The Devourers – Indra Das

I had the worst time finishing this book. I can’t even remember when I started it – last Fall at least, but maybe the summer? It’s told from many different viewpoints (which I knew about ahead of time from reading the reviews), and that made it hard for me to read.

Time is split between the present day and the Mughal Empire days of India. Alok, in the present day, meets a mysterious stranger, who gives him some ancient scrolls he wishes to have transcribed to the computer. They contain the story of Cyrah, a Persian girl who’s raped by a shapeshifter, and bears his child.

The shapeshifters are based on the Indian raskhasas, but Fenrir (the father) is specifically a wanderer from Europe, so there are some interesting points of culture addressed by that. It’s also got a fascinating take on sexuality, which is hard to explain without giving away the story.

I kept at this book because it’s a really interesting take on the werewolf genre that’s so popular right now, and I was really pleased to see a viewpoint coming from a non-Western culture. If you can get past the confusing viewpoints, it’s a good read.