Kiss of the Cobra

by Peter Tremayne

When Sir Keith Chase of Oxford University stumbled upon the sacred crypt of Monosha in West Bengal, it was the archaeological find of the century. But what Sir Keith didn't know was that by breaking open the musty burial chamber he had brought on himself one of the most ancient and terrifying curses known to man.

Genres: Horror

192 pages, Hardcover

First published August 23, 1984

About the author

Peter Berresford Ellis (born 10 March 1943) is a historian, literary biographer, and novelist who has published over 90 books to date either under his own name or his pseudonyms Peter Tremayne and Peter MacAlan. He has also published 95 short stories. His non-fiction books, articles and academic papers have made him acknowledged as an authority on Celtic history and culture. As Peter Tremayne, he is the author of the international bestselling Sister Fidelma mystery series. His work has appeared in 25 languages.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished this excellent tale set in India. Jim Chase's father Sir Keith discovers an old tomb and starts with the excavation. But soon they come to know that the tomb is cursed. The Rajah back then married a woman below his caste who died of grieve. He made a pact with Durga, the wife of Shiva, to protect his buried wife against excavation. Monosha, Durga's sister, a goddess who has the cobra as her symbol, assists. Now people involved in the project begin to die of poison, obviously bitten by a cobra. Has the ancient curse come alive? What is the role of the modern Prince and his sinister wife, the enigmatic ranee? With this book you'll start an fascinating adventure in India, Nangapore, full of mystery and mythology come alive. Can Jim and Sony survive the revenge of Durga, Monosha and their minions? There are many eerie moments here. It's a fine 80s horror novel with rich cultural background, Indian mythology, fast paced and with a likeable main character. You won't regret reading this book. It was highly entertaining, informative (the episode with the Brahmin) and eerie. Highly recommended!

[Bill Ramsell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a bit of a Sax Rohmer feel, although with rather less jingoism. It's set in the Mysterious East, and features the Plucky Englishman and the Beautiful Native Girl as main characters.

The weird thing was that I couldn't place the story in time. It's set in India, after 1948, but I only caught two real clues as to time. First, our hero travels in a 747, which entered service about 1970. Second, nobody has a cell phone. I'm therefore guessing it's set between 1970 and ca 1990.

This lack of time coordinates bothered me more than I thought it would.

Aside from that it was a fun read.

[Martina Kovaříková · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed overall the book, but I faced few issues with it. First I could not put it to a certain time. I could guess it was 2nd half of 20th century and before mobiles became widespread.
Overall it was ok read, but the final revelation was not completely surprising. However the ending is still slightly opened, there is no complete closure of the book, suggesting the main characters are far from being out of danger.