The Unwaba Revelations

GameWorld Trilogy #3

by Samit Basu

Under the all-seeing eyes of the assembled gods, armies are on the move. The Game has begun. And when it ends, the world will end too . . .

In THE UNWABA REVELATIONS, the third and concluding part of the GameWorld trilogy, a way must be found to save the world; to defeat the gods at their own game. A daunting prospect under any circumstances, made worse by the fact that the gods, who control all the heroes, are blatantly cheating by following only one rule—that they cannot be defeated by their own creations.

As epic battles ravage the earth, Kirin and Maya, guided only by an old, eccentric and extremely unreliable chameleon, and egged on by the usual rag-tag gang, carry out their secret plan; a plan so secret that, in fact, no one involved has any idea what they are doing!

Monsters, mayhem, mud-swamps; conspiracies, catastrophes, chimeras; betrayals, buccaneers, bloodshed—THE UNWABA REVELATIONS continues the roller coaster journey that began with THE SIMOQIN PROPHECIES and gathered momentum with THE MANTICORE’S SECRET. Traversing earth, sea and sky, realms both infernal and celestial, worlds both imagined and material, this book will draw you irresistibly into a tantalizing, action-packed, epic race to reclaim the flawed, magical world of its heroes.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Indian Literature, Science Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Mythology

516 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 12, 2008

About the author

Samit Basu is an Indian novelist best known for his fantasy and science fiction work

Samit's most recent novel, The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport, was published by Tordotcom in the US and Canada in Oct 2023.

His previous novel, the anti-dystopian near-future The City Inside (Tordotcom, '22) was on the Washington Post and Book Riot best SFF of 2022 lists and earlier shortlisted for the 2020 JCB Prize (India) as Chosen Spirits.

Samit's first novel, The Simoqin Prophecies, published by Penguin India in 2003, when Samit was 23, was the first book in the bestselling Gameworld Trilogy and marked the beginning of Indian English fantasy writing. The other books in the trilogy are The Manticore’s Secret and The Unwaba Revelations.

Samit’s US/UK debut, the superhero novel Turbulence was published in the UK in 2012 and in the US in 2013 to rave reviews. It won Wired‘s Goldenbot Award as one of the books of 2012 and was superheronovels.com’s Book of the Year for 2013.

Samit has also written children's books, published short stories for adults and younger readers in Indian and international anthologies, and has been a columnist and essayist in several leading Indian and international publications.

Samit also works as a screenwriter and director. His debut film, House Arrest, was released as part of Netflix’s International Originals in 2019, and was one of Netflix’s top 5 most viewed Indian films that year. He wrote the film and co-directed it with Shashanka Ghosh.

Samit’s work in comics ranges from historical romance to zombie comedy, and includes diverse collaborators, from Girl With All The Gifts/X-Men writer MR Carey to Terry Gilliam and Duran Duran.

Samit was born in Calcutta, educated in Calcutta and London, and currently works between Delhi and Kolkata. He runs a newsletter, Duck of Dystopia (samit.substack.com) and can be found on social media at @samitbasu, and at samitbasu.com

Reviews

[K.J. Charles]

I found myself singing Tom Lehrer's comic song about nuclear apocalypse "We Will All Go Together When We Go" yesterday and it was basically because of this book. Mostly an extended end-of-the-world quest-and-battle extravaganza, laden with special effects, violence, plot twists, comic riffs and all sorts of eschatological fun. Absolutely bonkers and wildly entertaining.

This trilogy walks the line between serious epic fantasy and parody with near perfect balance, so there are moments of real tragedy and a lot of spectacular writing and imagination along with jokes of utter shamelessness. The big reveal of the pirate ship's secret weapon at the point of doom is a gag that was set up from book 1: respect. Also there is an all-female Amazon island called Piscibiscicla. I don't know whether to congratulate the author or send death threats. Enjoyed the whole sequence immensely.

[Kalin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bittersweet conclusion to a series that has no analog in all my reading history. The "bitter" part reflects the sheer amount of violence involved; the "sweet" is illustrated by the following tidbits:

~ A Dark Lord after my liking:

They stood silently for a few minutes.

