The Manticore's Secret
core novel 2005 GameWorld Trilogy
Record
| First published | 2005 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.97 (835 ratings, collected 2026-08-30) |
| Page count | 528 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780144000678 |
| Internal chronology | 2 |
Synopsis
The second novel of the GameWorld Trilogy picks up as the ravians, an ancient warrior race, return to the world of Kirin, Maya and their allies. Kirin, now the reluctant dark lord, struggles to hold together an uneasy peace while his council of rakshases pushes for war, and a ravian warrior challenges him to single combat over a kidnapped woman, forcing him to seek counsel and prepare for battle. Around this central clash, human heroes, rival hero guilds and shapeshifters such as Red maneuver for advantage as the ravians' sudden return threatens to upend the established order between the world's races. Blending Indian mythology with other traditions and a persistent comic tone, the story weighs the subjectivity of history and the line between good and evil as old grudges resurface and new alliances are tested, setting up the confrontation that will carry into the trilogy's final volume.
Where it sits
- Universe: GameWorld Trilogy
- Series: GameWorld Trilogy core; position 2 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Samit Basu
Notes
- From the series record (GameWorld Trilogy): Complete three-book trilogy by Samit Basu, published by Penguin India (2004-2007); a satirical high-fantasy saga drawing on Indian and world mythology and genre tropes. Written in English from the start; not a translation.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series GameWorld Trilogy: position 2 of 3: previous The Simoqin Prophecies (2004) · next The Unwaba Revelations (2007)
Sources
- Wikipedia: The Simoqin Prophecies
- Wikipedia: The Manticore's Secret
- Amazon: The Unwaba Revelations (GameWorld Trilogy)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Manticore's_Secret
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