Product Description

The year is 1800. After her village is torched by agents of an evil Force, a cryptic note from her guardian sends Tien Ming, a girl of mixed race, on a perilous quest for a spellbook that will give the holder immense power, wealth and immortality! Accompanying her are two magical creatures - a shapeshifting owl and golden snow leopard - each with their own reasons for possessing the book. Through a myriad of unexpected twists and turns, Tien shows her bravery and strength of character. Thwarted by supernatural evil forces, ghosts, a human villain, and heart wrenching betrayals, Tien journeys on, finding hope, redemption, and unlikely friendship by voyage's end.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #908762 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 268 pages

Review
I read SORCERESS OF THE HIMALAYAS, by Ketaki Shriram, and enjoyed it tremendously: both as fantasy adventure sure to appeal to younger readers, and as a truly astonishing achievement for a young author with a great career ahead of her. I was struck by the depth of the characterizations in the book: Tien Ming, the heroine, is a girl of a mixed-race background who must overcome prejudice, loss, danger, suffering, and her own inner demons to unlock the secret of the marvelous spellbook on which rests the fate of the alternate world the author has created. A richly imagined landscape -- both familiar and fantastic -- is peopled with intriguing characters -- both human and non-human -- who often reveal themselves as tempted, conflicted, heroic or corrupt. It is a tribute to the author's skill that these beings are never simply the one-dimensional figures that too often are found in fantasy novels. A plot filled with surprises will pull readers in from the start, and draw them along through the fast-paced narrative, to a conclusion that is bittersweet, yet deeply satisfying --Robert D. San Souci, author of BRAVE MARGARET: AN IRISH ADVENTURE and FA MULAN: THE STORY OF A WOMAN WARRIOR, the basis for the author's screen story for Disney's MULAN

Ketaki Shriram here joins the ranks of writers in the finest tradition of fantasy fiction, creating a story appealing on the personal level to anyone who has felt like an outcast, and enthralling in its sweeping creation of a world threatened by best intentions gone awry. -- Catherine Head --Head of Dept of English, a California High School

About the Author
A lifelong passion for reading and writing inspired Ketaki Shriram to write Sorceress of the Himalayas when she was thirteen years old. Her vivid imagination and mature skills produced an extraordinary tale. She is now a junior in high school and lives with her family in California.

Customer Reviews

A Must Read
Who would ever guess that Sorceress of the Himalayas was written by a thirteen year old girl? It is an exceptionally strong piece of writing, which keeps the reader engaged from page one. This is a must read for any Jr. High to High School girl who loves adventure. It provides a wonderful model of writing for students.

Read this book
I've read this book and it is amazing! The initial sympathy you have for Tien brings you into the story and the eventful plot keeps you interested. The relationships between the characters are parallel to the relationships you experience in your everyday life. The ending twist is fantastic and every point that was introduced is tied in. I love this book and I hope Ketaki continues to share her talent with the world!

Fantasy Fiction Did Not Cease with the Final Harry Potter & Twilight Sagas
"Power, eternal life, and wealth - it is all possible for the one who possesses the spellbook." These are the words used by Kamsa," the Pariah", to justify a life spent researching and recording magic spells while neglecting his family. When Kamsa decides to sell his life's work to provide a suitable dowry so his only child could have a suitable marriage with an Indian such as herself, he is stunned by her refusal. Instead Rani demands the right to learn magic herself, escaping to begin a quest to find the bamboo grove at the top of Himalayas where sorcery could be learned. Her journey is ended when she meets and learns to love Li Shen, a Chinese general. Once again Rani defies tradition by joining with Li Shen in a mixed race marriage. The birth of their beautiful daughter, Tien Ming, expands their happiness. Until, that is, Kamsa tracks down his daughter, tearing her away from her new family. Trying to follow them, Li Shen is lost in a snowstorm, but not before securing the infant in bushes outside a mountain village.

Tien is discovered and raised by Wise Woman, an elder of the village. Taunted by the village children due to her mixed heritage, she learns much from her godmother. The misery of Tien's life changes when strange dark men come demanding the maturing girl be sent to find the missing spellbook of her grandfather. An evil Force is also seeking the book, and legend says only Tien could know the password, which would open the spells. Legend also has told that soon the moon and sun would occupy the sky at the same time, an event of great power. Should the Force hold the spellbook when this occurred, the world will turn dark, and all will die!

Thus begins the journey of the young sorceress, Tien, who is soon met by Zharabi the shape shifter, and Daya a golden snow leopard, to assist her in their quest for the fabled spellbook. Battling minions of the Force takes them from the magical bamboo grove to the Crystal River, the Sacred Forest, and finally to the Ghost Monastery, a breeding place for evil where phantom monks capture souls and keep them there for all eternity.

Novelist Ketaki Shriram uses the startling power of her imagination to humanize this stunning tale with talking animals, ghosts, faeries, unicorns, dragons, and other magical creatures. The adventure twists and turns through a variety of dangers and betrayals. Remarkably mature in her prose, Ketaki delivers a series of moral lessons as her characters rise above prejudice and malice to create a timeless, immortal world of hope. Intended for mature young readers, this adult found it as enjoyable as any of the many fantasy fiction tales I have read!