Plain tales from the hills vs Smoke and Ashes: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: India, British, History, Fiction

Plain tales from the hills Rudyard Kipling · 1888 ★★★★☆ 3.7 194 pages · ≈ 3 h 36 m · Demanding

“SHE was the daughter of Sonoo, a Hill-man of the Himalayas, and Jadeh his wife.”

Originally written for the Lahore Civil and Military Gazette, the stories were intended for a provincial readership familiar with the pleasures and miseries of colonial life. For the subsequent English edition, Kipling…

Correspondence Soldiers Histoire British and irish fiction

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Smoke and Ashes Abir Mukherjee · 2018 ★★★★☆ 4.2 352 pages · ≈ 6 h 31 m · Moderate

India, 1921. Haunted by his memories of World War I, Captain Sam Wyndham is battling a serious addiction to opium that he must keep secret from his superiors in the Calcutta police force. When Sam is summoned to…

Homicide Investigation Murder

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Side by side

The verdict

Readers rate Smoke and Ashes highest: Smoke and Ashes 4.2 · Plain tales from the hills 3.7.
Plain tales from the hills is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 6 for Smoke and Ashes.
Plain tales from the hills has the widest readership — 1843 ratings behind its score.

How to choose

Want a one-evening read? Plain tales from the hills ≈ 3h vs 6h for Smoke and Ashes New to the genre? Smoke and Ashes Moderate vs Demanding for Plain tales from the hills

Scores by source

	Plain tales from the hills	Smoke and Ashes
Goodreads	3.7 (1843)	—
Hardcover	2.8 (4)	4.1 (16)
Apple Books	4.5 (8)	4.5 (43)

Reception

	Plain tales from the hills	Smoke and Ashes
Ratings	1843	43
Editions	303	6
Citations	52	—
Film adaptations	1	1
Want to read	1631	—
Reading it now	243	—
Written reviews	202	—
Wikipedia attention	488	570
Pages	194	352

Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: Plain tales from the hills or Smoke and Ashes?

Smoke and Ashes has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Smoke and Ashes 4.2/5, Plain tales from the hills 3.7/5).

Which is shorter to read: Plain tales from the hills or Smoke and Ashes?

Plain tales from the hills is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Plain tales from the hills (194 pages, ≈ 3 h 36 m); Smoke and Ashes (352 pages, ≈ 6 h 31 m).

Which is harder to read: Plain tales from the hills or Smoke and Ashes?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Plain tales from the hills: Demanding; Smoke and Ashes: Moderate.