Margaret Simpson's retelling of The Mahabharata, the five-thousand-year-old Hindu epic, is a breathtaking read full of fantastic characters.

There are the valliant panavas themselves, and their ruthless and scheming cousins, the Karuravas, who will stop at nothing in their desperate fight for the kingdom.

But the Mahabharata is also a Holy Book. Lord Krishna is watching over all, and a deeper meaning runs through the adventure. "By offering a different and higher perspective from which to view life, the stories of The Mahabharata help us to make sense of existence - from the horrors of the news bulletin to the secrets of our hearts."