Book review 'Faith of the Nine': Realistic fantasy

For Sachin Dev, finance analyst turned author, writing has been a messianic passion for as long as he can remember — in fact, he attributes his creative streak to his childhood obsession of emulating classics with a shade of his quirky imagination. Fast forward a decade and a couple of years, and this enterprising Bengalurean is out with the first part of this fantasy fiction trilogy, Faith of the Nine. “I initially started writing (pretty early — around eight or nine) just to see if my own version of the Famous Five or Hardy Boys would be more exciting (for me, and no one else!). I have always been trying my hand at this sort of ‘fan fiction’. Serious efforts started way after college, after I had discovered one of the biggest influences in my life —  fantasy and science fiction as a genre. I had decided my first ‘published’ book would be a fantasy fiction, I stuck to my guns,” shares the 34-year-old about the idea behind his debut book.

The book essays the clash between the good and the evil and is presented in all its complexity in an alternate universe, where humans exist along with the supernatural and the demonic. While it is a product of his affinity towards all things celestial and supernatural, Sachin reveals how he has not digressed from bringing about a tinge of realism, either. “I try and look for stories in all aspects of life. While I chiefly write fantasy, which people claim is escapist fiction with magic and surrealism, the characters in the stories are as real as you and me. Even the whole fantasy world is based on elements from history and real life. I abide by the adage — ‘fact is always stranger than fiction’, and this inspires me in a lot of ways.”

Speaking about how the whole idea of moonlighting as an author has panned out well, the young author lets us in on what is next. “Reading remains my biggest hobby, and I review these books with a lot of passion on my book blog. Apart from books, I enjoy travelling — planning a long vacation, going out for long drives, trekking, camping, hills and beaches. I am also a dog lover. I got two furry four-legged devils at my home.”

Elucidating about what’s next on the radar, the author states, “I want to wrap up the story of my first trilogy, so I’m hard at work on book two and three. In the meanwhile, I am sitting on an incomplete manuscript for a contemporary boy-meets-girl falls-in-love Cinderella story set in modern day India. Many ideas are bubbling up for countless other sub-genre stories like a zombie apocalypse set in Kochi, a space opera that I’ve started writing, a historical fiction about the port city of Muziris in Kerala. So, as Calvin tells Hobbes — ‘the days are just packed’.”