ARU SHAH AND THE END OF TIME The Pandava Quartet, Book 1

This audiobook of two middle-schoolers' adventure of a lifetime begins with their finding out that they are reincarnated Pandava brothers, straight out of the Hindu epic poem the MAHABHARATA. Narrator Soneela Nankani is given a wealth of material to mine. Aru, having been taunted into lighting a cursed lamp, awakens the Sleeper, a demon that will freeze the world if Aru, Minnie, and her sister, Pandavani, cannot stop him before time runs out. Their only advisor is a supercilious parrot. The narration makes it easy to differentiate the girls through their character traits: Aru is determined and Minnie is brave. Lighter moments involve Minnie's hypochondria. The abundant cultural references are deftly handled in a narrative that will leave listeners eagerly awaiting the heroine's next quest. E.J.F. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2018]