The Puppeteers of Palem (English, Paperback, Sharath Komarraju)

The village of Rudraksha Palem awakens and tells her tale. Five friends return to the village of their childhood to find that nothing seems to have changed and at the same time everything has. Whose voice is it that called them back and whose hand is it that now hunts them down, one by one? Palems grand old man, a Brahmin landlord, their childhood storyteller, makes one last ditch attempt to save his village from ruin at her hands. Will he succeed or will his past catch up with him and demand fair price? Two boys, one blind and the other lame, skirt the village borders at the old Shivalayam, listening, staring. On their faces they wear smiles of contentment. They sleep well. They see happy dreams. A TV reporter arrives to study the village, only to sink deeper into the mystery with each passing day. And hovering above all of these is the shadow of Lachi, who is believed to haunt the old Shivalayam on full moon nights. Some say shes consumed by lust, others call it madness, but all catch the red glint in her eye and the icy calm in her voice as she croons a sad, lonely song. The one thing she hungers for, that will satisfy her soul, is the fire that will burn Palem down to ashes. The village of Rudraksha Palem awakens and tells her tale. Listen closely. It will chill you to the bone.

About the Author

Sharath Komarraju is an IT specialist based in Bangalore. On a typical day he spends eight hours testing software and two writing fiction. (He hopes to some day flip that balance).