‘Talk to me,’ said Spikes.

‘It wasn’t your fault,’ he said after a while.

‘I’m going to push you over the railing if you don’t stop being a drama queen,’ he said after a while.

‘What do you want me to say, Spikes? I could start whining again about my shortcomings as a Dark Lord, but we’ve done that. And I think I’m getting a lot better at the Dark Lord business, actually.’

‘That’s what I’m worried about.’

‘I had to take my responsibilities seriously at some point. What happened happened because I didn’t.’

‘What happened was bad luck.’

‘Bad luck?’ Kirin whirled around, eyes blazing. ‘Don’t coddle me, Spikes. You told me yourself. I remember every word. “There’s trouble at the tower. A bunch of Wu Sen monks and Pimawen assassins have turned up to kill you and take the Gauntlet back to Xi’en, and every time they’ve raided the tower looking for you, they’ve killed everyone in their way.” And I did nothing.’

‘You did nothing wrong. You knew you could protect yourself. You did not fear them. Rightly so, as it turned out.’

‘I don’t think the people who died protecting me would see it that kindly, Spikes. I was their great Leader. I had no right to return and pretend to take charge if I had no intention of looking after the safety of my followers.’

‘You didn’t ask them to come help you.’

‘I chose to be Dark Lord. When I did, these people, asurs and rakshases and pashans and humans and monsters all, became my people. All I’ve done since then is try to mislead them, turn them from their ways towards what I thought was right, make them do what I wanted, what I thought was better for them.’

‘Peace, education, brighter futures. How selfish of you.’

‘No, Spikes. I’ve been guilty of the same sort of arrogance I’ve always despised in every chest-thumping hero in history, dragging the weak and confused towards his own stupid heroic visions of ideal futures against their will. How could I not have seen this?

‘I think it’s time I stopped trying to impose my wishes on my people and started trying to give them what they want.’

~ The slaughter in Chapter 7 is so relentless it may mar my enjoyment of the whole book. :(

~ Yet the conversation between Kirin and Quinzai in Chapter 12 was a welcome lesson in responsibility and consequences. As was Kirin's subsequent decision.

~ Hah! Take this ... everybody?

~ The truth about sharks finally revealed: https://choveshkata.net/forum/viewtop...

~ A study in contrasts:

‘Well, the safat is here, good Spikes,’ said Asvin. ‘Are you ready?’

‘No,’ said Spikes. ‘I’m just sitting on top of a boiling geyser because it helps me think.’

Asvin smiled. ‘And so it begins.’

He shook his fist at the sky.

‘Let the heavens shake and tremble!’ he cried. ‘For I, Asvin, Prince of Avranti, The Chosen One, Hero of Simoqin, Prophesied Saviour, Pride of the East –‘

‘Get on with it,’ murmured Spikes. ‘The bird’s almost here.’

‘- Wielder of the Bow of Fire, the Sword of Raka, the Armour of the Scorpion Man, the Ring of Akarat and Many Other Important Objects, snatched from life before my time!’

‘Forgot where you were going with that sentence, didn’t you? You, Asvin, lengthy introduction, then what?’

~ Next-gen riddles:

The window slid open and a bald, bearded man stuck his head out.

‘What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object?’ he asked.

‘A big bang,’ said the Dagger, shaking his head.

‘Good. The following statement is true. The preceding statement is false. How is this possible?’

‘Ignore my answer.’

‘Perfect. Why did the dish run away alone?’

‘Because there was no spoon.’

‘Welcome to the mansion of Al-Qatras,’ said the man, and shut the window.

~ Yes ... finally:

And having thus laid bare his intentions, Kirin reached out for Maya and they made love again. And it was as beautiful and unexpected, ecstatic and passionate as it was always going to be. There was tension, and sweat, and relief, and comfort, and lust, and laughter, and madness and incredible bliss. And there was fumbling, and knocking of teeth, and grunts and unexpected strands of hair. There were embarrassing noises, flashes of pain and clashing limbs. There was love, and trust, and honesty, and they had each other.

