Fiction – Page 11 – The Ultimate Reviewer

March 10, 2019 Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fiction, Indian Authors, Science Fiction, Thriller

Captain Elephant: The Mystery of the Bomb by Aseem Mahajan

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Book title: Captain Elephant: The Mystery of the Bomb
Author: Aseem Mahajan
Publisher: Petals

Blurb

Mayas Tondlulu is born with a medical condition due to which his parents are extra careful with him. Mayas is precious and they did everything possible to make sure that his health would not suffer because of their carelessness. After living an overly protected life Mayas discovers that he has a special ability and his alter ego “Captain Elephant” is born, but he soon invites trouble for himself and is wanted by the police of Pinzoora city at the tender age of 10! At the same time the dreaded terrorist Popananda escapes from prison and threatens Pinzoora with a nuclear bomb. He warns people against leaving the town. The only clue he gives is a riddle that haunts everyone. Panic grips Pinzoora. Masks fall and hidden skeletons come out. During this adversity when everyone fails, it is upto Captain Elephant to face the ruthless Popananda and unravel the murky mystery that will change the history of mankind and Pinzoora forever. What is the meaning of the riddle? What is the dark mystery looming over Pinzoora?

My Review

The story revolves around the protagonist, Mayas, who was born in the small Indian island Pinzoora, with a physical disorder. Mayas were born with his heart placed at his rear. The story covers the incidents that Mayas has been facing in a certain time. Due to this special condition, Mayas has been restricted by his parents from his childhood. They are always determined to protect him from his condition. But all these restrictions are often mocked by his classmates from time to time. They are also quite jealous of his certain privileges. This makes Mayas to became independent in his life and to live his life according to his terms.

Suddenly he finds out that, his disorder is not a curse like he thinks in most of his life but a boon. Next thing, we saw is how a superhero is born and became useful to the entire city. Mayas, the Captain elephant with supernatural powers, proves his power when there’s a massive terrorist attack in his city Pinzoora.

I believe every children’s book ever written is also for all adults. Because there is always a child within our mind. I often pick up children’s book as a change of genre. In fact I’m quite fond of them. This book also never disappoints me. Because it is all that I expected from the cover, title, and blurb.

The plot is really unique, and the author made a really commendable approach in creating this. Because creating a superhero from nowhere needed a great extent of creativity. Also creating an absolute fiction background demands much more skill than writing in other genres.

The first part of the story revolves around describing the medical condition of Mayas and the difficulties he faces in school and everywhere. After the superhero is born, the story picks up pace and energy and describe the terrorist attack by the dreaded terrorist named Popananda, and how Captain Elephant has saved the city from the bomb attack.

There were a limited number of characters and the author builds every character beautifully. The narration is really good. The author also gives a touch of humor from time to time. This also makes the narration really interesting.

The climax was a little disappointed in nature because it was abrupt and lacks explanation at some points.

Altogether, this is a good superhero novel which is built excellently.

Rating: 4/5

March 10, 2019 Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fiction, Indian Authors

Something I Never Told You by Shravya Bhinder

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Book title: Something I Never Told You

Author: Shravya Bhinder

Paperback: 256 pages

Publisher: Penguin Publishers

Blurb

“ She was gone, again; and I failed again and could not tell her how much I loved her.”
Ronnie’s fate gives him a second chance with Adira. His one-sided love story moves at a faster pace this time but instead of becoming his lover; she chooses to become his friend instead.
He needs a mentor and Rajbir steps in just in time.
Something I never told you is a transforming tale of love, determination, belief and finding one’s strengths.

My Review

‘Something I Never Told You’ is the love story of Raunak and Adira. The plot is very simple and quite predictable. But despite this predictability, the narrative skill of the author is playing a huge role throughout the book. This is a story of a one-sided love of protagonist Raunak, who is unable to express his feelings to Adira. They are separated at some point but destiny gives him a second chance to pursue his love. This plot is thickened using some other characters, some with villainous nature and a love guru.

