"For a Hero of Light, he reckoned he cast a rather grim shadow. Hero. The word slithered nastily in his mind. An honour bestowed upon you when you had killed all those who would have called you a mass murderer."

Sons of Darkness is a complex reimagining/reinterpretation of the great and equally complex ancient Indian epic the Mahābhārata but set in A Song of Ice and Fire-esque fantasy setting. A reimagining of a revered and complex classical text, especially one with a large cast of characters, in a grim epic fantasy setting, is an ambitious undertaking. Especially for a debut novel, however, Gourav Mohanty manages to make this work.

Sons of Darkness is a gripping tale that possesses all the elements that fans of epic fantasy like - a large cast of characters, lots of scheming and political machinations, revenge, epic fights and battles, morally grey characters... The reader does not need to be familiar with the synopsis of the Mahābhārata to read Sons of Darkness. However, familiarity with the original text might help you get your bearings quicker because the story has a large cast of characters and their interconnections can, at times, get quite complicated. But even if you don't know anything about the original text that inspired this quite grim epic fantasy reinterpretation of the story, once you start reading you will enjoy Mohanty's writing and will be too immersed in the story that's unfolding to worry about not being familiar with the Mahābhārata.

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for the e-ARC! I will be reviewing and/or showcasing this book on my social media accounts when I can. Thanks again very much appreciated and looking forward to this book!

Sons of Darkness is a grimdark fantasy where a World, its politics and caste system are barely holding it together as War looms for the conquerors. An ancient magic and creature, the Daevas have been gone for centuries but could they return.

‘You think yourself to be lions, but you are merely scurrying rats upon whose tails our paws linger. The fact that the rats still live is not because of anything the rats have done.’

There were so many favourite characters in this, the fearless, sarcastic, pirate Princess with a murderous streak and an insatiable desire.
Karna with his golden chest plate which is part of his skin, who comes from a lower caste but has found himself favoured as a high lord.
Krishna is a slippery snake who prepares Mathura for war while protecting his citizens with ingenious methods.
Satyabhana, the War Mistress who is just completely badass and builds her army with orphaned girls.

‘The World was full of demons with pretty faces and angels with scars.’

Although this is a long book, I read it in a long weekend, that was how much this story gripped me. Check the trigger warnings because this is certainly grimdark with lots of gory, brutal violence.

Comparing it to GRRMartin is a good comparison because the World is as complex, the characters are huge and the plot is thick with politics, warfare, magic, devastation and brutality. If you enjoy grimdark high fantasy then this will absolutely by a book you will gladly drown in,

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review. I now have my own special edition and audiobook!

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the advance reader copy.

I don’t like leaving bad reviews especially for books based on amazing content but unfortunately I have to for this book.

I DNF’d this book for a few reasons, mainly the depictions of female characters, SA and just how lacklustre the writing was.
There was so much info dumping and I still didn’t know where the book was going.

I’m going to need books to stop using SA as a plot point and learn that sometimes women can be allowed to just be and not have such violence afflicted on them.

I was promised battles, politics, like in A Song of Ice and Fire, but in the end everything was just... bland. The characters, the plot, even the setting were all so bland and boring. I struggled to finish this book. Though, I appreciate the effort put into writing such a complex storyline, even if I couldn't get into it.

I really enjoyed this dark desi inspired fantasy. It is unique in the way the characters feel, the magic system used and the clothing described whilst also having that epic fantasy feel that gripped me from the start. Gourav Mohanty is incredibly talented and the world in this book felt so real, and the characters so alive.

Apologies team, but I couldn't finish this book. I purchased an ecopy for one of our team and it's in his TBR, but I cannot guarantee a review at this juncture. I really wanted to love this book, as it's from APAC, where I'm from, and I wanted to throw my support behind it. However, I was struggling to stay into the book and then the introduction of new characters half way through the book just did it for me and I drew the line there. If I couldn't be invested in the first batch of characters, I felt it unlikely I would be invested in the new ones.