(And yes ... that's how it goes. ;)

~ On rousing speeches and marriages:

The Dark Lord raised his hand, and a great ball of fire appeared around it. The warriors of Imokoi stared at him adoringly, waiting for him to inspire them even further.

‘Speech,’ said Aciram, and covered his ears to drown out the roar of applause.

‘Archers ready!’ called Angda, and the vanars bent their bows.

‘What is she doing?’ asked Red, smiling.

‘It would seem fairly obvious,’ said Aciram.

‘I am surprised because she is not a man, and I had expected her to remember the tactics we spent so many hours discussing. Perhaps you should ask her to instruct her archers to put their bows aside.’

Aciram clapped his hand to his forehead. ‘I beg your pardon. I had forgotten.’

‘We cannot hit them with arrows. They will merely stop them and hurl them back at us. We have seen them do this before.’

‘Yes, yes, I know.’

‘We might as well ask our archers to shoot one another. It would save them effort and arrows.’

‘I had a lot on my mind, dearest. I should have remembered.’

‘The archers are only to shoot when they have captured a large number of our troops and are using them against us. They are not to shoot at ravians.’

Eyes blazing, Aciram ordered the archers to stand down.

‘Should I go through the list of other tactics, in case you have forgotten those as well?’

Aciram groaned and glared. ‘How long have we been married?’

~ Ahaha! The plot takes a turn for „Ех, магесническа му работа“:

There was another light. A flash of light, at Kirin’s feet.

And then there was a baby.

Kirin and Maya both leaped backwards, yelling in horror. The baby looked at them cheerily.

‘Ey. Mum-mum-mum,’ it said. It was an extraordinarily cheerful-looking baby, composed almost entirely of circles. Maya peered, delicately, and discovered it was a girl.

‘What is this?’ she demanded.

‘It’s a baby.’

‘I know it’s a baby, damn it. What is it doing here? Where did it come from?’

‘What makes you think I know?’

They peered at the baby, and she peered back at them.

‘Should we pick it up?’ asked Kirin.

‘Why?’

‘Well, isn’t that what you do with babies that appear out of nowhere?’

‘What makes you think I know what to do with babies? Is it because I’m a woman?’

‘Gog!’ said the baby, sensing disharmony. She decided she didn’t like it.

She began to cry, and Kirin and Maya stared at each other in absolute terror. The baby cried with venom. Her piercing wail shook the sky, and the Psomedean Ocean backed away slowly, and the palm-trees stopped swaying and would have shuffled embarrassedly if they’d had feet. The seagulls on Spikes’ shoulder fluttered away, complaining loudly about the neighbourhood.

Spikes walked up to Kirin and Maya and looked at the baby, blinking slowly.

‘How long have I been asleep?’ he asked.

The baby continued to cry. Spikes picked her up and shook her gently, with the general air of a crocodile trying to snap a gazelle’s neck, and the baby liked this. She cooed, and gurgled, and clutched one of Spikes’ tusks with a tiny fist, and said ‘Mamma.’

‘Don’t even think about it,’ shuddered Spikes, and handed the baby to Kirin, who looked at her as if she might explode, and tried to hand her to Maya, but Maya, being a very intelligent woman, had backed out of range long ago.

~ The reunion of Red and Asvin is a minor Crowning Moment:

On a sudden whim, Red moved close to him, held his face in her hands and kissed him. His lips were cold and lifeless, and he stepped away after a while. Behind Red, Aciram’s eyes glowed red, and his skin bulged. But Aciram did not even exist as far as Red was concerned; she was staring at the Cold Prince with a wonderstruck expression, and fat tears were rolling down her cheeks.

‘I can feel again,’ she said quietly.

Pralay laughed unpleasantly.

‘Congratulations must be in order,’ he said. ‘I will take your leave now.’

‘Take me with you,’ she said.

‘That is impossible.’

‘We will meet again,’ said Red. ‘We have a world to rule, and many more wars to win.’

The Cold Prince mounted his horse and stared at her expressionlessly.

‘If you look around you,’ he said, ‘you will see what happens when you try to rule the world. As for winning wars…if you have not yet learned that no one wins wars, you probably never will.’

