"Bobby Luczac accepts an assignment from Harper's magazine to go to India to retrieve a poetry manuscript allegedly written by a man that has been presumed dead for the last eight years. He takes his wife and seven month old baby with him, never dreaming that he is about to expose them, as well as himself, to one of the most filthy and evil cities in the world. Calcutta is a noisy, dirty, crowded city and as Bobby soon discovers, it is an extremely dangerous city, too. He and his family are drawn into the machinations of a religious cult that worships the goddess Kali, a cruel and demanding deity whose doctrine is based on violence as a means to gaining power. An exciting, nerve-wracking and ultimately heart-breaking story which is downright terrorizing at times, "Song of Kali" has been awarded The World Fantasy Award and is well deserving of the honor. "
Bill Brumlow, Resident Scholar
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Review Analysis of Song of Kali
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book descript. of violence and chases - 20% Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20% How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- scarey (primal ax-wielding fear)
Time/era of story:
- 1960's-1970's
Spying/Terrorism Thriller
Yes
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Who's the terrorist enemy here?
- cult
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- writer
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- just the right amount
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- natural phenomena
Has special powers?
Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist:
- can cast all sorts of spells
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a substantial amount
Motive of antagonist
- power
The antagonists are:
- cults
Monster of some sort?
Yes
Kind of monster:
- general monster
Setting
Asia/Pacific
Yes
Asian country:
- India
City?
Yes
City:
- Dirty, dangerous (like New York)
- dangerous
Misc setting
- resort/hotel
- sewers/subways
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- very gorey references to deaths/dead bodies and torture
How many deaths?
- 5-7
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- touching of anatomy
- actual description of sex
- descript. of other female areas
Unusual forms of death
- decapitated
- perforation--bullets
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- mostly dialog
