Book Review: The Demon Hunter of Chottanikkara: A Supernatural Thriller by S. V. Sujatha

Title: The Demon Hunter of Chottanikkara 

Author: S. V. Sujatha

Publisher: Aleph Book Company

ISBN:  9789386021090

Genre: Fantasy, Indian Mythology

Pages: 188

Source: Flipkart Review Program

Rating:  4/5

INTRO

Before expressing my views on The Demon Hunter of Chottanikkara by  S. V. Sujatha, I need to confess that it is my first supernatural thriller read. And I am glad I picked the debut work of Sujatha. It was quite tough to put down the book, once you get started. How story evolved around a good and evil makes it interesting read. Author maintained the fluency in language and well crafted dialogues. Characters are powerful yet interesting that makes it enjoyable read. The way author narrated the story, It is hard to believe that it is her debut novel. I found it interesting and spent two nights surrounded with demons only. Ha!

STRUCTURE

Basically The Demon Hunter of Chottanikkara by  S. V. Sujatha  sets in Chottanikkara, a village in Kerela, that is infested with hair-raising Demons. And then there is a demon hunter, Devi, a brave girl with her lion, Ugra. It was interesting to know the sole purpose of her life is to slay the demons and save her village from horrifying situations. She is bold yet kind. She values the relationship yet knows what is needful. She is skilled in art of war and disciple of  Parshuram, who had taught her the very art of exorcism. There are various monsters Brahmaraksha, Jalpishacha, present near village, She usually binds the demons and traps them into a sacred tree, Aristha Vriksha. The twist comes into the story when Devi, realized that something happening in her village, which is beyond her power.

Although Villagers have faith in her, they know she will save them and protect them from blood-sucking demons, Yet they are in fear, cause the new demon, named Yakshi was not that usual one. How this horrible Demon closely connected with the Demon-Hunter and what happened in her past that made her so powerful, that’s the main theme of the novel. It is really thrilling to know, at what price Devi gets rid of Yakshi. It is supernatural thrills, still you get emotional. Here, I want you to know The Demon Hunter of Chottanikkara by  S. V. Sujatha  is a teen-read, due to its well woven characters and mytho-background, it grabs the attention of reader of any age. If you want to explore supernatural thriller genre,, You can give it try. READ!

In an interview with Deccan Chronicle Sujatha said “I happened to visit Chottanikkara temple eight years back, and was very much moved by the divinity the main dieted radiated. I was amazed by an exorcism ritual, I witnessed. On enquiring more about it, I came to know that there are two forms of Devi, the deity. One was meant to provide prosperity and other would clear of the most monstrous demons that possessed people. The legends caught my interest and I tried to know more about it and ended up as a novel.”

READER's MOMENT 

He was strong, Kannappa. Intelligent, too, for he was a priest when he was alive.” Devi stopped herself from telling him about the demon’s dying words. She did not want to worry him.

Her father snorted. “But not smart enough to stay in the marubhoomi. They never learn, do they, these demons?” he said. “We have forbidden them to come into our land, yet they do not listen...You hunt them down, Devi, show them they are not welcome in our lands, yet they keep coming, one after the other, each more reckless and foolish and stubborn than the one before it. Why do they not heed our warning?”

Devi smiled sadly. “I suppose we will never be rid of them because they were once like us...men and women who had hopes and dreams. But when they died prematurely and violently, they could not go peacefully into the next cycle of their lives, but had to return to this one as abominations filled with evil. We know they can’t stay away because they lust for what we have, and they also want to exact revenge for the injustices done to them when they were still among the living. They desire not only our flesh and blood but are driven by forces beyond their comprehension, which will allow them no rest, no peace, until they are dispatched once and for all. And their nature being what they are, they will kill and maim, they cannot help themselves.”

“These demons are not too different from me, then,” Kannappa muttered uneasily. The lines on his face were growing more prominent, as he spoke. “I was like them too. I took what I wanted, I killed and ruined lives, revelled in the power I held over people. I was a demon too. Just as abhorred, just as feared, just as savage.”

His eyes went to the face of Meenamma he had drawn on the wall above the cot. It had been there ever since Devi could remember, before she was even born. She had always woken up looking at it, the face of Kannappa’s daughter, the girl who would have been her sister. Meenamma’s face was painted with charcoal. Kannappa would often darken the portrait with moist soot from the kitchen stove so his daughter’s face would never fade from the walls of his hut.

“She never did like that I was a bandit. She used to plead with me to stop. But I never listened. Then, she left me,” he whispered, his eyes welling up with tears of pain and regret.

Note: Just a request from a sincere reader to Publisher (ALEPH): Text is too small to read, I almost considered an eye sight check-up. Please improve this into your upcoming beauties. Thank You!

ABOUT AUTHOR  S. V. Sujatha was born in Madras, the land of filter coffee and elaborate meals and wonderful temples. She is a graduate of the Warwick Writing Programme where she eventually found her calling as a writer and storyteller. She currently lives in the United States of America and is a full-time writer. This is her debut novel, born out of her love for the Mother Goddess and passion for Indian mythology  

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