When Vanraj, Samrat Prem Kumar Singh's pet tiger is found murdered, and Amayastra, the deadliest weapon in the realm goes missing, it plunges the kingdom into chaos. It falls on Rani Sukanya to connect the dots.
But there are far stranger forces at play than she had anticipated.
Court intrigue and magic tangle together in the most interesting ways in Amal Singh's His Majesty's Tiger. Lush in sound design and beautifully voiced, this is a fascinating little audio drama set in an Indian court, following the death of the king and his beloved pet tiger, and his queen's subsequent rise to the throne.
Perhaps a little shorter than it should have been, His Majesty's Tiger climaxes and ends rather abruptly, making me wonder if there were budget constraints on the production end that forced the makers to truncate the story. That said, it was a fun, short listen (10 episodes, average ~ 20 minutes each) and included in my Audible subscription.
The Plot: 🐯 The story begins as Rani Sukanya is informed that Vanraj, the pet tiger of her husband, Samrat Prem Singh is found dead at night in the grounds of the Awadhpuri Palace. Vanraj was no ordinary tiger but a divine creation, who had won many battles for their kingdom. As a result, the news of Vanraj’s death creates a feeling of fear and unease among the people of Awadh. In absence of the Emperor, Rani Sukanya takes charge to investigate the tiger’s death and is shocked to find out that the tiger was in fact murdered. As the Queen finds herself being burdened with new responsibilities, she decides to seek help from the Mayawar Guild, who are the crown’s Guild of Sorcerers, to find out who is the culprit. Meanwhile, when the tiger is found murdered, Qasim, a high ranking Mayawar, is informed that the Amayastra, the most powerful weapon in the realm, is stolen from their vault. Mayawar Qasim is called upon to assist the Queen and to find out the truth, but as he unravels the mystery, he comes across a dark secret that puts everyone in the realm in grave danger.
My Thoughts: 🐯 It might seem from the title that the tiger might be the main protagonist in the story. But it’s actually the death of the tiger that sets the events in motion. The story is quite short and simple. The background score and the voice actors made the story impactful. I would have loved to explore this universe, but the story was mainly focused on finding the culprit and the political situation of Awadh. I was not so thrilled to find out about the murderer, but I was curious to learn how this murder was orchestrated. I was slightly disappointed towards the end since I couldn’t learn about the fate of certain characters and whether there were any long term consequences of their actions. But considering that this is a fantasy epic, I think the writer did a decent job in the world building of this universe in a span of just ten chapters. If you want to read a short historical fantasy epic set against an Indian backdrop, you can check out this series on Audible.
I happened to listen to the Audible, on Amazon. I think the story is good but could have been much better. The characters are well built and the audio is very good too, appreciate all the crew to make it good. I think the story is missing the great plot, it could have been much better. It is an OK listening from a story front.
Must say it doesn't seem like his first novel. One you start reading you will stop only once you are finished. So flawlessly and with so much details, this work of fantasy is surely a gem.
Surprisingly good. The production and performances are top notch. Story is interesting, like an amalgamation of Chandrakanta and Harry Potter. The audio production takes it to a different level.
World was fascinating, but the plot was mid. Over-all I enjoyed only because I've consumed in audio-book format. Performances were good, made a average story a good experience.