He galloped off dramatically, a handsome, gallant and only slightly decomposed example of all that was good and pure in the world.

‘Bloody hero,’ said Aciram. ‘Not win wars, forsooth. We’re still standing, aren’t we? And do you see any ravians anywhere?’

‘He was right,’ said Red. ‘The world doesn’t need to be ruled. It needs to be healed. It needs to be set right.’

‘Be that as it may,’ said Aciram, ‘if you ever kiss anyone but me again, I will kill you.’

~ Telu-yeti's The Voyage of the Duck of Destiny is yet another example of the experimental panache of this novel--now with a whiff of Dr. Seuss. Selected verses:

A hungry horde of cannibals! They fought hard but we fought harder,
We chopped and diced, we carved and sliced, and helped restock their larder.

...

From isle to isle we rode in style, from test to test we scurried,
From shore to shore we sang and swore, from beach to beach we hurried,
We solved so many riddles rare, won so many races,
Learned such fascinating facts, punched so many faces,

...

Perhaps the toughest tests of all were on the isles of Aedens
One island full of luscious lads, and one of beauteous maidens,
Firm and lithe their flawless forms, guileless their pretty eyes,
We loved them with a sailor’s love, and left them with a sigh.

...

We found a lonely stranded man, his name was Livar-Gil,
For years he’d sought to build a yacht, return to hearth and till.
‘Why go back, Gil?’ we asked. ‘Was not your old life rude and tough?’
We left him on the maidens’ isle. He seemed content enough.

...

‘Why carry on?’ Jen asked Mantric. ‘Why bother? What’s the use?
‘Why soldier on from dusk to dawn? Why take all this abuse?
‘Why do gods make mortal men and then seek to destroy them?
‘Why take the pains? Are they insane? Or do we just annoy them?’

‘We are their spark, their works of art,’ said Mantric, ‘We’re their muses,’
‘Each one of us a muddled mass that thrills, delights, confuses,
‘Through us they see, they seek, they peek, they speak, they want, they wish,’
‘Why kill us then?’ ‘I do not know. Look, a pretty fish!’

...

We’d passed the tests, we’d joked and jested through the churning waters,
On sea or land, none could withstand the daring Duck’s dear daughters!
A mist of mystery kissed the sea, a distant trumpet sounded,
We’d come to seek the Standing Sea and soon we found we’d found it!

~ Babies--so young, and already so devious:

‘Oweeyay,’ said the Baby of Destiny with much solemnity.

‘Yes, I know,’ said Maya. ‘But I’m reading. Play on your own until Fatima gets here.’

The Future Wielder of the Thunderbolt of Universal Doom bubbled mutinously, considered crying, and decided against it. Maya had recently sealed her mouth with Gum That Bubbles after three sleepless nights; she was clearly a woman with no heart at all. Instead, the Baby of Destiny tried low cunning; she sat up with much difficulty and concentrated on looking adorable. It was an unequal battle from the start; after a few seconds Maya succumbed to blackmail and social pressure, set her book aside and picked up the wobbling goddess, who accepted her affections graciously, saying ‘Hoo!’ and pulling a few clumps of Maya’s hair out.

And:

(...) she seemed to be able to eat almost anything, from insects to solid steel. On one memorable occasion, while Kirin had been sleeping open-mouthed, she had eaten her way right through the hut’s wall, and had been found after a frantic search on Bolvudis’ southern shore, trying to see if she could swallow the Psomedean Ocean.

~ Where have I heard this before?

‘You’re not listening. Kirin doesn’t know how any stories end. This is because Kirin doesn’t see his life, or anyone else’s, or anything with real living people in it, as a story. You should try that, too. Then you won’t get so upset when the other characters in your story, otherwise known as real people, don’t behave the way you expect them to.’

‘It is you who do not understand. We are all living out a great story. It has been twisted and perverted by Kirin and his evil minions, and it is my task to restore it and bring it to its rightful end.’

