death takes a break. People of a ce...

Tender is the Flesh  By Augustina Bazterrica  Genres : Horror, Dystopia, Science fiction, Future, 2021-read. Rating 5/5  So I am giving this one a 5 star rating. This is one of those books that gets a lower rating for being good. There were many futuristic dystopian novels I had read and loved/liked/hated some of them but none gave me the shivers like this one. Humans supplanting animals is an agreeable and digestible future?? I felt that cruelty and ruthlessness are celebrated in this world the author created and the main protagonist at the end reveals his dark side which comes as a blow. I had few ideas on how the story might have turned out while reading it and extrapolating but what actually came is a jolt. The terms and fight for human rights would have a whole new level of meaning in this society.  Coming to the story, Tejos Marcos is a man pursuing and being pursued by many evils. His beloved father is suffering from dementia and is locked up in a ...

In a Dark, Dark Wood  By Ruth Ware Rating 4/5 Genres: Murder mystery, suspense, thriller, 2021-read, reviewed  I am not an avid reader of murder mysteries but while reading this I wondered why there are a plethora of 3-4 star ratings instead of 5. This book is as good as any and I thought it felt like Agatha Christie meets Sylvia Plath as the plot goes back and forth in establishing what actually happened along with who committed the murder.  Its awesome,fast paced, totally engrossing and very visceral in all emotions and feelings the narrator feels. But I was able to figure out who the killer was well before the end and once the revelation is made in the narrative,following the how and why and what became a bit tedious. I skimmed over the last 15 pages or so quickly in a bid to write it off. Overall it's a very decent and despite knowing the outcome, I was intrigued to read on.  A young woman, Leonora shaw, writer by profession, is admitted to a hospital...

The Egyptian  By Mika Waltari Rating 5/5  Genres : Historical fiction, classics, Ancient Egypt, Akhenaten, Sinuhe, 2021-read, reviewed  This book is a masterpiece!! Just like any masterpiece, it is thorough, has depth and is fantastic. And also like most historical fiction,  it is based on few facts and rests itself on much conjecture/imagination of the author. Whoever tells it and however they tell it  - its the same story - story of the reign and ruin of Akhenaten,the false prophet and king of Egypt - at the core with only some details altered. But what makes this such a good read is the depth of the story  and the complete picture  that is conveyed to the reader through the eyes of a head physician to the Pharoah,  Sinuhe. I had great respect for him till the end when he gets himself embroiled in the affairs of kings and mixes politics into his former unbiased treatments there by using his potions to kill. He uses his noble professi...

The Left Hand of Darkness  By Ursula le Guin  Rating 5/5 💘 💘  Genres : 2021-read, science fiction, classics, gender assignment, fiction, aliens  Such a marvelous read! This is my first book by the author and I love the writing style of Ursulawhich has a flowy, lyrical style to it. 💘 Its a deeply intuitive and explorative story where a human being from Earth is sent as an envoy to an alien planet which is covered in snow and ice most of the year and people there are genetically engineered to be gender neutral. What does gender neutral mean? Well, a person cannot be classified either into a man or woman but is rather both at the same time. How can that be? Well, the Gethenians - Gethen is the planet name - are sexually inactive and insipid most of the month and for a week or so they go into a phase of kemmering - just like it happens with several species of animal kingdom  - during which they mate and either of the partner can become male/female and...

 The Return of the King  (#3 Lord of the Rings series) By J.R.R. Tolkien  Rating : 3.75/5  Genres : Fantasy,  fiction,  classics, 2021-read, magical realism, fairy tales, paranormal, supernatural, good vs evil This book marks the end to the saga started with the formation of the fellowship of ring 💍  in part-1 of the series. Its a culmination to all things - dark and light. In a tale of fight between an overpowering and encroaching darkness against forces of good/light - a ring forged by the dark lord himself becomes key to victory. Since the story must end, it is naturally anticipated that the ring gets where it should - thrown into the pits of fire smoldering in Mount Doom of Mordor - the province where the dark lord and his servants/soldiers reside. And that's what happens. Frodo and Sam through many perils and tribulations take the ring to the precipice of Mount Doom but Frodo becomes unwilling and possessive of the ring at the last mo...

 Song of Kali  By Dan Simmons Rating : 2.75/5 Genres : supernatural, theology, dark fiction, fiction, mystery, suspense, 2021-read.  This book is extremely gripping - till the end. But I couldn't give it more than what rating I have given it. Why? First, it had me simmering with rage and there is more than one scene which left me cringing - the author is outright blasphemous in using curse words against the deity and over blowing/exaggerating about his experiences in India. Second, I think he is confused between - kali, the demon who defines the age of kali vs Kaali the goddess who is known as all powerful. I had to remind myself that this is not a memoir but only a work of fiction. It felt like a slowly unwinding nightmare. This work of Dan Simmons beats many of the recent works of Stephen King - in horror and in touching the morbid, graphic violence, grisly ideas too deep.  The narrator is a writer and he gets commissioned to obtain a manuscript of p...