YEEEEEEHAAAAAW!!!! This book was so good, I loved it. It's slow paced and unravelled slowly, but definitely worth the time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

Many thanks to Head of Zeus and Netgalley for their ARC in exchange for this review!

Goodness! This book was a tome. I read it on Kindle, of course, and I kept wondering why it felt like I wasn't making any progress. Well, at about 636 pages, it takes a LOT of reading to get through it. But I like thick books and I cannot lie, haha.

This story seems to combine two tales: The Mahabharata and the Ramayana. I have never heard of those two tales, but that's okay because I like epics, and that ignorance kind of kept me reading on because I didn't have many expectations starting out. This story has been pitched as a kind of Indian Game of Thrones and having read a lot of A Song of Fire and Ice, I can say that that description isn't entirely unwarranted, especially with its multiple POVs and grimdark setting. While the grimdark didn't bother me so much, the multiple POVs did. For the first story in an epic, I kind of wish that it was kept to four, maybe five, characters, just so that the reader has time to get to know them and their perspectives on things before they get into others' perspectives and why. Multiple POVs are very difficult to do and while Mohanty did okay with this, I think they should not exceed too many perspectives in the next book.

The action is pretty fast-paced and I loved the use of fantastical creatures. The fantastical creatures really did it for me, especially since I grew up in Western Society where dragons and unicorns were the mythical creatures de jure lol.

My only gripe is that this story moves slowly for about the first third of the book. And I do mean slow, which also added to what felt like the grind for me.

Oh well, I definitely look forward to the next book and seeing what the author comes up with. If you're going on a cruise or a fairly long trip and need a book to get into, I highly recommend this one.

While I have no yet finished this book, I do like it a lot. It's just a massive book with a lot of complicated world building and so many different characters that it's rather difficult to keep track of everything. So instead of delaying my review even more, I've decided to post while not yet finished. The writing is really good and it reminds me a lot of the intricate world-building in Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones.

I've bought a physical copy to finish the read (I was really struggling with the digital version) and oh my gods the cover is even pretties in person. This definitely feels like a book that you will have to read multiple times to really be able to absorb the story.

I will update Goodreads once I've finished the book.

It took me a while to finish the Sons of Darkness but this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Based loosely on the Mahabharata, some have compared to a Game of Thrones or Abercrombies First Law. However, considering it's forebearer, I would say they were based on the Mahabharata! Anyway, this is a complex, geopolitical epic which is not western-centric and should be celebrated as such.

First things first, there is a lot going on here. The plot is incredibly complex and there are dozens of characters. Some of the characters are much more well fleshed than others but I would not say this is a character-driven book. Here, plot is king and it makes for a very good tale. My only obstruction was keeping all the characters straight, especially with some very similar names thrown in. I add the caveat here; they are very similar to me, as I am not used to the various South Asian names used here, so really the obstruction was myself. But the plot flowed well, with several very divergent streams all coming together neatly towards the end. This was exceptionally well done for such a complicated plot.

Secondly, this is fairly dark. Could it be classified as GrimDark? Well, I think there is a good argument for it. There are several incidents of rape, child murder, torture etc, which would put it firmly in the grimdark camp. But I'm not totally convinced. Either way, it is dark and there are scenes that people might find upsetting. Please be aware of this before heading in. For me, this was at a level needed for the plot; sometimes jarring but in fitting with the context.

Sons of Darkness is a richly imagined fantasy on an epic scale. Some lovely prose helps to ease the convoluted plot to its conclusion but this is one for plot enthusiasts. If you are more character driven, I think the sheer number represented here might be a bit too much. Avoid if you prefer a light-hearted tale.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I’ve never quite read anything like this before. It’s grimdark fantasy, and for my first taste of it, I am not at all disappointed, quite the opposite in fact. This story was incredibly complex and rich, a little too much at times that I found myself putting the book down sometimes because it was quite an information overload. However, the world is incredibly creative, and the novel is also character-driven. The characters felt very real, had human motivation, and kept me on my toes to see what would happen to them. That’s the main reason why I recommend this book. While the world-building was a little too complex for my tastes, it was still surreal and rich, and the characters created by this author were absolutely fantastic! I loved that this was also a multiple POV. It didn’t ever get boring to me, there was always something happening and each character was unique and differentiated so well you couldn’t confuse them! The magic system was also really cool.