‘Then turn a few pages ahead in your head, you fool, and you’ll discover there is no rightful end. Things aren’t going to clear up magically. There’s no scene where everything’s explained, and everyone’s lives don’t go back to being the way they were. There’s no going back anywhere. And no one’s happy ever after. Ever.’

~ And the (re)solution in Chapter 13 is, well, the mother of all MMOs.

But we'd long seen that coming, no? ;)

[P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never read fantasy before, and I'll probably never again and this trilogy is an exception : it's Indian and it's amazing. The world is fabulously constructed and populated with way too many quirky and memorable characters. An astounding amount of work must have gone into writing this and I immensely admire Basu for authoring this set of books. It's insanely fun, it never gets overwhelming, some parts are a total riot and it keeps surprising you at every turn. This part had a bit too much war for my liking, but thankfully the sections alternate. The God business that annoyed me in the second part gets crucial here and it finally makes sense. The ending is a bit too abrupt and inconclusive and seems to defeat the point of what came before, but it doesn't bother me much. For a trilogy spanning 1500 pages, the journey is (relatively) more important than the destination and we're never short of excitement and wild thrills in this supercharged fun ride.

[Anushka Sierra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Find my reviews at Feminist Quill

Synopsis: The war with the ravians begins in earnest, while Kirin and Maya work elsewhere to try and save their entire world.

Marshall Askesis’s plan to invade Avranti and defeat the ravians did not work. This was because the ravians rather uncooperatively decided to invade first.

The Unwaba Revelations is long and packed with so many story arcs that it is impossible to keep track. Two great battles have already taken place by the time we’re 30% in. As a result, the book has to wrap up 500 different storylines in one go – something it does with nitpicky care. But then again, I wouldn’t know if there are any dropped plot holes, because who can keep track with so many different plots..

The book was bound to be on the longer side anyway, but some amount of strict editing would have gone a long way towards making the book more readable. (Even if it would also have meant losing quite a bit of hilarious writing. That’s what companion novels are for, amirite?😂)

As the day wore on, we filled Dahn-Gem’s Wasteland with bodies, […] and made tombstones for them by breaking pashans. I use the term ‘we’ loosely; my main function was to provide moral support and stand attractively with one foot on the largest corpse available afterwards. ~ Eridon, Ravian Warrior

But the fact that it’s not a rushed piece of writing means that we get to enjoy several different types of narratives, usually from the perspectives of random one-shot characters. These perspectives save the actual main characters from having to go out of their way to show us those events through their eyes. Their respective arcs are thus kept focused without compromising on the overall story.

‘Do you still want to kill the monk?’ Spikes asked Kirin.
‘What monk?’
‘Right.’

The character development in this book is… interesting. At least two main characters – Kirin and Red – changed so drastically over the course of the past two books. As a result, at the beginning of Unwaba Revelations, they’re miles away from where they’re supposed to end up at the end of the series (both geographically and psychologically speaking). Basu resolves this by dint of abrupt character shifts rather than involved development via plot. This is more pronounced in Kirin’s case than anywhere else. As for Maya, I think she was rather relieved to have avoided a kidnapping in this book. Third time’s the charm, I guess.

Others like Asvin, the Silver Dagger and Mantric more or less retain their original personalities (although Asvin does mature to the extent of finally meeting the situation’s requirements.) After spending an entire book on the sidelines, these characters finally have something to do. But while their storylines are technically essential to the conclusion of the series, they still feel superfluous beyond a point.

It is, however, quite easy to overlook these points because of how enjoyable these adventures are in their own right. GameWorld was written and released during the era of trilogies – but there are times when you get the impression that it would have thrived in the era of quintologies that immediately followed.

The influence of other great and well-known works is instantly recognizable in different parts of the book. The sections concerning the gods are as close to reading Pratchett without actually reading Pratchett. The descriptions of the war between Imokoi and Asroye give off strong Mahabharatha vibes; and Eridon’s journal is a hilarious parody of The Illiad.

Ultimately, the book’s twists and turns are a little numerous, and did contribute to my re-read fatigue. But a first-time reader will have none of these issues to contend with, and is free to enjoy the hilarity and the tangents in equal measure.