“Sometimes I wonder if you and I are the same person. We are a little broken, quite messed up and in love with the idea of love.”

The language is simple and the story is well written. A simple story, but written to connect the present and past of Raunak. This style is impressed me a lot. The author has developed all characters really well by giving adequate depth to them. Each of them has a quite unique personality. This helps to provide an extension of freshness to the plot.

The story is not quite fresh, as it feels like a Bollywood movie after some time. But in my experience, it is natural. Every romance story is predictable and always have a touch of Bollywood. Because that’s how romance films are weaved in and around our daily life. Every romance lover will like this book because everyone has some secret crush at some or another point in their life and most of us are failed to express our feelings. This reality is mixed with the story very well.

“True love never dies. It sleeps Silently in aching hearts and wakes up on lonely nights”

I like the cover very much because it gives a perfect background for a love story. The title is also something which describes the story in one line.

Altogether, this is a very quick and easy read and anyone who need a quick way-out of daily life, this is the best option.

Rating: 3.5/5

March 7, 2019March 7, 2019 Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fiction, Indian Authors

Have You Stopped LOVING? by Cauveri

Title: Have you stopped loving?

Author: Cauveri

Paperback: 209 pages

Publisher: Blue Rose Publishers

Language: English

Blurb

One of the greatest titles in the world is to be called a ‘parent’ and one of the biggest blessings in the world is to have parents whom we call ‘MOM ’and DAD’. It gives me immense bliss to present you an entirely personal, emotional, heart melting and successful journey of Sharda. As the name suggests she is neither a master’s degree holder nor a Ph.D. holder but again as the name suggests she has reached out as a Doctorate holder for her tremendous achievements throughout her life. She gives an urgent message of her eternal strength to raise her voice against the provocation women face. But the way she was betrayed, deceived, cheated emotionally by her own kids is actually the pulse of this book. Lady of letters, Cauveri gauges the substandard and unacceptable state of affairs and circumstances which leads our society towards anguish and dejection of the holy and immortal souls called parents in her debut novel. She tried to hold tight the missing link between parents and their progeny.

My review

Have you stopped loving? is an emotional journey of the protagonist Sharda from an ambitious small-town girl to a strong-willed woman who diminishes her obstacles with her hard work. The story gives the limelight to a not-so-discussed issue among the parents and their children. Here Sharda is a self-made woman who is highly respected in the society because of her commendable hard work. Despite her professional success, her children questions her ways, owing to the luring of some others.

I always think that the relationship and emotional connection between every mother and their children are immortal and beyond the description. Being a mother is the most challenging job because this status never lost even after you die. This unexplainable connection between every mother and her child is built upon trust and unconditional love. Woman are lucky because they can experience this state from their mother and also can set an example to their children by becoming a mother herself. With all these responsibilities, being a working woman is not easy.

Here in this story, we can see a woman who is the mother of three children and after their birth, she actually started chasing her dreams. Just like everyone, she also has a dream to be an educated and successful woman and obviously, she is disappointed when they are denied. But when she got a small chance she woke up and worked for it. She has done everything possible to balance her job and motherhood and even became successful in both.

But even though upbringing has certain effects on one’s mentality, it never is enough to predict a person completely. Time to time, people became puppets, in the hands of some other cunning people because of their delusions of love towards them. This is the true evil and this makes everyone forget their past and forcing them to live in the present and future. But the total dismissal of one’s past will eventually lead them to ultimate failure.

This story is a light-hearted family drama. It is not a story revolves around a single challenge but around numerous small problems facing by a family. This gives a touch of reality to this plot. The plot is snitched through numerous daily-life problems faced by Sharda and her family over the years.

The number of characters is low which is perfect for a small family drama. The author focused on these limited characters and their development.

I liked the way the author incorporated her view on woman-empowerment and education from the first page to the last. Often the work-place became the hide-out of Sharda from her personal problems. The way, the author encourages girl child to take their education seriously is worth mentioning.

