Journey to the Throne-Vani Mahesh

Book: Journey to the Throne
Author: Vani Mahesh
Publisher: HarperCollins India

I was provided a media copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Have you heard the story of how Chandragupta became the King of Magadha after Samudragupta?

Journey to the Throne by Vani Mahesh is set in the early fourth century, this is the story of two princes of the powerful ancient Indian kingdom of the Guptas. Princes Rama and Chandra are the sons of Emperor Samudragupta. Often called the Napoleon of India, Samudragupta was both an invincible warrior and a faultless ruler - chivalrous, disciplined and moralistic. While Prince Chandra is the ideal prince, hardworking and able, Prince Rama is the proverbial prodigal son who leans towards a life of luxury. Chandra is trapped in a web of deceit by his jealous elder brother and has to fight several life-and-death battles to the throne. It is a journey fraught with deceit, intrigue and untold drama. A universal story of sibling rivalry and a ringside view of the underside of royal life - the risks, the uncertainty and the adversity.

The book is an interesting account of how inheritance plays out when one of two warring sides need to be chosen. I loved how Vani builds up the differences between the brothers right from the very first page and that sets the tone for the literal journey to the throne. There are multiple examples that make you relate with both the primary characters on different levels and while you feel inclined towards one, the emotions come out for the both of them. Another interesting aspect of the story I liked was that the fact that Vani highlights the story of the other characters as well and we see a bit of all the other characters who lend a fair voice to the whole story. The plot moves at a good pace and is fast enough to keep you engaged and hooked to the fight between the brothers. The last part of the book is quite good and the climax would definitely surprise you.

The characters of the book are sourced from History and Vani has made a nice attempt in blending history with fiction in this book. Chandra’s and Rama’s story is deeply intertwined and talking about these characters independently is not possible as each of their actions influences the other in the story, and one certainly would not have existed without the other. Another interesting character I liked was that of Dhruva and how she is an integral part of the entire story.

Overall, this is a wonderful story about the Gupta empire and how the story of two warring brothers culminates into one taking the throne. The book scores a 4.65/5 for me.

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Once Upon a Regret (Il Cuore Book 3)-Shilpa Suraj

Book: Once Upon a Regret (Il Cuore Book 3)
Author: Shilpa Suraj
Publisher: Self Published

Do you believe that love-hate relationships work?

Once Upon a Regret (Il Cuore Book 3) takes the story of Ved Kashyap and Aarushi Thakkar. Ved had spent his life making good choices; the right choices. And then he met Aayushi and realized that when it came to her, he had no choice at all. She burst into his life like a fireworks display at Diwali and managed to singe him like one too. Aayushi was the forgotten child, the invisible one, the one who didn’t make any waves but drifted along trying to keep the calm in the ocean of her life. Sandwiched between a responsible heir and an irresponsible brat, she’d grown up trying to be the balance between her brothers. And then she met Ved and she forgot why balance was needed. Death, grief, misunderstanding, and ego all collide to bring that cloak of invisibility back in Aayushi’s life. Tired of others making decisions for her, she makes one of her own. A catastrophic one… And now, they all have to live with its repercussions… Will working together on their dream project help Ved and Aayushi find their way back to each other? Or is this ‘good choice’ going to explode their lives again?

This book explores the story of Ved and Aayushi as they face their demons and try to figure out what they mean to each other. The book opens on an interesting note with Ved struggling with a character one would not have imagined would have become so important in the story. The plot of the story is gripping and the chemistry between Aayushi and Ved keep you hooked till the very end. The ups and downs that their relationship faces in this book makes it for a great read. I liked how there is a professional and a personal story that runs between the two, and how that intertwines to take their relationship to a different level of complexity. The concept of Ved’s NGO and how that relates to Aayushi’s past was quite imaginative. The climax is very well executed and I loved the manner in which it ends, especially the epilogue.

As always, Shilpa’s characters are very well sketched and I loved the way they are relatable. Ved’s character as a do-gooder who is struggling with his feelings towards Aayushi is wonderfully sketched. With the reactions moving towards extremes, it provides a good flavor to the story. Another interesting aspect of the character is how good he is with animals, and be it with Masha or Whiny, adds a wonderful layer to his story. His backstory, when unfolds, makes you realise the reason for his behavior. Aayushi’s character as a headstrong woman who knows what she wants with life is well balanced. I liked the manner in which she came to the farm with a plan in mind to find closure in her life. Throughout the story, her character is the one that balances Ved out and the role her backstory plays out in the end.

The book is a wonderful continuation of the series and the book scores a 4.25/5 for me.

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I was provided a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Everything the Light Touches-Janice Pariat

Book: Everything the Light Touches
Author: Janice Pariat
Publisher: HarperCollins India

Have you come across a story that blurs the line between genres?

