The Destiny Of Minou Moonshire

A colourful fantasy adventure set in an alternative India, drawing on ancient myths and legends.

Thirteen years ago, Minou was washed up on the riverbank as a baby in a boat with nothing to identify her apart from an amulet shaped like an elephant. Taken in by Dima, who became her adopted grandmother she lived with her on her ramshackle houseboat developing a fierce independence and learning the ancient art of Kalari fighting along with the boys in the local school.

Until thirteen years ago Moonlally had been a Queendom, but a despotic General had seized power and the queen was believed to be dead. The General brought in draconian rules and forbade the locals to worship their Goddess, The Dark Lady, even though many townspeople continued their prayer and devotions in secret. A prophecy has foretold the restoration of the Queendom when the monsoon rises thirteen years after the Queen’s disappearance.

When her beloved grandmother is murdered, everything changes for Minou and there are many questions to be answered. She joins a band of rebels, the Green Orchids, and after escaping from the wicked General after jumping from the state dirigible, Minou journeys into the hills with her new-found friends Jay and funeral poet, Farisht, along with a mechanical elephant, to discover the truth about the Queen. Along the way she makes new friends and discovers her own extraordinary destiny.

Peopled with a marvellous cast of characters and with a brave and sparky heroine, this is a child-friendly, rollicking tale which touches on themes of freedom, friendship and female empowerment. There is plenty of rich detail here but somehow the even-handed delivery means it doesn’t quite rise above the sum of its parts.