N.S. Vishwanath’s Nights of the Moonless Sky is a tale of duty and desire, of villainy and heroism, and of fate and faith, steeped in the history of the 16th century Vijayanagara Empire in India. A fast-paced story set in a world where fierce passions challenge concepts of honor, and where deep treachery is always lurking. A powerful celebration of perseverance and the resiliency of the human spirit.
– Bill Jones, Author of At Sunset, Facing East and Still Life in a Hurricane.
Palace intrigue, sinister plots, conniving characters and fearless heroes await the reader in N.S. Vishwanath’s compelling new historical fiction novel, Nights of Moonless Sky. Superbly conceived and masterfully written, this heroic tale unfolds in the intriguing and exotic historical setting of India in the 16th century. A spellbinding story, it will entertain, enthrall, and enlighten.
– Stephen L. Cocca, contributor, Western New York Heritage Magazine
Available in hardcopy and paperback and E-book formats
Readers in USA, Canada, UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, Germany, India, and who knows where else. Awesome reviews.
HOW TO BUY: Simple! Just go to Amazon, Archway Publishing, Barnes and Noble, or other online retailers in your region. (For example – in India, go to Amazon.in).
Synopsis: Vijayanagara Empire, 16th century South India. A succession struggle threatens to disrupt the peace of the realm. Away from the capital chaos, in a relative idyll, basks the splendorous estate of Madhuvana where seventy-year-old patriarch Rajanna has died. Elders decree that his widows are to perform an ancient ritual in which a widow is cremated alive. The trajectories of the three principal characters intersect.
Aadarshini is Rajanna’s third wife, just twenty-two, and the mother of Rajanna’s heir.
Azam Khan is Rajanna’s trusted bodyguard, left rudderless after the death of his master.
Prabhakara Swami is the enigmatic temple priest who holds the strings that control the fates of others.
Aadarshini, thrust into a forbidding darkness, must discover what it means to become the hero of her own story, as destiny tosses her around like a straw in the wind. As events in the capital close in around her, she must seize her fate in her own hands to overpower not just others who want to see her down but also her inner demons.
Scarlett O’Hara meets Ken Follett in this thriller of intrigue, self-discovery and destiny, set amid a historical period very few have written about. In Aadarshini, we have a kick-ass protagonist, with a quest that is reminiscent of the great heroes of historical fiction.
Bon Appetit!
