“Well  I  think  a  writer  must  write  with complete  honesty.  And  when  writing  for  children,  you must  have the eyes and heart  of  a  child.“

• Avantika
  One of the protagonists,
  The Viceroy Villa

Author Ashwini U. Nambiar who writes for children, knows well how to win their hearts. Apart from contributing to children’s magazines, she has also authored books like Pinky’s Journey to Fairyland, The Doomsday, and the Secret of the Snake Lake. She knows how to capture the essence of innocence and the magic to engage the children through her stories. Her favorite genres are mystery and science fiction. She has a unique way of blending fiction with the contemporary, which is also very inspiring for children, yet interests all age-group readers. Ashwini’s writings are a great way out to inculcate human values in the minds of her young readers.

The Viceroy Villa is a cursed palace and the centre of the book, around which, the story revolves. The protagonist couple moves in to stay in the villa, along with their pair of girl kids. The female protagonist discovers an underground dungeon in the premises and decides to pen down a story based on that. All the adventures that she plans for the characters of her story, becomes real in dangerous ways for her daughters. Various twists and turns unfold, leading the kids and their friends to an island previously unknown to the world.  The kids get to learn a lot by spending time on that island inhabited by a deadly tribe – the natural way and the story gets more and more exciting with each passing moment. Ultimately the male protagonist manages to reach the kids after tracing the island for a while.

Attractive cover along with catchy title of the book as well as its chapters are how readers get intrigued to delve deeper into it with every word being read. A reader-friendly language helps to keep them sticking till the end. The interest in the story keeps on shifting deeper and deeper as the reader turns the pages. Each page is full of thrill and excitement. So much so that someone can read the story in one go, smoothly. For instance, the following –

“The  little  princess  Dhruti  is  very  worried  not knowing  what  to  do  with  the  necklace.  She  is  too  scared to  discard  it  just  anywhere  because  she  knows  that  if caught  with  the  necklace,  she  will  have  no  way  out.  Out of  fear,  she  refuses  to  come  out  of  her  room.  She  puts  it under  the  mattress  but  the  glow  from  the  gems  can  still be seen.”

All the scenes and situations of the story are described in an appropriately elaborated manner and succeed in holding the attention of the readers. It is written so beautifully that the reader has experiences visualisation like watching movie while reading the novel. The scenes are displayed in so detailed and elaborate manner that it’s almost a roller coaster ride.

Once again the author has done wonders blending the reality with fiction. Ashwini has crafted the characters as well as the scenes of the story pretty meticulously and has displayed the outcome in a pleasantly presentable way. This adds to the readers’ interest and keeping them bound throughout. It gives an experience of living in the world which Ashwini has unfolded the story so wonderfully that the readers feel like living the entire journey of Viceroy Villa. It is an engaging read for any kid as well as anyone who loves to read fiction-based stories.

The Viceroy Villa is one of the outstanding sci-fi stories written in the recent times, while also being a perfect gift for any youngster who is into reading. It will definitely add to the excitement in his/her reading journey. It’s through and through a marvelous read, well-scripted and nicely-done. Once again, the publishing team has done a great work as well. The quality of paperback and e-book is great too.