It's Raining Books: Oasis by Bharat Krishnan

Friday, January 4, 2019

Oasis by Bharat Krishnan

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotion. Bharat Krishnan will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Five Literary Influences in Oasis

1. Sand: the world Hugh Howey imagines is so desolate, and it was my original inspiration for writing Oasis. The concept of a sand diver as a job was something I loved, and I took that concept and flipped it on its head to contrast against water. I also loved the way the entire story followed one family, and that made me want to write a story that follows multiple people related to each other in some way, and eventually have their narratives blend into one.

2. The Grace of Kings: people say opposites attract, but in my experience that's not often true. Kuni and Mata's friendship was doomed from the start; they were just too different, and the same is true of Juno and Trey. Both couples tried so hard to make it work, but in each relationship you found one person willing to throw it away at the first sign of a misunderstanding and it forced their partner's hand.

3. Jade City: the fight scenes are tight, face-to-face instead of the typical epic fantasy warfare with dragons and swords. One secondary character in Oasis does wield a sword, but for the most part the characters rely on their fists and daggers to be used in close combat.

4. Frankenstein: The title character is doomed from his birth because of circumstances entirely out of his control. He was born into a society that was always going to hate him; he never got the understanding he craved. Also, his creator - Victor Frankenstein - marries his adopted sister just like Juno wants to marry Drea.

5. The Legend of Hong Gildong: Known as the “Korean robin hood,” Hong Gildong is the illegitimate child of a nobleman who uses supernatural abilities cultivated through training to attack inequities he sees in the world. Oasis has its fair share of magical training and questions of equality, but most importantly it forces questions about what makes a family since the two main characters are adopted brothers.

Once, there was a truce. Desperaux controlled the west with magic, and Desire claimed the east with steel and science.

But now magic has disappeared, and the world has changed.

The kingdom of Desire will stop at nothing to maintain the new world order. On Juno’s wedding day, their Mengery soldiers came marching through the Nine desert to rip his world apart. Now he journeys east with his adopted brother, Trey, in search of revenge after the murder of his family. Along the way, the two face bandits and the magical creatures of the Nine. When they finally reach Desire, Juno and Trey will face something even deadlier – their own fears and ambitions.

This is a tale of brotherhood, a revenge story that will remind you that everything has a cost – a cost that will be paid to Desire and to the inner demons that govern us all.

Read an excerpt:

Lee thought this seemed like a lot of effort over the stealing of some fruit. Although, he guessed the Mengery were mad he blew up the marketplace in the process. Using the special shoes Asha had given him before he left the Silo, he jumped backwards out of reach of a Mengery’s daga.

“You’ll have to catch me if you want to dance, big boy!”

He jumped away, turning his osmosis shoes on mid-leap so a spurt of water from their bottoms propelled him to the top of a building. The beams of laser shot from their guns were so hot they caused the water in his shoes to evaporate. If there was one thing the resistance needed, it was guns. And food. And water. A place to sleep. Maybe some TV.

As Mengery on the ground shot at him with pistols, another two set a wooden ladder against the building and started climbing up. Lee took a bite out of his apple before throwing it at the armored man scowling at him.

“You are one bad apple.”

The fruit landed hard against the ladder, toppling it over and sending the two guards crashing down. Propelling himself to an adjacent building, he crashed through a window as his fuel gauge read empty. His shoes needed water. The resistance could definitely use water.

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