In Everything the Light Touches, we meet many travellers: Shai, a young Indian woman who journeys to India's northeast and rediscovers, through her encounters with indigenous communities, ways of living that realign and renew her. Evelyn, an Edwardian student at Cambridge who, inspired by Goethe's botanical writings, embarks on a journey seeking out the sacred forests of the Lower Himalayas. Linnaeus, botanist and taxonomist, who famously declared "God creates; Linnaeus organizes" and led an expedition to Lapland in 1732. And Goethe himself, who travelled through Italy in the 1780s, formulating his ideas for a revelatory text that called for a re-examination of our propensity to reduce plants - and the world - into immutable parts. Drawing richly from scientific ideas, the novel plunges into a whirl of ever-expanding themes, and the contrasts between modern India and its colonial past, urban life and the countryside, capitalism and centuries-old traditions of generosity and gratitude, script and "song and stone." At the heart of the book lies a tussle between different ways of seeing - those that fix and categorize, and those that free and unify. Everything the Light Touches brings together, with startling and playful novelty, people and places that seem, at first, removed from each other in time and place. Yet all is resonance, we discover; all is connection.

There are very few stories that can make you think beyond the book and see a world from a different lens, and this one does just that. The 4 stories are set across time and places and present a picture that is unique yet intimately connected through the thread of the idea of the world we live in. As I started reading the book and encountered Shai’s story, my mind started forming a notion of what the book could be, and then as I moved on to Evelyn’s story, it was a completely different frame, and that was something I really loved about the book, the fact that it tells you a story which is the characters’ own and uninhibited story of their being and their reason for following the light. Focusing on the aspect of nature and the quest of finding an enigma, each of the characters ultimately lead a journey that puts them on a journey where they rediscover themselves.

Janice’s storytelling is powerful and immersive, and even for a person who is not a botanist, the book would resonate in multiple places. There are snippets from the story that teach and some of them are so wonderful that will compel you to mark them, for some of them might just become a part of your life. The story is fluid and draws itself from the local stories to the writings of Linnaeus and Goethe and weaves something that stuns you. Another aspect of the book is that like a plant which has various visual differences, this story has incorporated in itself poetry, verse, folk tales, travelogues and other literary components which make it seem so alive. From Evie’s story, I loved the way Janice charts her journey and her quest to find something mythical, and the way the story ends with that question that puts her on a crossroad was something I fell in love with. Shai’s journey was equally wonderful and the manner in which we saw her story unfolds is interesting, and the last time we see her, it is quite hard to let go of her, and really had a hard time doing that. Goethe’s journey for me was full of emotions and the second time he comes back to Rome was the highlight for me. Carl’s part in the story is a free verse describing the journey of a botanist that is the middle part of the book, and is something that is truly central to the other three stories.

The message that Janice puts forth in this book is important, specially in the times we live in. The idea of taking only what we need is something we really need to imbibe in ourselves and our lives. Another concept I loved was that of leaving something behind when you take something from the nature. The idea of conservation and the concept of ownership explored in the story really grips you. The story with the Rooster was something I have never heard and that is one that made me smile, especially the way it unfolded. Another one that stood out for me was that of when they talk about contracts and how keeping one’s word is considered sacred.

The characters Janice brings to life in this book have a purpose and despite there being many, each of the character leaves their mark on your mind. So be it Shai in the contemporary times, or Evie in the Edwardian era, or Goethe and Carl before them, each of them charts their own path, and curiously the shift in the time is understood as the story is told and the years not expressly indicated.

I would really recommend the book to everyone and while it might seem like a big book, the story moves like a river, and once you are in it, you go where the flow takes you. While I really don’t have more than 5/5 to give to the book, this is the first book that inspired me and compelled me to use tabs to highlight my favorite sections, and that is I would recommend-keep something to highlight the pages, for they are magnetic and deserve to be highlighted and noted and reread.

Get a copy of the book on Amazon India or your nearest bookstore!

The Heart is For Sale-Sandeep Pawar

Book: The Heart is For Sale
Author: Sandeep Pawar
Publisher: Self Published

Do you like reading musings and poetry?

The Heart is for Sale by Sandeep Pawar is a collection of proses to take you on a ride of soulful and heartfelt emotions with a tinge of humour and satire. It captures the essence of feelings of a journey- from finding love to falling into it to falling out, further to healing, growing, and everything in between.

The book is a collection of short musings and writings that explore the topics such as love, relationships and an “Ask-Me-Anything” with God. I loved that the writing was varying in length, and keeps you hooked as you keep turning the pages to see what has Sandeep has in store for us next. The musings are filled with intrigue, romance and satire that keep you guessing what the next page would behold. The AMA with god was interesting and I would have loved to see more of that. This book is a quick read, and I am sure everyone would find atleast one page that appeals to them, to their core. If you are a hard core romantic, then there are some parts of the book that would appeal to you most strongly. The satire in the book is quite surprising and comes at places you would least expect.

Overall, the book is quite wonderful and an amazing read. The book scores a 4.5/5 for me.