Thank you so very much for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Sons of Darkness takes place over a sprawling empire, though the author spends a lot more time telling us lore than giving characters free rein.
A political epic showing both sides of a battle, multiple povs from different sides. Just as you got comfortable with one set of characters, we were off again. You definitely get a really huge sense of scale, there was almost too much actually.The character and faction lists were definitely a huge help, but I couldn’t help feeling a bit lost occasionally.

This book is a swirl of politics, battles, murder, and madness. But it also manages to include humour and light amongst the telling of this grimdark tale. There is an odd inclusion of more modern phrases, lending an almost comical edge to some very intimidating characters. With countries on the verge of annihilation, allies and enemies wavering on the horizon. Each character walks a path they have chosen, to do what they can to survive the coming darkness

Trigger warnings
Sexual assault, torture, gore, casteism

Unfortunately, I dnf'd this. It was slow and complex and I did not have the brain power or time that it deserved. However it has been a month and I haven't wanted to pick it up again. I may try this again one day, possibly with the audio.

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

After trying to get into this book multiple times, I have to give up and DNF. This is definetly a case of 'it's not you, it's me'.

"Sons of Darkness" by Gourav Mohanty is an absolute epic! This tome transports readers to a realm brimming with arcane magic, legendary warriors, and dark prophecies. Mohanty weaves a tale as intricate as the most coveted spellweave, drawing upon deep lore that fans of high fantasy will revel in. The characters are masterfully fleshed out, making every mage, rogue, and questing hero resonate with authenticity. The plotlines are a veritable dance of blades—twisty, unpredictable, and utterly engrossing. In the crowded pantheon of epic fantasy, "Sons of Darkness" stands tall, a must-read for every diehard realm-traveler out there.

This was a story I'd been heavily anticipating. It did not deliever on my expecations. I just couldn't get into the world and characters. The cover is absolutely stunning though.

A strong 4 and a half stars!!

This is a solid debut epic fantasy.

Whilst the first quarter of this book is very heavy, I am glad that I took the time and persevered. Before the halfway mark I was fully invested and could not put it down! The range and depth of the characters within the story is a true selling point. The author manages to bring together all the different plotlines together in a seamless way and when they all converge, it is truly a stunning piece of writing. The battlescenes are done in such a way that you get multiple POV's without being clunky. Additionally to all of this, there is humor laced throughout the book that truly made me laugh aloud.

I would highly recommend this book and cannot wait for the next installment in the series to be released.

This book had me screaming!
At first the narration took abit of getting used to, but once I got it, I couldn't but it down.The way it was told was something I hadn't experienced before I don't think the word said was used, and yet, I had a clear picture on who was talking

The book is split into large parts. once I got to the midpoint, the book hooked me and struggled to put it down.,

In true game of thrones fashion, this story gets brutal, dark, but the women in this story shine.
I really love, Krishna, Mati, Satyabhama they shone from the page.
But, the prologue ! I was hooked wanting more
I was on the edge of my seat toward the end. One of the best battles I have read.
I cant wait for book two!

If you like first law, game of thrones you should pick this up.

In Sons of Darkness, Gourav Mohanty re-imagines the Mahabharata in a grimdark fantasy for modern readers. Mohanty's ambitious novel is crafted with multi-dimensional characters and nuanced worldbuilding--much like the epic Indian poem that inspired it--though this is "no modern translation of a mystical epic," says Nic Cheetham, managing director at Head of Zeus. "It is an entry into a world as messy and intricate as our own." Mohanty himself calls the world of the novel "a Narnia of India, if you will." Readers who settle into this elaborate world will delight in the discovery of an expansive work of fantasy as smart and complex as it is dark and violent--sure to live up to comparisons to George R.R. Martin and Joe Abercrombie. --Kerry McHugh