Reviews for the other books in this series:
1. The Simoqin Prophecies
2. The Manticore's Secret

[Manikanta Avinash · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always had second thoughts on this book because after all that happened in the second, I was not sure how he could manage to close the trilogy thrilling enough. As I expected, the last few pages were interesting and relevant. The rest all, even the battle pages were boring and looked like they were written to just fill up the pages. Alsso he created so many characters that he couldn't give enough importance to any. Characters which were the main one's in the beginning too get very less pages in the third part. Aswin character was completely neglected(it was not etched properly,intentionally i guess, right from the beginning). Even Kirin and Maya do nothing in this book. I agree that it was all supposed to be part of the plan but seeing pages and pages of Rakshas-Ravian war is not exactly interesting.
Still, I am satisfied with the ending and the trilogy as a whole. The only regret I have is this trilogy also turned out to be like maximum trilogies, awesome and exciting first part and downhill from there. Still, am proud that an Indian managed to successfully pull off a 1500 page fantasy trilogy!

[Devesh Yamparala · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating: (Read 2.5)

Really disappointing after the way the first two books set up the story.

The first two books were very intelligently written and, compared to them, this book falls short real bad. Plus, the ending is really horrible. I would have been much much happier not reading the final book and just being happy contemplating the ending :-/

[Gangambika · Rating 4 out of 5]

What do I say about this book? It's fucking CRAZY!!!! Mad, bonkers, nuts, bananas, cuckoo, smoked up too much weed! I have no idea what's going on in here. The Dark Lord quits?! Seriously? "QUITS"??? And then lies about on a beach drinking, smoking up, having sex and acting in movies while other people go around saving the world??!! What is happening?? And everyone seems to be changing sides and there are humans and rakshases and ravians and werewolves and the Ursag (who no one seems to have heard of) and big monsters and the undead, and gods know what's happening. Actually, wait. They don't. The gods that is. Don't know what's happening. Because ofcourse they are being cheated by other gods. You get the picture. If you're reading this, be ready for a crazy ride!! Not to mention this book has NOTHING to do with the previous two!!!!

[Jupiter · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nothing to say but disappointing . The previous 2 books in the series was so good , totally mind blowing , that I was looking forward to reading this book (the final book in this series). But it was a tragedy , it had a couple of good fighting scenes and all , but the story's ending was a total let down. And there are some loose ends too , like the lady in the white dress .

[Anangsha Alammyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love fantasy and was super intrigued when I came to know an Indian author had written an epic fantasy series. I started the first book fully prepared to be disappointed, but the first few chapters had me enthralled.

With stunning world-building, amazingly fleshed-out characters, and epic battle scenes to take your breath away, this series has all the makings of a story that will stand the test of time.

This was a brilliant, brilliant book, and the ending left me mesmerized. There was a finality, but also a sense of continuity. After all the turmoil of the first two books, the characters deserved some happiness, and I'm glad the author could justify all that build-up. A must-read series for everyone.

[Robbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the others, I'm rounding up to five stars. I enjoyed this trilogy but I was also kind of relieved to be done with it. That doesn't say anything about the quality: I just usually feel that way after reading any kind of high fantasy series. I note it mostly because this series also has heavy comedic elements, which I thought might change my reaction, but it didn't. As to the book itself, like the 2nd book, this one doesn't pick up the momentum from the previous book and just goes its own way. It focuses more on the world's response to the gods than anything else. That said, there are two epic battles with the ravians, which are exciting and full of dramatic tension. Beyond that, it's good, it's silly, it's full of tense action, and it wraps up the trilogy well.

[Nitya Iyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, the biggest problem with this book was how many threads were woven into the fabric of the first two. I just don't think I have the attention span to keep track of where everyone is and what they're up to.

But if you managed to stay the course through The Wheel of Time series or The Game of Thrones, but you're really looking for something a touch more Indian and snarky, this is the series for you!

[Aditi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slight letdown after the first two awesome books in the series. Each book in the series took a different direction.
This was fun , though not as fun as the first and then the second book (in order of favorites).
Lots of clever writing still, though I can't seem to decide how I completely still feel about this book in particular.