The author has also given space to discuss dowry, low-income and practically all other problems faced by a woman. This is a good initiative.

I always love black and white covers and this cover also never disappoints me. From the title, it is evident that it is a woman-drama.

I liked the character of Abha and how she turns thing around at the climax. Her self-made personality is a good example. She made mistakes and she paid them. But with her confidence, she rectifies her life.

The language is simple and easily complete the reading within two sitting.

Overall, this is a good weekend read with a powerful message.

Rating: 4/5

March 6, 2019March 6, 2019 Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fiction, Indian Authors, Indian Mythology, Science Fiction

The Code Of Manavas: Beyond The Realm by Arpit Bakshi

512dOyPtlmL._SX326_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg Blurb

“The earth and the human race as we knew it have ceased to exist.
Bhoomidium, discovered by Krishna, healed the unstable core of Bhoomi during the last apocalypse. It has transformed Man to Manavas and Kali-Yug into Swarnim-Yug.
The year is 2050.2.0000001 and the Manavas are divided into two states, Madhavpur and Ayudhpur.
Krishna sees another apocalypse around the corner and he has a way out – an alternate universe, which can be reached by travelling through Omechta realm.
Can he save his race this time?”

My review

The Code of Manavas: Beyond The Realm is the first book of the Maha Vishnu trilogy written by Arpit Bakshi. The plot of this book is crafted in the combination of two unlikely genres, Indian Mythology, and Science fiction. Often the stories written on these genres are perfect entertainers because it is very difficult to build a story compared to other genres. The difficulty is because it demands much more research and knowledge along with creativity. Also without good storytelling skills, the plot may slip away or become weak. This story is the best example of the fusion of these genres. The author has done a commendable job to create a story with a strong backbone.

I loved the plot very much purely because of its uniqueness. How often you can see the mythological characters blended in the science world?

The creativity of the author has to be mentioned. For the first 40 pages, the author took his time to explain the new world, he crafted. Then only the true struggle was started. This is very much an unlikely skill because often the story becomes weak because it will lack the details of the background at the beginning. This is carefully avoided by explaining the new world at first. Through this, the author can take the reader their present to the future which he created rather smoothly.

The cover is excellently designed giving the glimpse of the story. The characters are uniquely named after many prominent mythological characters such as Krishna, Raghav, Gopal, Meera, Mohan, Vasu, Shyam etc. This is a very unique thought that I found interesting. From the title, it is evident that this is a Maha Vishnu trilogy, so the author named the characters according to that.

Being the first book of a trilogy, this book has an important role. It has to set a stage for crafting the remaining two stories. The Code of Manavas leaves the reader in a cliffhanger giving a perfect opportunity to the remaining two books.

I like the science fiction genre because they always offer something new to learn along with a beautiful story. This story also never disappointed me on this.

Overall, this is a nice read and takes away the reader from our present to the future for some time.

Rating: 4.5/5

I received a copy of this book through the BOOK GENIE REVIEW PROGRAM.

February 28, 2019March 1, 2019 Amina Thajudeen Book Tour, Fiction, Thriller

[Book Tour] The Sanctity of Sloth by Greta Boris

About the Book

Title: The Sanctity of Sloth

Author: Greta Boris

Genre: Suspense, Mystery

Series: The Seven Deadly Sins

There’s one thing more dangerous than testifying to a crime—staying silent.
Locked in the ruins of a California Mission, Abby Travers watches helplessly as a girl dies outside her window. As she struggles between her moral obligation to come forward as a witness, and her commitment to a Medieval religious practice that requires her to retreat from the world, the situation spins out of control.
Abby’s hesitation starts a series of catastrophes. She finds herself at the center of a deadly cover up where every minute counts and indecision could be fatal. She questions all her beliefs and everyone she knows becomes suspect. To save herself and those she loves, she must break free from her self-imposed prisons of stone and fear.
The Sanctity of Sloth is a taut, psychological thriller that answers the question: What happens when a good woman does nothing? Fans of Paula Hawkins and A.J. Finn will enjoy this third book in Greta Boris’s Seven Deadly Sins Series.

