The Poison Palace
A Novel
Failed to add items
Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.
Add to basket failed.
Please try again later
Add to wishlist failed.
Please try again later
Remove from wishlist failed.
Please try again later
Adding to library failed
Please try again
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Unlimited access to our all-you-can-listen catalogue of 15K+ audiobooks and podcasts
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.
The Poison Palace
Pre-order Now for £18.39
-
Narrated by:
Eka is only a child when she is taken from her mother and brought to the heart of the Magadh Empire. Adopted by the city’s foremost courtesan, she is trained in music and dance alongside her childhood friend Ira. But fate puts Eka and Ira on the path of the Vishkanya. They are inducted into the secret cult of a powerful goddess of snakes, initiated into the mysteries of poison and taught to wield its power over life and death.
When the king of Magadh hears that Alexander the Great is sweeping toward their lands, conquering as he goes, he sends Eka and Ira undercover to stop him, which they must do using only their cunning and poison arts. There, Eka must play a dangerous political game, all while her feelings for Ira surge into love. Raised to do the bidding of one king and faced with the terrible ambition of another, Eka must make a choice that will change the world. . . .
A stunning blend of historical and speculative fiction, The Poison Palace tells the story of Alexander’s invasion of India as it has never been told before.
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
Critic reviews
Praise for Poison Palace
"A gorgeous, sensual, completely captivating novel that immerses the reader in an ancient world and history, at once recognizable and utterly remote from our own. A stunning, fantastical debut from a superb writer—I couldn't put it down."
—Elizabeth Hand, author of A Haunting on the Hill
"An intimate epic—two women journey from the margins of history to stand against the greatest of conquerors. A story of power, love, survival and resistance, meticulously researched, lyrically written and structurally ambitious. A stunning debut."
—Samit Basu, author of The City Inside
"Shreya Ila Anasuya's The Poison Palace unfolds the era of Alexander the Great's conquering rampage across Eurasia with a graceful, fiery verisimilitude both intimate and mythic, starting from the Indian subcontinent and stretching all the way to ancient Babylon—it resounds in time, and sings to the present with a singular voice. Don't miss it."
—Indra Das, author of The Devourers
"The Poison Palace is a dazzling debut that takes you on a tumultuous journey from the courtyard of a courtesan in ancient India to the punishing deserts of Iran and finally, Babylon where Alexander was felled. Shreya Ila Anasuya has entwined fantasy with myth and history to give us a novel as rare as the fabled snake-jewel. It will doubtless snag readers in both East and West."
—Annie Zaidi, author of Bread, Cement, Cactus
"Such an unusual, intelligent and lucidly written book, which opens up an old story with the most surprising glints and insights."
—Ruth Padel, author of Tigers in Red Weather
"A gorgeous, sensual, completely captivating novel that immerses the reader in an ancient world and history, at once recognizable and utterly remote from our own. A stunning, fantastical debut from a superb writer—I couldn't put it down."
—Elizabeth Hand, author of A Haunting on the Hill
"An intimate epic—two women journey from the margins of history to stand against the greatest of conquerors. A story of power, love, survival and resistance, meticulously researched, lyrically written and structurally ambitious. A stunning debut."
—Samit Basu, author of The City Inside
"Shreya Ila Anasuya's The Poison Palace unfolds the era of Alexander the Great's conquering rampage across Eurasia with a graceful, fiery verisimilitude both intimate and mythic, starting from the Indian subcontinent and stretching all the way to ancient Babylon—it resounds in time, and sings to the present with a singular voice. Don't miss it."
—Indra Das, author of The Devourers
"The Poison Palace is a dazzling debut that takes you on a tumultuous journey from the courtyard of a courtesan in ancient India to the punishing deserts of Iran and finally, Babylon where Alexander was felled. Shreya Ila Anasuya has entwined fantasy with myth and history to give us a novel as rare as the fabled snake-jewel. It will doubtless snag readers in both East and West."
—Annie Zaidi, author of Bread, Cement, Cactus
"Such an unusual, intelligent and lucidly written book, which opens up an old story with the most surprising glints and insights."
—Ruth Padel, author of Tigers in Red Weather
No reviews yet