Will still recommend this series. Lots and lots of fun reading it.

This book is a solid 3.5

[Devdas · Rating 5 out of 5]

(The dates for this review are for a re-read)
This trilogy is almost a standard fantasy, but set in India. You'll get some of the humour if you aren't familiar with Indian cultures and languages, but there are a number of in-jokes and references to other works lurking in there.

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph... is possibly worth a read too.

[Zivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

You need to finish this trilogy to fully appreciate what Samit Basu did here.

Self aware and breaking the fourth wall, Basu's satire has allot to say about epic fantasy, heroism and the divine.

Some similarities can be drawn to the very early Discworld novels, but Basu doesn't pull his punches and his universe is full of tragedy.

[Gargee Sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tried but couldn't finish it.. maybe i had moved on from the genre at that time. But rating this 3/5 in respect towards the overall Gameworld series that started with "The Simoqin Prophecies".

[LS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crazy ride , this isn't a story that ends with a nice bow on a wrapped box .

[Sadaf · Rating 3 out of 5]

The series comes to an end with this book. It was satisfactory in some aspects like character development and complexity. But there were loose ends, unanswered questions. Or rather I couldn't completely buy the answers.
however, maybe there was too much pressure and expectation on the author after the first two books, and this may be a result of that.
The stories takes many a wild turns, and there are lots of important turning points. however, there are too many characters and the focus is lost. At times, it feels like the character ’s confusion reflects similar bend of mind of the writer when compiling this last work.
However, it does put a cap on the series, and there are some genuine surprises. Worth a read.

[Saurabh Modi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn. It ended.
One of the most amusing books I've ever chanced upon. There're a lot of things that keep happening ,too much action. Characters are fun. I believe that to fully appreciate all the parodies ,the entire series needs to be reread. At least once.
The series gave me a few questions to think about ,but those questions can probably never have any suitable answers. There's always a different side to everything ,that's yet invisible to us. That's probably the whole point. To what ,I have not the slightest clue.

[Johny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved the entire series. The author manages to bring a number of characters or concepts from Greek Mythology, to Classic novels, to Indian Mythology and other sources and blends it into a perfect mixture of fantasy and humor.

Though at times there are too many weird ass names and creatures to remember, which is extremely annoying, it is worth the effort.

[Shilpa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I waited so long to get my hands on the final part of the Gameworld trilogy and I honestly don't know how I'm feeling at the moment.
But the spectacularness of the first two books seem to have a gone a little bit down in this.
Lost in the greater picture, if you will.
Still an awesome series!

[Tathagata Kandar · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not even worth the time writing a review for this crap...seriously....my expectations were blown sky-high after the 1st book and from then on it was a complete downward spiral. Don't know what happened

[Lakshmi Vijayakumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fitting end to an amazing series. Was pleasantly surprised by this book. The plot, the extremely lovable characters (both human and non-human) the language (<3) kept me flipping pages till the very end which is as mindblowing as it is heartwarming. ^^ sad to see this one end.

P.S MAYA RULES!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the first two books I expected more shenanigans but this one was just sort of droning on about battles for a good half of the book. I listened to it as audio and Ramon Tikaram killed it but it was not as good a book as the other two.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most awesome SI-FI trilorgy by an indian author! Hats off to Samit Basu!

[Vaibhav pandya · Rating 2 out of 5]

A really boring finish to what i expected to be an awesome series , had the 1st book not been sooo good i m sure i might have left this one halfway

[Bharat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice end to the series...

[Toomas Nigola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still as fun and exciting as when I first read it more than a decade ago. Not too many books are like that. Thank, you, Samit!

[Ankita · Rating 3 out of 5]

It finally felt as if the author had bitten way too much than he thought of chewing....

[Friday · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!

I read the trilogy twice. It's really fantastic. Patrick Rothfuss of India. Before Patrick Rothfuss.

The best fantasy writer in India in my opinion.

Great work. Had lots of fun.

[Rowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a brilliant end to a brilliant series. I loved the way it avoided typically fantasy tropes and yet embraced them at the same time. Now we just need a Steel Buns spin off series!