Purchase from Amazon

Excerpt

The irony of her position struck her. She had willingly shut herself into a room with much the same dimensions as this one. It had only one small window, like this one. It had no door, however. But even without a door, sheʹd had freedom. The anchorites of old willingly consigned themselves to a cell which would eventually become their grave. They had a funeral service before they entered. Yet, they were freer than Abby was now, because it was their choice.

Would this room become her grave?

Autonomy. Sheʹd never realized before how beautiful that word was. When one was stripped of the ability to rule themselves, to determine their own fate, didnʹt they cease to exist in some way?

Sunlight streaked the gray floor with gold. By its slant, she guessed it was at least 1:30. She still had one hour of freedom, one hour to be Abby. She wanted to experience every moment she had left. When the sun reached her and warmed her skin, that would signal the end of her time in this new anchorhold. But she couldnʹt bear to watch the minutes move across the floor. She closed her eyes.

Author Bio

Greta Boris was raised in Greenwich Village, New York by an opera singing, piano playing, voice coach and a magazine publisher. Her original life plan was to be a famous Broadway actor, singer, and dancer, but when she moved to Laguna Beach, California, she changed her plans due to the commute. Today she writes to inspire, entertain, motivate, and so she can afford nice wine.

Links

February 27, 2019 Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fiction, Indian Authors

Bestseller by Ahmed Faiyaz

Title: Bestseller
Author: Ahmed Faiyaz
Publishers: Rupa Publications
Print Length: 196 pages

Blurb: Akshay Saxena, an out of work editor of a defunct literary magazine in the UK, is told to move to India for a year to help shore up the value of Kalim, an ailing Indian publisher.
Akshay finds himself in a job where he has to do the impossible. Angus Lee, the new owner of Thomson Lee Books, wants at least five bestsellers in the coming year, failing which the business would be wound up.
He has to find a way of making a success out of books he would never publish or would never even read. To complicate things further, he has to contend with motley crew of has-beens and misfits working for the publishing house as well as wannabe writers, dealing with their follies and derisive tactics, and battle his own affections for Zorah Kalim, the impulsive daughter of his former boss.
Will he succeed in bringing out that one ‘bestseller’ from his publishing house? And what about his own life and love in office? Find out in this riveting read.

My Review

The story revolves around Akshay Saxena, who is recently returned to India after he has been fired from his job in the UK. He joins ailing Kalim publications as an editor in a mission to revive its fortunes. As an editor, he is thrown to an almost an impossible challenge of producing 5 best sellers in a year. Gradually this challenge changes Akshay from an honest editor to a manipulative and cunning editor who is determined to achieve his goals. How and what transforms him back to being a honest one is the backbone of the plot.

This book really gives an insight into the drama behind publishing books. How they are manipulating books to make them well-intended bestsellers, deserving or not.
This is a very interesting book solely because of its plot. The author has picked up a subject which is almost untouched for years. Using his remarkable ability to craft good stories, he turned this plot into an engaging one. This “bestseller” has the ability to become a bestseller. It is quite an irony that a book which is dealing with writing and publishing become a “bestseller”. The thing which got me fascinated is, how brilliantly he crafted a story out of this unique background.

Though this is short-read, I’m satisfied because the novel is crisp and not in one point it became flat and unenthusiastic. The intent of the author to make this a fast-paced story is indeed to make the book more engaging. The narration is good because it gives the reader a complete visualization of the scenes. If the background is carved this good, a story based on it will come handy. The story also has some hints on real-life publicity stunts that we’re all familiar with like celebrity-who-writes-the-autobiography and a banker who is now broke and writes inspirational books etc.

