The Captains of Legend
The first book by Raphael Sohnn is available now.
Set in the middle ages of Indian history, a gripping adventure.
Read The First Chapter
The first book by Raphael Sohnn is available now.
Set in the middle ages of Indian history, a gripping adventure.
Read The First Chapter
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 11 March 2023
I was surprised to learn that this is the author's debut - the story is so layered and nuanced, and written with a confident hand. The book is well-crafted, with beautiful writing, intricate characters, vivid imagery and symbolism and lovely pacing. I can honestly say this book will not disappoint.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 24 January 2022
A gripping, well-paced read that is at one turn tender, the next thrilling. The action is compelling, the imagery vivid. I couldn't put it down. More please Mr Sohnn!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 7 March 2019
This book is a rare find. With vivid descriptions of characters and scenes the author manages to pull you into a world of honour and suspense. Having read several of the game of thrones books I was pleasantly surprised to find a novel that in my view is far more superior at pulling you into its story. I could not put it down and now I eagerly await a sequel!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 11 October 2022
Very thoughtful and insightful. Could not put the book down. Mesmerising reading. Another one of similar ilk if you would Raphael.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 24 October 2018
The characters in this book pull you into their worlds and the story is absorbing and beautifully written. The author is knowledgeable but has portrayed each person with such range and depth of emotion that I feel I know them like my family.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 4 June 2019
Through the authors detailed descriptions, from what a room looks like to the feel and colour of a flower, I could not put this book down. The book is written so beautifully, that I could picture every character along with their emotions, it almost felt like I was watching it. This should be made into a tv series.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 17 February 2023
Currently reading - hard to put down!! So far a good well paced believable story set in India. I'm finding this book really good. It's well researched with a great story line. Thoroughly enjoying it.
Dive in the story right now.
Meena, on the brink of adulthood, dreams of living life to the fullest. But she is a princess and sole heir to her father’s kingdom.
Holasiyan, Meena’s oldest friend, has grown up with her in the Saffron Palace; only now their friendship is blossoming into something far deeper. But Holasiyan, already an exceptional warrior, is destined to take his place amongst the King’s fighting elite as generations of his family have done before him. When dark forces emerge threatening Meena’s life, Holasiyan will do anything to protect his beloved. As events unfold, his selfless actions result in the forging of new friendships, the reforming of past alliances, and the re-emergence of old, bitter grievances that will lead to the uncovering of a dark secret and an oath sworn under duress.
Can Meena and Holasiyan’s love survive?
Taking you on a scintillating journey through time and place, The Captains of Legend is an action-packed story of friendship, love and loyalty.
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Read The First Chapter
Erstwhile Captain of the Royal Guard, legendary warrior and late father of Holasiyan, he was once feared throughout many a kingdom. He dies while protecting his prince, leaving his son orphaned and alone.
Lieutenant and best friend to the late Zalim Singh, he has long since left the kingdom, unable to come to terms with his friend’s loss. Leading a Spartan existence, he has little faith in humanity, consumed as he is with anger and sadness concerning not just the loss of his friend, but the circumstances under which it occurred.
Current captain and one of Zalim Singh’s last and most devoted students. He fought valiantly in the battle in which his captain, Zalim Singh fell. Now in charge he is equally respected with a deserved reputation as a formidable leader in his own right. Stoic, battle-hardened, and immersed in duty, and similarly devoted to Holasiyan, he has taken him under his wing. As such has been unable to make any room for the one that his heart longs for above all else.
Son of the late Zalim Singh, destined to become the captain as was his father, being as they are, descended from a line of unrivalled warriors, he has grown up in the palace as a promise by the king to his father on his deathbed. Already a tremendous fighter, frequently revealing glimpses of that which he has inherited from his late father, he is the best and oldest friend of the princess.
Princess and daughter of King Jeevan and Queen Naina, as young and full of the vigour of life as she is, she’s also in equal measure frustrated at being limited, as she sees it, to one of royal traditions and duties. In her home which is the palace she has grown up with Holasiyan, both being the closest of friends.
Once lady in waiting to Queen Naina and now the princess, she has also played a major role in the upbringing of Holasiyan. As wise as she is elegantly beautiful, she too is immersed in her responsibilities, leaving the most personal call of her heart as yet unanswered and her unable to articulate it.
Raphael Sohnn is a British / Indian author and poet.
Raphael followed the traditional route of educating himself to either become a professional or turn his attention towards the family business – the latter of which he did. Though somewhat of a daydreamer in class and even during his years in further education, ideas began to take shape in his mind and eventually found themselves on the pages of his debut novel, The Captains of Legend, some twenty or so years later.
Set at a time, some 700 hundred years ago, when kingdoms were ubiquitous in what would eventually become India, the book is about the lives, loves, trials and tribulations of the residents of the palace – both royals and those that serve them – at the heart of the Kingdom of Bhagava. Very much a human story, in it, the characters must navigate not only the paths set out for them supposedly from birth but also the calling of their individual destinies and the cries of their hearts, knowing that war has shaped all they now have and may also be just around the corner.
Adventure“All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find it was vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes to make them possible.” – T.E. Lawrence
Mystery“Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore...” - Edgar Allen Poe
Romance“He is not a lover who does not love forever.” – Euripides
Hundreds must have seen it, and taken it for an ordinary falling star. Albin described it as leaving a greenish streak behind it that glowed for some seconds.
