I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Speckled God by Marc Joan Published by Unsung Signals on February 6 2017
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A short but foreboding story about the reincarnation of gods, and one unlucky man who finds himself in the middle of it all.
I’ve come to appreciate solid writing and storytelling from the folks at Unsung Stories, and so I was excited to accept The Speckled God for review, which turned out to be much shorter than I expected. The Speckled God apparently falls into the “novelette” category, a work that is longer than a traditional short story, but shorter than a novella. And it turns out I like novelettes very much! The length was perfect for this sinister tale about an accountant for a tea company in India who finds some suspicious entries in the logs of one of the estates of the company, and decides to pay them a visit to audit their books. It might sound like dry material, accounting and all, but trust me, this story was anything but dry.
The story is told forty years after the strange death of one Joki de Souza in 1975, a mild-mannered man who worked for the Sarpal Tea Corporation. An unnamed narrator is trying to piece together the events that led to Joki’s death, and so the story includes interviews with some of Joki’s friends, as well as evidence from a journal that Joki kept at that time. During his day-to-day accounting of the various landholdings of the company, Joki uncovers some rather odd entries, which lead him to do a little digging into the Kalisholi estate in Mansholi. He voices his concerns to the personnel director of the company, Miss Raganathan, who promptly decides to send Joki to Kalisholi to perform an audit. Joki reluctantly agrees, and is greeted by the assistant to the head of the Kalisholi estate, Mr. Subayah.
During their long, hot drive from the airport to the estate, Joki takes over the driving at one point and, to the horror of Mr. Subayah, runs over a cobra in the road. This sets off a strange chain of events, as Subayah explains to Joki that in this village, snakes are sacred animals and are worshiped by the locals. They eventually make it to the house, where the head of the estate, Mr. Kannan, is suspiciously absent. Joki is determined to complete his audit, with or without Mr. Kannan, and so he proceeds to look though his records. But a secret ritual is taking place right under Joki’s nose, a ritual that involves the cobra that Joki ran over.
I’m keeping my review deliberately short, because The Speckled God is short and it’s better to read it and experience it for yourself. But I will tell you what I loved about this story. Marc Joan is a new author to me, but I’ll be looking up his other work, because wow, can this guy write! Not only does his prose feel like that of a seasoned writer, but the construction and pacing of this short tale worked perfectly for me. Joan is a master at dropping hints and giving the reader glimpses into the events that took place in Kalisholi, but he doesn’t go so far as to completely explain what happened to Joki. I love when authors give the reader a chance to connect the dots on their own. Because he uses an epistolary format (of sorts), the evidence of what happened is spotty and inconclusive at best.
One of the interviewees is Joki’s best friend from school (long ago!), a man named Harpreet Singh, who went to Kalisholi after Joki died to pick up his things. Harpreet is an important character, even though he’s not on the page much, because of his wife, Mina. Something horrible happened to her that directly relates to what happened to Joki, and is just one more piece of this strange puzzle.
The “speckled god” of the title is also important, but I don’t want to give too much away. Let’s just say it involves snakes, goddess worship and sacrifice. Marc Joan infuses his story with a wonderful taste of India, with its vast jungles, tea plantations and village secrets. I did a little research on the author and discovered he was raised in India, which is probably why this story feels so authentic. I’ll be seeking out more of Marc’s stories very soon!
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
Interesting… And I am also loving novellas. They make nice breaks between long books. And pad reading stats…
Nathan (@reviewbarn) recently posted…Sci-Fi Review: ‘The Stars are Legion’ by Kameron Hurley
Ah yes, they definitely make hitting those reading challenges easier! I have three this month so February is going to look pretty good!
Sounds like a unique read. Seems like a lot of people are writing these shorter tales from time to time. I love long books but have been burned by some lately.
You’re right, novellas are popping up everywhere. I really liked this novelette because it only took about an hour:-)
Connecting-the-dots is one of my favorite endeavors when reading this kind of book, and I like the fact that the author seems to trust his readers enough not to led them by the hand. And the background he choose is also different from the usual places you could find in the genre, adding another lever of interest. One more for the growing pile… 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…Review: INK AND BONE, by Rachel Caine (The Great Library #1)
I’ve read several stories that take place in India, and I find it a perfect location for dark fiction:-)
I hadn’t heard of this one before. I really should read more novellas (but always seem to go for the full length novels that take longer)
Lisa @TenaciousReader recently posted…Friday Firsts – Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty
This is a small publisher but they need more attention because they publish really high quality stuff!
I confess that I don’t read a lot of short stories but this one does have me intrigued and your review makes me want to give it a go.
Lynn 😀
I love it when you review indie books Tammy, because otherwise it’s unlikely that I’d ever hear about them! This sounds really cool, and anyone who can write a solid novella that also plays around with the reincarnation of gods is an author that I’m interested in. 🙂
Danya @ Fine Print recently posted…5 Reasons to Read: Island of Exiles by Erica Cameron
An epistolary fantastic-mystery novella set in India. That. Sounds. Amazing! I definitely have to read it. I just added it to my “to-buy” shelf for the next time I have an Amazon giftcard, haha. Thanks so much for highlighting it! 🙂
I haven’t seen this one at all anywhere but I am officially intrigued! Novelettes can be fantastic (and helps me feel better about my productivity lol).
I don’t know if it’s your reviews or just that you choose good books, because after your reviews I always just want to read the book. My TBR is massive already 😀
Evelina recently posted…The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak
This sounds like a really interesting read.
Sounds cool. And I really dig the cover.
This does sound like solid story telling. Intriguing!
Great review, Tammy! I’m not that fond of novelette, novellas, or short stories, but I may just break that personal rule to give this a go. I’m such a fan of all of the stories coming out involving gods and since dark fiction is normally my favorite, I’d be a fool not to give this a chance.
What an unusual and interesting story. Thanks for the review!