insightful journey into mid seventeenth century India

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	• The Temple Dancer: A Novel of India John Speed St. Martin's Press, 2006 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 14 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

insightful journey into mid seventeenth century India

In 1657 Goa, India after the Dutch win the Pepper Wars, Carlos Dasana worries about his Portuguese family so he courts widowed sultana of Muslin Bijapur. However, Carlos also understands who the current power is as the sultan is a preadolescent; he insures he stays on the friendly side of the Grand Vizier Wali Khan by sending him a former Hindu temple dancer sold into prostitution Maya to do whatever he wants.

Carlos dispatches his dissolute nephew Geraldo and his niece Lucinda to oversee the caravan delivering the human gift to the vizier. Along the treacherous trek in which bandits attack and assault the two females, Lucinda and Maya forge a friendship as they share their recent history especially when their elephants have accidents. At a stop in Belgaum, Lucinda realizes she loves traveling companion Da Gama while Maya and Geraldo seem to want one another though they must show caution as the Vizier has sent Captain Pathan to protect his present from other males.

Though in some ways a historical romance, THE TEMPLE DANCER is much more as three ways of lives clash on the journey serving as a microcosmic metaphor of the larger battles between Portuguese, Hindu and Muslim cultures during the final age of the Mogul empire. Each key player and several support characters (for instance the Vizier's former concubine who runs Belgaum) are distinctive, which adds to the reader understanding the differences between the three people. Though the ensemble cast leads to complicated subplots that compete for supremacy (paralleling the underlying theme of a clash of civilizations) making for at times a difficult read, fans of historical tales will want to join the caravan riding the elephant on this insightful journey into mid seventeenth century India.

Harriet Klausner

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A book you won't want to put down

John Speed, a long time student of India, uses all his knowledge and skill as a writer to bring this epic to life. Filled with graphically formed characters involved in adventure and intrigue, the story moves with astounding clarity.

Bring us more, John Speed! Bring us more!

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Historical India Adventure

The author does a great job in taking us to 17th century South India. As you read it, you want to read more and get drawn into it. You want to know what happens next. Combine the intrigue with some history, and that makes this book a very interesting read. I especially enjoyed the historical slant.

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Genius!

Genius! Pure Genius.

John Speed's The Temple Dancer is not only a modern-day page turner, but it is also a literary work in the classical sense.

Speed's novel is vivid and cinematic in scope. His vibrant descriptions of India during the 1600s bring this historical time and place to life. He transports the reader to a far off past civilization, and we fly there naturally, as though we have just stepped off a jumbo jet and landed in an exotic culture.

Although Speed is a historian, his real brilliance lies in magically creating characters that pop off the page. He does his magic through clever, witty dialog, and through an amazing ability to capture and express subtle nonverbal communication. This is Speed's genius. Like Tolstoy, Speed reveals to us his characters' hidden subconscious thoughts and feelings. Speed's vivid descriptions of the nonverbal - facial expressions, tones of voice, gestures- reveal his characters' inner life, illuminating the reader with elevated awareness. The result is the infusion of life into ink, the birth of complex characters in the reader's mind. The effect is psychedelic.

The plot keeps one on the edge of one's seat, with many twists and turns that propel one to turn the pages. But these twists of fate are not arbitrary or forced. Rather, Speed invokes the Indian law of karma - fate is determined by character - to eventually dole out justice, making for a most natural and satisfying conclusion.

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lush and exotic

A sensational debut, an incredibly well told story by a master story teller. For a first novel, this is simply outstanding and deserves high acclaim. I read this book in 24 hours. The lush and exotic scenery is very evocative of India in the 1600s and I truly felt I was there in the scene and not watching from the sidelines. The authors ability to create an atmosphere so real that the reader is literally able to hear the sounds of trumpeting elephants, the jingling bells worn on the feet of veiled women, to feel the wet spray of waterfalls and raging rapids, shows pure talent and promise of an author to be watched and remembered as one of the great historical novelists to come. The story is engaging, riveting, and the reader gets a firsthand account education of the place and time. Everything that one needs in a good book is here. Romance, action, adventure, culture and history, murder, good dialogue, beautiful scenery, what a great epic movie it would make. In fact, recently I had just watched the DVD of Fritz Lang's India epic that was filmed in the 50's and this book was a good match for the setting and time. Lots of plots and twists and turns, believable characters, and the future of two more books to come in the trilogy turned this book into a hit for me. I love historical fiction and am very selective about authors and good writing styles, I hope to see this novel hit the best seller list. I eagerly await the next installment.

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