I believe the primary aim of a book is to provide entertainment as far as laymen concerned. In that sense, this is one of the best book released in 2018. The author has given a sarcastic touch all over the story to make it much more interesting. I found this is a growing trend in India, telling a story in the capsule of humor. I like this capsule because it breaks monotonous narration in many books.

The cover is truly amazing, Rupa publications have done a good job in designing it.

Overall, it is a very good engaging story to all the readers who are curious to know what is going on behind in the publishing industry.

Rating: 4.5/5

Purchase here: Amazon

February 22, 2019February 23, 2019 Amina Thajudeen Fiction, Indian Authors

Amma and I by Trishna Damodar

Title: Amma and I
Author: Trishna Damodar
Pages: 204
Genre: Family Drama
Publisher: Leadstart Publishing

Blurb: You are unique in your own existence Kripa and Maya live in a small town in Kerala. Surrounded by greenery, streams, a vast rubber estate and a palatial home, they had it all. Maya enjoys listening to the radio and reading books and magazines as it offers her a chance to connect to the world outside. She wanted to do so much more in her life, but a sudden marriage proposal from a man based in France gets her anxious at the possibility of her dreams fading away like smoke.

Kripa has been the dutiful daughter, wife and mother. All she knew was her life and family in Kuttiadi. But she wants more for her daughter, Maya. So, when a proposal from someone in France came along, she jumped at the opportunity, hoping that this would give her
daughter a chance at a bigger and better life.

Maya, so lost in her own world, was unaware of certain shadows that lurked in her own backyard. What hides behind the constant smile on Kripa’s face? Read the journey of Kripa and Maya, set in the 1970’s, as they struggle to be heard in a society that is fixed in its norms.

My review

Amma and I is a heartfelt story of beautiful love and affection between a mother and daughter. I cannot begin this review without saying a few words about the beautiful and yet adorable cover of this book. It is one of the best covers I have ever seen. The adorable representation of mother and child with the touch of the iconic boat race of Kerala gives me goosebumps at the very first site. Also, the representation of the boat race gives a hint of the background of the story.

Like the title suggests, this is a story of a mother, Kripa and her daughter Maya set in the ’70s at a small town in Kerala. Maya is an ambitious girl in her 20’s and she wants to live her life in her own terms. Her parents start finding a suitable groom for her as they think she is at the marriageable age. The story goes very smooth until this stage with a perfect detailing of the dreamy life of Maya. The author introduces only one side of every main character until this stage. A clever introduction of twist at this point changes the lives of Maya and Kripa drastically from here onwards. This is where the story picks up pace and intensity.

The characters are gradually developed from the beginning to the end. The character of Maya was evolved from a small town girl with ambitious dreams to a stronger, confident, career-oriented woman at the end. Also, the character of Kripa was developed over time. The author never loosed the lovable nature of Kripa when she was developing this character throughout the story.

Basically, I always liked the story revolving around the strong female characters. Also being someone from Kerala, I felt the emotional attachment at the very first moment when I started the reading.

I will always think that the most emotionally bound relationship in every person’s life is with their own mothers. The care and selflessness of every mother are surely unreplaceable. We all got the first sight of true love from our own mothers. Because of this delicate nature, I think the portrayal emotions related to motherhood will be so difficult. Throughout the story, I felt the true emotion of the affectionate love between a mother and daughter. This is because of the immense command of the author on her storytelling skill.

The language used is simple, yet it is powerful to express all emotions of characters. This is a well-constructed plot from that point of view. This is a must read for everyone who loves a family drama.

