Amballore House

Vareed and Eli belonged to Amballore dynasty that historians at Amballore University were able to date back to 5000 B.C. Within the Amballore dynasty, there lurks a deeply held secret, one with connections to the furthest corners of the universe—and one that will cause Thoma’s parents, Vareed and Eli, to disappear without a trace. It seems that the chilling truth can be found within the walls of the Amballore House, a hellish residence with qualities that somehow lie outside the boundaries of space and time.When a mysterious murder stuns the residents of the Amballore House, Vareed and Eli are prime suspects. But as the investigation continues, the home’s more unusual traits begin to be revealed, as well as the family’s surprising connection to other worlds.Through a captivating tale spanning generations, Amballore House combines horror, humor, and suspense for a memorable thrill ride through unexpected worlds.

From the Inside Flap

TO THE READER Be prepared to laugh, to cry, andto be frightened. Be ready to be mesmerized by the supernatural. Be willing to goto the earth's center, and to an intergalactic world millions and millions oflight-years away. Don't stop there. Be prepared to go as far as yourimagination will let you! Be prepared to be blown away by the sheer wildness ofunbridled fantasy! Amballore House, a mysterioushouse at the end of Hell's Highway, will imprison you in a chilling world ofhorror. The Midnight Express, which appears unexpectedly at the Amballore busstation en route to Amballore House, sows terror just by its mere arrival. Itthen embarks upon a scary expedition that takes it through Hell's Highway. EvenOrpheus of Greek mythology, who fought the damned entities, and survived on theway to Hades' underworld, could not have survived the Hell's Highway scenes,let alone confront the challenges posed by the unsettling Amballore House. Then there is the story of afamily that will rivet you with its unforgettable moments of pathos, laughter,tears, failure, starvation, arrogance, greed, betrayal, tragedy, doom, cancer,and death. But then hope appears with a lantern to show the way. The principleof keeping on hoping if only to keep on living was found to be an oasis of anidea to some of them to see through the mirages of life and to ride out thetraps lined up by fate. The family's story reveals thatthe unfailing quest for hope prepares one to face catastrophe, even though theultimate terminator, death, will eventually fell you if you happen to be alive!The family tale is engrossing in itself, presenting ordinary people facingextraordinary circumstances and forming a showcase of enduring human strength. .A rare and unlikely potpourri ofIndian mythology, Kerala civilization, evolutionary theory, and the generaltheory of relativity presents itself to take the reader through an unbelievablevoyage of suspense, crime, and humor. Readers get a glimpse of the historictimes of the British rule in India, the origin of Kerala with its footprints inIndian mythology, and the Amballore dynasty with its saga woven into the fabricof an advanced civilization that mankind is dreaming of. There are unforgettable charactersthat will mesmerize you with their tenacity, forbearance, blind faith, andscheming minds. You will have close encounters with noble human traits, such asdevotion, sacrifice, resolve, and unabated optimism. This book is guaranteed to carryyou from sunrise to sunset and beyond as if you are possessed, as if you are obsessedwith the idea of attaining immortality. You are hereby promised the fountain ofyouth. Conquering eternity is within the realms of possibility--I promise! Yet you would wish that you hadnot followed the intriguing Midnight Express so that you did not have aface-to-face encounter with the horrifying spectacles of Hell's Highway and thedisconcerting horrors of Amballore House. You would wish you had not openedthis book, thereby opening the way to be devoured by a tremor of terrortraveling from the pit of your stomach and up your spine to infiltrate andvanquish your heart, and to shake you to your very foundation. Beware!

From the Back Cover

Thekkumthala's magical-realistcomic-cosmic phantasmagoria welcomes readers to a bizarre community in India,where a notoriously haunted landmark mansion sees UFO aliens, disappearances,drug crimes, murder, and madcap paranormal phenomena. In the Malayalee town ofAmballore in Kerala, India, the unbelievable, the mythological, and the mundaneriotously coexist. Amballore House, a five-acre relic from the days of theBritish Raj, is the neighborhood's haunted mansion; it boasts a history oftrespassers disappearing or drowning in the well. The house sits at theterminus of a boulevard called Hells Highway, a road adorned by accursed culttemples, the lunatic asylum, graveyards, and sylphlike spirits who dance to themusic of popular Indian movies. ...The highly elastic narrativeleapfrogs back and forth between 1960 and 1988 with several recurringcharacters, most notably the elderly couple of Vareed and Eli. They are part ofa family whose ancestors have been regularly abducted by aliens going back5,000 years. Since their own ET abductions, Vareed and Eli have beensystematically returning to Earth to kidnap the best minds of humanity and sendthem off-planet via a space-time wormhole beneath Amballore House, serviced bya loyal retinue of robots. ...The crazy servings of sci-fi,over-the-top crimes and courtroom inquests, distorted folk beliefs, boondocksgossip, errant reportage in the AmballoreTimes, inferior scholarship by the region's university community, and lotsand lots of toddy drinking take on a new light ...The blend of regional flavor,fantastic whimsy, and pathos will strike readers with a taste for riotousexoticism stirred with tabloid tropes. A mad masala of mythology andabsurd mayhem that takes an unexpectedly poignant twist.-- Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Jose Thekkumthala is a graduate of the University of Alberta, Canada, where he earned his PhD in nuclear physics. Currently, he works as a medical physicist in the area of radiation therapy for cancer patients.Thekkumthala lives in California with his wife, Jennifer. Together, they have two beautiful daughters, Lisa and April.

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