Book Review - Mahsuri: A Legend Reborn

AUTHOR Ooi Kok Chuen is a local newspaper veteran decided to revisit the local legend of ­Mahsuri, an innocent woman accused of adultery and sentenced to death. Before she died, she cursed the people and island of Langkawi for seven generations.
In this book, Ooi throws in some time-travelling, magic and beauty remedies to keep the readers riveted.
The story begins with Ma Xing, a young Chinese sea explorer (related to the legendary Admiral Cheng Ho) from 17th century Malacca who time travelled to 18th century Langkawi and ends up meeting Mahsuri.
He later gets caught up in the whole mess that leads up to her being killed.
The story has been told again and again. Some references used like a strong wind being likened to "a Stravinsky orchestra", or more modern terms such as Viagra and Barbie, are a complete anachronism considering the era and geographical location of the story.
This is one of those cases where a story starts out as a good idea, but does not end that way.