Rating: 4/5

February 21, 2019 Amina Thajudeen Fiction, Indian Authors

Ready… Steady… Exit by P.C. Balasubramanian

51RnWKIAN5L._SX332_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg Book Title: Ready..Steady..Exit

Author: PC Balasubramanian

Publishers: Srishti Publishers & Distributors; First edition (12 May 2015)

Blurb: Gautam completed Chartered Accountancy after several attempts and to his luck, landed up with Anand a close friend and brilliant CA, to launch an Accounting Services company named FAB. He finds love in the same profession, without much ado. Can life really be all that simple and straightforward? Can mere accountants build a valuable, visible, scalable and glamorous enterprise that could also grab business from across borders? That’s when Vimal comes in with a delectable package, an impressive consulting profile and his smart and very beautiful sister Ruchi, who agrees to support these starry-eyed entrepreneurs with her marketing acumen. FAB grows but relationship depletes. Some pull the strings, while others become puppets. Should they continue with the current arrangement or exit completely? Ready.. Steady.. Exit is a humorous, dramatic, romantic, enlightening and entertaining read. This story and narrative will inspire every reader, even more so if you are an entrepreneur or a Chartered Accountant or someone associated with financial services.

My review

‘Ready…Steady…Exit’ is a unique story of two best friends and their entrepreneurial journey from scratch. This is essentially a character-driven plot because the entire story revolves around two main characters, Gautam and Anand and their life. In the beginning, the author introduces Gautam, an ordinary guy with a passion to achieve his goals. He is not a ‘so-called’ hero that we are familiar with. He has his own battles to fight like any other ordinary man in his life and his first battle was clearing the CA exam. After many attempts, he is finally able to clear the exam and founded a start-up company with his best friend Anand. Here onwards the story picks up the pace and energy. Owing to the change of storyline, The author P C Balasubramanian introduces some other characters, Vimal and Ruchi to the life of these two friends. The smooth-flowing life of Gautam and Anand got a fierce stir after the entry of these new characters. The rest of the story unfolds around the life of these two youngsters and how they survive the cut-throat business world with their luck and intelligence.

The pace of the story is the main highlight. The story is told as in a nutshell, completing a circle at the end. I felt this is a very unique story because it deals with a rather rare and untouched topic, the struggled life of entrepreneurs, capturing their failures, dreams, small victories and emotions.

In the first part of the story, the author narrates struggles of getting CA, perfectly through the eyes of an ordinary student who has nothing but dreams. This is truly a good inspirational story to whoever wants to be a CA and then an entrepreneur. The book offers a lot to learn and I often felt the story as a personal experience of someone. It is a must-read for every budding entrepreneur.

Often the authors who are writing these kinds of success stories knowingly or unknowingly omit the personal life of the protagonists to highlight the struggle and passion towards their dream. Due to this, these stories lack plot completeness in the fiction genre. But here the author has taken care of the personal life of the protagonist, which is a good gesture.

The climax of the story has a nice twist which is essentially appropriate with the plot. I have read two of the other books by the author PC Balasubramanian which was published after this book. Due to this, I felt the drastic change in the narrating style and language he was using now. The hard work of the author is clearly visible if you read them. This shows, how much is the efforts he is putting in writing better novels.

Rating: 4/5

February 10, 2019 Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fiction, Indian Authors

I am Always Here With You by Himanshu Rai

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Title – I Am Always Here With You
Author – Himanshu Rai
Genre – Romance Fiction
Publisher – Srishti Publishers & Distributors

Blurb: Kartik fell in love with Ashima the very first time he saw her. She was everything he had ever imagined in his dream girl, his Angel. As their friendship bloomed into deep love, culminating into marriage, he became her Teddy, her confidant and an eternal support. But in trying to be with her, Kartik made a choice that broke his father’s heart and hopes. As Kartik and Ashima gear up to step into the next phase of their relationship, life seems like an overload of joy and love. He is confident his love for Ashima will win over all odds, even his father. Little did he know that things were going to change drastically, forever. Why does Ashima marry someone else? Why does Kartik accept it silently? And why is life so unpredictable? This is a story of deep love that knows no bounds, relationships that break all barriers, and a promise – I am
Always Here with You.

My review

Love is eternal. No matter how far two people are, it will stay the same in their heart. No distance matter in love. Like that, this is a beautiful love story from the author Himanshu Rai with a genuine touch of reality. The story is 100% true to the beautiful cover of this book. The title and cover are apt for this romance fiction.

