About The Return of Ravana series
In May 2007 I de-camped to New Delhi in India with my wife Kerry. We lived there until September 2010, and saw a lot of the most famous tourist sites, met many fantastic people, and really did have the experience of a lifetime.
Being in a country littered with ancient fortifications and palace, with living descendants of some extraordinary events, and so much colour and chaos, naturally had an impact on us both. It certainly changed how I see the world, and of course, had an effect on my writing, the most obvious being that I had an idea for a story set in India.
The ‘genesis moment’ for the tale came from visiting the mighty Mehrangarh fortress in Jodhpur, where the handprints of the wives of the Maharaja, burnt on his funeral pyre, had been preserved beside an inner gate. From there, my imagination took flight, and the story was born.
I originally envisaged a single-book tale, but it became a four-book series after I shared some red wine with Mike Bryan, then CEO of Penguin India, and took up his suggestion that I incorporate aspects of the Ramayana, the great Indian epic of love, revenge, fidelity and war.
To learn more about The Ramayana, please click here.
The Return of Ravana series tells the story of four modern teenagers, who find themselves in peril from ghosts of the past. They come to realise that they are the reincarnations of four people who were caught up in the machinations of an evil sorcerer-king in India’s distant past. Their lives increasingly begin to echo the Ramayana, and they come to realise that they are doomed to try and prevent the return of India’s diabolic demon-lord, Ravana.
Titles in The Return of Ravana series
There is no escape from destiny . . . is there?
For four teenagers trapped in its story-cycle, the Ramayana is not just a tale. It is their fate!
In every life they have ever lived, Vikram, Amanjit, Rasita and Deepika have been persecuted and killed by Ravindra, who aspires to the throne of Ravana the Demon-King. Now Rasita is a captive of Ravindra, and demonic beings thought to be mythical are rallying to him. His triumph seems inevitable. Vikram and Amanjit must rescue her, though in every past life, Vikram has died at Ravindra’s hands. This time, failure is not an option. This time if Ravindra wins, it will be forever.
Age-old mysteries must be uncovered and forgotten powers regained, as the quest to free Rasita and end the tyranny of Ravindra moves toward the final, heart-stopping climax and a finale that is as startling as it is electrifying.
Reviews for King of Lanka
Ravana is back.
Will his slayers find their powers in time? Bollywood actress Sunita Ashoka’s reality show Swayamvara Live has ended in bloodshed and disaster. Vikram, Amanjit and Rasita are on the run, accused of the actress’ murder. Exiled like the heroes of the Ramayana, they are seemingly beset by the same perils, especially when Vikram encounters an unlikely temptress. Then another tragedy, also foretold in the Ramayana, forces Vikram into the open. But there is hope: Amanjit’s skills as a warrior are returning, Rasita is beginning to remember her own past lives, and Deepika is awakening to powers undreamt. But the Enemy, Ravindra, has also found allies-the nightmarish Rakshasa army. Memories and legends are coming alive all over India, from the bloodied sands of Ullal and the fortress of Jhansi to secret places in Mumbai, Pushkar and Varanasi.
The fight to the finish has begun . . .
Book retitled 'The Adversaries'
Mumbai, October 2010: Bollywood actress Sunita Ashoka will marry the man who wins her hand in Swayamvara Live, a reality show on television. Vikram Khandavani decides to participate, for he needs to draw out his nemesis Ravindra. It’s a deadly gamble, one that could cost him everything and everyone he loves.
North India, 1175: King Prithviraj Chauhan is about to storm the swayamvara of the beautiful Sanyogita. But Ravindra is coming, riding at the side of a fierce invader. Only Vikram, in his life as Chand Bardai, stands between Ravindra and all the thrones of India.
In the second book of the engrossing The Return of Ravana series the action oscillates from the floodlit studios of Mumbai to the glittering Rajput courts, while Vikram-Chand and his friends battle an age-old adversary whose power is growing like never before . . .
Reviews for Swayamvara (The Ghost Bride)
Book retitled 'The Pyre'
Mandore, Rajasthan, 769 AD: Ravindra-Raj, the evil sorcerer-king, devises a deadly secret ritual, where he and his seven queens will burn on his pyre, and he will rise again with the powers of Ravana, demon-king of the epic Ramayana. But things go wrong when one queen, the beautiful, spirited Darya, escapes with the help of Aram Dhoop, the court poet.
Jodhpur, Rajasthan, 2010: At the site of ancient Mandore, teenagers Vikram, Amanjit, Deepika and Rasita meet and realize that the deathless king and his ghostly brides are hunting them down. As vicious forces from the past come alive, they need to unlock truths that have been hidden for centuries, and fight an ancient battle . . . one more time.
Pyre of Queens awarded the LIANZA Young Adult book award for 2012
On the 3rd August 2012, Pyre of Queens, the first book of the Return of Ravana series, was awarded the LIANZA Young Adult book award for 2012. Judge Colleen Shipley, Librarian at Marlborough Girls College, said the judging panel was impressed by the quality of novels published for teenagers over the past year, but David Hair’s Pyre of Queens stood out. “The freshness and originality of the plot was appealing and we became totally absorbed in the story. Strong male and female characters; action; history and a touch of romance means there is something for everyone in this book,” she said.
Many people had a part in bringing Pyre of Queens into being, but David would especially like to thank the following people: Mike Bryan of Penguin India for the encouragement and ideas that started the ball rolling on this series; Sudeshna Shome Ghosh, editor for all four books of the series, whose enthusiasm, perception and imagination were crucial to the way the books came out; Kunal Kundu for his vibrant cover art; Katie Haworth of Penguin New Zealand for supporting bringing the series to New Zealand; and of course the wonderful Kerry Greig, my lovely wife, whose enthusiasm, proof-reading prowess and encouragement lie behind all my stories.