A Thai history-inspired epic fantasy.
In 1893, Prince Manu, a disgraced monk fleeing gambling debts and a murder accusation, is thrust into an apocalyptic struggle with his brother, Crown Prince Arun Sudarshana-Chakra, an avatar of the supreme god Vishnu, as Arun intends to use his divine power to erase the colonizing Western civilization from the face of the earth.
Joined by his ex-wife Leila Qomi, Lavo’s first female Member of Parliament and a master fencer, and his naval academy friend Andreas Jørgensen, a Danish mercenary and businessman, Manu must rise to challenge his brother. From the port slums in Lavo-Ayodhya to the peaks of the Himalayas and the depths of hell, Manu’s path toward apotheosis leads to a confrontation with Arun to save the Western enlightenment.
Prince of Lavo is an epic historical fantasy set in the Southeast Asian Kingdom of Lavo-Ayodhya. The story combines Hindu and Buddhist mythology with 19th-century geopolitics, exploring the theme of colonial contradiction between Western imperialism and enlightenment.