cover image Tiger Claws

Tiger Claws

John Speed, . . St. Martin?s, $25.95 (436pp) ISBN 978-0-312-32551-0

Maya, the 17th-century Indian heroine of Speed’s The Temple Dancer , plays a minor role in this sequel, the middle volume of an epic trilogy that charts Mogul emperor Shah Jahan’s declining years. As the emperor secludes himself in Agra with opium and dancing girls, two of his sons—blustering bully Dara, who is the favored heir, and the austere, intelligent, and far more dangerous Aurangzeb—secretly contend for the royal succession. Various nobles, army generals and palace eunuchs alternately aid and betray each brother. Meanwhile, in distant Poona, Shivaji, a daring Hindu thief and dispossessed heir of a small kingdom, gathers an army to reclaim his inheritance—which brings him to the attention of the scheming imperial forces. Some of the book’s plot elements are resolved with startling abruptness, while others clearly await the concluding volume. But Speed offers a fascinating glimpse into a history unfamiliar to most Westerners. (Sept.)