I grew up reading The Chronicles of Narnia. As I got older, I progressed to The Lord of the Rings. As that ended, I moved onto A Song of Fire and Ice.
Eventually, I wanted something uniquely Indian — characters and worlds reflective of our cultural idiosyncrasies. But, every Indian fantasy novel I picked up felt like a familiar song, one where the chorus was always the same. Stories of gods in battle, epics retold through different lenses. I found myself yearning for something different, something that didn’t echo the mythology I’d heard from childhood. I wanted to see what Indian writers could do with fantasy when they set the Mahabharata and the Ramayana aside; when they allowed themselves to create something truly original.
And then I discovered that they already had.
These stories are not about invoking the past but about reimagining the future. Here are homegrown novels that break the mold; stories that push the boundaries of Indian fantasy and offer something unexpected.
Indra Das doesn’t offer you just a novel; he offers a visceral experience. The Devourers is a raw, intoxicating exploration of shape-shifting werewolves, blending folklore with a gritty, contemporary edge. Set in Kolkata, it is a tale of immortality, bloodlust, and human desire, stretching across centuries. Das doesn’t bother with easy storytelling. His prose is dense, his characters flawed and fierce, and his world teeters on the edge of dark fantasy and horror. This isn’t your usual tale of good and evil, it’s a meditation on what it means to be monstrous — and what it means to be human.
Tasha Suri’s The Jasmine Throne is not just another fantasy novel, it is an empire unto itself. Suri spins a tale of rebellion, betrayal, and forbidden magic against the backdrop of an empire collapsing under its own weight. The novel’s strength lies in its nuanced portrayal of women. Women who are fierce and broken, loyal and treacherous, burdened by power and desperate to seize it. The protagonist, Malini, is a princess imprisoned by her own brother, and Priya, her maidservant, is far more than she seems. Suri builds her world slowly, deliberately, until you are fully immersed in its politics, magic, and brutality. She hands you a key to this universe and dares you to open the door.
The Ivory Key begins with a quest for magic — but don’t expect the typical hero’s journey. Here, four estranged royal siblings must set aside their bitter rivalries and fractured loyalties to find a long-lost source of magic that could save their kingdom. Raman’s world-building is lush, layered with intrigue, adventure, and betrayal. The strength of this novel lies not just in its epic quests, but in the dynamics between these siblings — each driven by different motives, each haunted by their pasts. Raman takes us on a journey where family ties are as fragile as the kingdom they’re trying to save.
Tanaz Bhathena transports us to the kingdom of Ambar, a land torn apart by magic and oppression. At its center is Gul, a girl marked by a prophecy, and Cavas, a boy trying to protect his father from the brutal regime that rules their world. Bhathena’s prose is lyrical, her storytelling intricate. She doesn’t just give us an epic love story, she gives us a tale of survival, revolution, and the fight for justice in a world that is all too willing to crush those who are different. Bhathena’s novel feels like a balm for those who long for fantasy rooted in resistance rather than in escapism.
A wildly inventive fusion of fantasy, satire, and pop culture, The Simoqin Prophecies defies conventional storytelling. If you're searching for a novel that delights in subverting traditional fantasy tropes, this is it. In a universe brimming with gods, monsters, and mythical creatures, Basu doesn’t just tell an epic story — he masterfully plays with the genre itself. The plot unravels through the perspectives of eccentric characters, blending adventure with sharp humor. The book invites you to revel in its chaos, pushing you to question what you think you know about the fantasy genre.
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