There is a magic in these words “I am always here with you”. It is not pronounced from the mouth, but from the heart. Irrespective of age, these words can bring very delicate emotion in human beings, which is love.

This is the journey of a couple Ashima and Kartik, how they met, how their friendship sprouted and how their love unfolds. Kartik, who has fallen in love with Ashima at the very first sight and he considers her as his dream girl, an Angel. Also, Ashima finds his Teddy in Kartik as her strong support and confidante. True love is bound them so hard that Kartik marries Ashima against his father’s wishes, whom he considers as his hero. Everything was going smoothly in their life and soon they will be blessed with a baby. But life is not that dreamy in reality. Their seemingly perfect life gets a twist and turns soon after. How their life is changed so drastically?

What makes Ashima marry someone else?

The rest of the story unfolds to answer these questions.

The author captures every emotion in a relationship and describes them from the heart. I think every love story should be written like this, that it should be told from the heart, not from the mind. This is a short read and one can easily read it in a single sitting or feel the rain of love in a short time.

Another best part of the book is the description of parental relationships. The author narrates in a very good manner how these relationships that we are bound by birth affects one’s life and decisions. Also, the story has a beautiful ending which the author has written with a touch of reality, satisfying every romance genre lovers. I believe every reader can relate this story some or other parts with their lives because of the beautiful storytelling by the author.

This is a good romance read, which never disappoints any romance-fiction lovers.

Rating: 4/5

February 5, 2019February 5, 2019 Amina Thajudeen Book Review, Fiction, Thriller

Tarikshir: The Awakening by Khayaal Patel

Name: Tarikshir The Awakening
Author; Khayaal Patel
Publisher: Westland Books 2018.

I received a copy of this book through the BOOK GENIE REVIEW PROGRAM

Tarikshir: The Awakening by Khayaal Patel is a rare genre novel which is a mix of historical fiction, mythology, thriller, fantasy, and horror. First thing first. I have to praise the cover design first. Whoever picks this book at first, will surely be curious about the mysterious cover design. This makes every reader turn the pages to find it out.

The story was written as a mythological fiction at the beginning, but the tone quickly drifts into historical fiction after sometimes. After that, it changes between various interesting genres such as mystery, fantasy, and horror. This will make it a sure pick for all age groups.

In this novel, the author has connected two entirely different time periods which are Ramayana Period and another which is of the beginning of British rule in India. The hardness of writing historical fiction is you have to research a large amount to fill all the loopholes in history before connecting various historical events to frame a story. Throughout this novel, this wonderful effort of the author to craft an accurate historical fiction is evident.

The story begins in the Ramayana period, at the castle of Ravana where a Vanar Valikesh, of Hanuman’s vanarsena, finds a beautiful but dangerous gem in Ravana’s palace. It is the key to Tarikshir’s awakening. Tarikshir is the name of a dark entity which resides in the castle of Ravana. The dark shadow of this mysterious creature has created high-end suspense throughout the story and this is the main factor which causes readers would be hooked to the end of the story. Tarikshir has been hidden for years and his one true desire is to come alive and wreak havoc in the world.

The story then switches to the year 1826 where the Kingdom of Devangarh is under threat from the British India Army and their king Raja Ravindra decides to fight for their honor instead of bowing down. Suddenly the king is assassinated and Rudra- the young prince sets on a path to unravel the mystery behind his father’s death and other mysterious deaths happening all over the kingdom in the dilemma of ever-increasing threat of invasion from Britishers. The rest of the story answers the fate of Rudra and how all these events are connected. The end part of the story is well written to make sense of all the incidents from the beginning and it is unpredictable.

The language used is simple. The flow of the story is straight. Almost every scene is described to each inch which will be enough to form a clear visualization of the plot. If you are a reader who enjoys historical fiction, this will be sure-shot read.
Overall, the way of storytelling and plotting characters made this novel a good read.

Rating 4/5