"Great Disobedience": The note about the author mentioned that they've viewed the Ramayana as racial propaganda before, and this story very much tied in with some others in the anthology where the asuras and others groups are really the oppressed people, not the evil ones. Which made this tale heartbreaking, because Rama and Lakshmana as young men get stuck in a situation where their presence is used to justify horrendous crimes, and they'll go down in history as heroes for it. It's a side of the Ramayana that either I don't remember, or it just didn't make it into Narayan's version (and is a reminder of how complex the epic is, with its side stories and everything, and how many readings it inspires). Great story, but also very depressing.
It's a quite different version of Rama killing Tataka than the one seen here.
Raja Ravi Press, c.1910s
"Test of Fire" was pretty cool, despite its shortness. It's another version of Sita-from-another-people, having an ulterior motive in marrying Rama, but it plays to an alien race rather than the asuras. I also appreciated the otherworldly distaste for Rama's actions and how they view his treatment of Sita as pandering to his own self-interests (trying to maintain the favor of everyone) rather than doing what's right.
"The Other Woman" was, at times, one of the most fun stories I've read so far. I like the author's sense of humor, and I think I'll be checking out another speculative fiction by her. The setup and ending were a bit weird, but the lighter tone was nice after how deep and dark some of these stories have gone.
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