Title: Myths of Old
Author: Krishnarjun Bhattacharya
Series: The Tantric Trilogy: Book 3
Publisher: Fingerprint! Publishing
Genre: Fantasy, Horror
First Publication: 2020
Language: English
Book Summary: Myths of Old by Krishnarjun Bhattacharya
‘Where is Adri?’ ‘Hiding, somewhere in the darkness.’ ‘I am Darkness!’
Come forth, come hither. It is finally time.
Fairy tales, and spit and blood and bone and venom.
Promises of revenge, the smell of fear, the ever long hunt.
And the stories. Oh, the old stories.
The serpent and the Dragon.
The tantric and the horseman.
There was time, once. All the time in the world, for the world.
Yet you still claw at illegitimate hope; the blade saint, the demigod, the hammer of numen, the paladins of light.
Stop. Look.
The skies are black, the rivers red.
For the last time, the sun sets. The dark master rises.
Gaze into his hypnotic coils, for it is here.
The end of the beginning. The beginning of the end.
Myths of Old brings the long running Tantric Trilogy to a well drawn close. Dark, dystopian fantasy at its very darkest.
Book Review: Myths of Old by Krishnarjun Bhattacharya
Myths of Old is the final installment to Krishnarjun Bhattacharya’s Tantric Trilogy. If you haven’t read Tantrics of Old and Horsemen of Old, I would advise you not to read this installment until you have. Myths of Old’s world is constantly evolving and author Krishnarjun doesn’t waste his time catching readers up to what they should already know, which I have to admit, is part of what I love about his writing.
One thing I really liked about this finale was how many twists there still were. After everything that was thrown at us in the first and second part of the trilogy, it seemed like all the secrets were out and this book would be about getting free and saving those in trouble. But no, more information was thrown at us from all sides. People we thought were trustworthy turned on us. Everyone was shady and it was a game of ‘Who to trust’ the entire time.
The climax is wonderful, breathtaking, with all the characters you love and hate from all three books playing their part with some powerful punches.
Tantrics of Old introduced the world, the characters (most of them), the magic system, and the stakes. Horsemen of Old upped the ante, widening the scope of the world, but also deepening it, and ended with the characters facing the biggest challenge of their lives so far. Myths of Old is almost in its entirety devoted to confronting that challenge, like the whole book is the climax of the series, but it also has its own climax that is even more intense than the rest of the book. And the rest of the book is like a giant roller-coaster ride of emotion and action and scary stuff trying to steal your soul.
There were several compelling plot points going on in this chilling tome, but somehow they not only found a way to co-exist, they actually enhanced one another. The idea of necromancers alone was an eerily intriguing concept but to then confound it with a blood spilling and flesh eating Demons, Dragons, ancient rituals was sheer sinister brilliance. That is evil genius on the author’s part, and I ate it up! Popular culture references and snarky humor tie everything together into an enjoyable bow. I had so many conflicting emotions while reading this book, though suspicion and fear ruled more often than not.
