Wall Street Journal: Living in the depths of the black cosmic sea, there is a giant whale with an infinite number of worlds within its body. Wandering among them are two sisters: Laleh and Myung, neither of whom know their origins or how they wound up in the whale; only that both they and it were created by the Great Wisa. This is the mind-bending scenario dreamed up by Tashan Mehta for her unique fantasy novel “Mad Sisters of Esi.”
“Mad Sisters of Esi” is a great, sweeping fairy tale of a book, utterly different from most of the fantasy out now. While it could have benefitted from some paring, its world-building ambition is unmatched: The descriptions of the plants, food and animals of Esi are lush and memorable. So, too, is the examination of sisterly love, which is as complicated and deep as the black sea itself.