Song of Kali (Gateway Essentials)

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Simmons takes the standard literary model and subverts it into a narrative that works precisely because we can see a highly cultured but often weak and often dim 'one-of-us' be out-manouevred and out-classed by a cunning underclass of consummate brutality. It is a novel about crime and criminality as much as it a novel of horror - and the horror is visceral because it is real, the filth, the mortuary, the decay of the human body, the disease, the fear of the dark, of monsters ... and the last chapters will shred you if you know anything of love. There is even a skilled irony as the 'hero' notes the difference between his position and would happen in a movie about his position. Para iniciar he de decir que me encanta el estilo de Simmons, amé Hyperion, sin embargo, la trama de ésta novela deja mucho que desear. Novela de terror y drama... o drama y terror. No sabría definir qué género termina teniendo mayor peso.

Song of Kali isn't one of Dan Simmons' best works, but it is a fine example of what makes him one of my favourite writers: his range. No, Sanskrit and Bengali, mostly. Here's the English translation." I handed over the other photocopy. My last sight of Abe was of him standing there with his arm and hand extended, either in a half-wave or some mute gesture of tired resignation. Whatever. How does Amrita feel about you going off and deserting her and the kid? How old's the baby, anyway? Couple months?"He, like many Westerners, seems to have been expecting India to be all incense and smiling children with beautiful dark eyes and beautiful saris and delicious (though extremely hot!) food; without knowing about the darker aspects of that alluring land. (I admit that I had not known about some of them either! I've been to Bombay, but my visit there wouldn't have prepared me for anything like some of the things that the protagonist had encountered in this book.) urn:lcp:songofkali00simm:lcpdf:6652b94e-6c35-437a-9590-70c9f0ff5fc6 Foldoutcount 0 Identifier songofkali00simm Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t2p56b60c Isbn 0812515927 Kali is in Hindu Mythology a manifestation of uncontrolled feminine power. She is rage,lust,power,battle fury, primeval intellect, bestial instincts,benediction, omnipotence and a lot many other traits rolled into one. The cults that follow her are said to be violent in nature to appease this dark side of the divine female. Simmons capitalizes on this and takes imagination to a higher level when he calls Kali an undoubtedly evil entity with a ruthless cult behind her. Song of Kali is one of the best horror novels I have come across with the focus kept solely on one of India's dark myths. Contrary to my usual taste, there is quite a scattering of the visceral throughout the events which serves mostly to heighten the ambiance.

I thought Das's work was lyrical and sentimental. Sort of the way you described Tagore's stuff in your article." Realmente una lástima, una novela que tenía todos los elementos para ser una obra de primer nivel, pero que se ve arruinada por su flojo e innecesario tercer acto. No obstante, en el tercer acto todo decae. A través de la lectura el autor parecía llevarnos hacia un desenlace de tintes sobrenaturales (lovecraftianos) a lo grande, para finalmente entregarnos algo totalmente opuesto a ello, algo que no resultaría tan malo si es que el libro hubiera terminado en ese punto, nonobstante, Simmons se alarga, entregandonos un montón de capítulos reflexivos y autocompasivos del protagonista culpandose por lo sucedido. Sometimes there is only pain. And acquiescence to pain. And, perhaps, defiance at the world which demands such pain."Robert Luczak is sent by the American literary magazine Other Voices, where he works as an editor, to Calcutta to locate poetry alleged to have been recently authored by a legendary poet, M. Das. The literary world considers this development newsworthy because Das disappeared and is presumed to have died eight years ago. Robert's Indian wife, Amrita, and their infant child, Victoria, accompany him on his assignment. Dan's first published story appeared on Feb. 15, 1982, the day his daughter, Jane Kathryn, was born. He's always attributed that coincidence to "helping in keeping things in perspective when it comes to the relative importance of writing and life."

There's much of violence and its cost running throughout Simmons' work (another reason I love him), but it appears in myriad forms. And always from a different genre direction. Historical fiction, urban fantasy, hard sci-fi, horror, historical horror, whodunnit, poetry, mythos, and whatever else works. Simmons is an author among authors, and if you have never read him this is a good place to start. Song of Kali may not dazzle, but it will pique your interest and get you ready for his more daunting books (of which there are many).

Ya para el final la novela pareciera que volverá a remontar con una oscura búsqueda de venganza que podría aclarar las dudas y cabos sueltos que hasta ese punto nos han hecho seguir leyendo... pero no, el autor decide finalmente que su protagonista regrese a casa dejándonos con toda la interrogante de qué era lo que se ocultaba tras todo el asunto en torno a Kali. Horror is not my normal territory. It isn't my alternate either. As far as genre fiction goes I probably reach for a horror novel as often as I reach for a fantasy novel. But this is Dan Simmons we are talking about. After reading Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion, I was intrigued. How poetic could Simmons make horror? How literate? I'll send you a postcard from poolside at the Calcutta Oberoi Grand Hotel," I said, opening the door. Song of Kali took me by surprise. And it shouldn't as I know how talented an author Dan Simmons is. This is old school horror written by an author with real literary talent. What a debut!

No." I blinked in surprise. Abe had traveled widely as a wire-service reporter before he wrote his first novel, but he rarely talked about those days. After he had accepted my Tagore piece, he idly mentioned that he once had spent nine months with Lord Mountbatten in Burma. His stories about his wire-service days were rare but invariably enjoyable. "Was it during the war?" I asked.La pluma de Simmons aquí, al igual que en la mayoría de sus novelas, es magnífica, haciendo soberbias descripciones de la ciudad de Calcuta al punto que te sientes capaz de oler, sentir, ver y escuchar lo mismo que el protagonista. Sin mencionar que también hay partes de la primera mitad que te mantienen bastante enganchado y te invitan a descubrir que se oculta tras el misterioso culto a Kali y el turbio destino del poeta.