royal foes

Fantasy tales

Those of you who loved Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s The Conch Bearer will surely be as rivetted to its sequel, The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming (Roli Books, price Rs 295). In this just-published second novel of the Brotherhood trilogy, Anand, along with his friend Nisha and their teacher Abhaydatta, undertakes yet another adventurous journey. As the keeper of the conch in the Silver Valley, he has to encounter an evil sorcerer and a djinn who are planning the downfall of a royal family. Can he spoil their plans? The racy, action-packed story with suspense and mystery thrown in, makes for a good read. Fantasy blends with reality, the exotic with the mundane, the magical with the sublime, the past with the present. As you await the release of the last of the Harry Potter books in July this year, here is a book that will surely whet your appetite.

Loss, no less

Stolen reptiles

Fifty reptiles have been stolen from an Australian animal education centre, established to continue the work of wildlife enthusiast Steve Irwin. The reptiles stolen include a two-feet-long freshwater crocodile, two pythons and three bearded dragons, all requiring an owner’s licence. These animals were used to educate children and to keep Steve Irwin’s legacy alive. Irwin had achieved worldwide fame from the television programme The Crocodile Hunter. The centre was opened days after Irwin was fatally pierced in the chest by a sting ray barb while shooting underwater in the Great Barrier Reef.