I was provided a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Get your copy of the book on Amazon India.

Barabanki: The Professor, the Pandit and the Policeman-Anuj Tiwari

Book: Barabanki: The Professor, the Pandit and the Policeman
Author: Anuj Tiwari
Publisher: Rupa Publications

What makes a crime thriller work for you?

Superintendent of Police Naveen Mishra and his storyteller colleague Sub-Inspector Awasthi are called to investigate the death of a student at the Indian Engineering College, Lucknow. Little do they expect their investigation to uncover a connection with a crime nexus in the heartland of Uttar Pradesh. As the plot thickens, Jayanti, who is a student at the college, and Raghav, an alumnus of the college and now successful author, find themselves entangled with the investigation. Their reunion after three years is overshadowed by the mysterious death of Jayanti’s father and linked to the seemingly harmless professor at the college, Ansari. Follow Naveen and Awasthi as they navigate a corrupt system, enemy bullets and a racket based out of Barabanki that can jeopardize the health of the entire nation. Anuj Tiwari’s first crime thriller, this book captures the game of ambition, power and greed that threatens the ancient city of Parijat.

The book has an interesting plotline that explores two crimes and how the characters are related to both of them. I liked how the author has used the local area and the geopolitics to supplement the story and create this book. The story opens with a death in a college campus and as you wrap your head around it this event, you read about a cartel making fake medicines. The entire journey is about the police solving the two crimes through the cities of Lucknow and Barabanki. The storytelling is gripping and keeps you engaged as you journey along with the characters, however the book suffers from some flaws that affect the reading experience. The first issue is that the timelines in the story do not align, specifically that of Raghav and Jayanti. Not revealing much here, but the years mentioned in the book have a significant time gap between the two and their story doesn’t match up. Another issue with the book is that the author has crammed in too much details with respect to the law and while he mentions the clauses, he is assuming the fact that the reader is well versed with the law. The crime thriller part of the book moves as a side plot rather than the central story. The climax is quite cliché and somehow didn’t seem satisfactory for the story.

The characters of the book are interesting in the concept and I specifically loved the character of Naveen as a police officer and the way he handles the case in the story. The author has chosen an interesting set of people who make the story a good read. I would have appreciated if a bit more attention was paid to the character details. For example, it is mentioned that Prakash was in the army, but in the later part of the book, we find out that he was a police officer. This could have been fixed with a fresh round of proofreading.

Overall, the book is a decent read that scores a 3.75/5 for me.

I was provided a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Get a copy of the book on Amazon or your nearest bookstore.

Life and Political Reality: Two Novellas-Shahidul Zahir (Translated by V. Ramaswamy & Shahroza Nahrin)

Book: Life and Political Reality: Two Novellas
Author: Shahidul Zahir
Translators: V. Ramaswamy & Shahroza Nahrin
Publisher: HarperCollins India

Do you believe that translations retain the essence of the original story?

Life and Political Reality: Two Novellas is the translation of two novellas by Shahidul Zahir, translated from Bengali by V. Ramaswamy & Shahroza Nahrin. Life and Political Reality is the work that established his reputation and granted him cult status in Bangladesh. It examines the 1971 war and its aftermath -- a treatise on liberation, and the destruction of the idealism and spirit of post-war Bangladesh, told in a single corrosive, stream-of-consciousness paragraph. Abu Ibrahim's Death is a quieter companion novella, and one that is equally concerned with idealism and compromise, as it studies with deep empathy and nuance the fall of its titular protagonist.

The novellas are quite unique and present a picture of a country in the throes of change. The first novella, Life and Political Reality, is an interesting account of the 1971 war in a local village. The narrative is unique and the way it has been told is somewhat different, however it becomes repetitive and monotonous after a point in the story. Going back and forth, the reader tends to lose interest as the events start to get mixed up in their mind. Another issue I have is that repetitive use of the full name of the characters which tend to muddle up the reading experience. That might have been interesting in the original, but in English that starts becoming irritating. The second novella Abu Ibrahim's Death is a better read as compared to the first one. The story has a linear structure and the journey of the character is quite engaging. I liked the way Ibrahim faces the questions he faces in life, and the same questions are quite relevant in the current times as well. The entire premise of the death of the primary character is magnetic and as a reader you keep looking for the answer until the very end. Another good thing about this novella was that the characters are quite wonderfully crafted. I did like the way this particular novella ended. Ibrahim’s dilemma is the one that most of us face today in our personal and professional lives, and the way he handles it is quite good.

The characters in the stories are a bit complicated and considering the setting of the stories, the characters complement the stories. In both the novellas the characters drive the storytelling and they are not always treading in the black or the white. In the first novella, there are multiple characters pulling the story, and in the second one, the titular character is the one on the driving seat. In both the stories, however, Shahidul uses the country and the timeline as a character in a wonderful manner. I was personally quite impressed with the way Ibrahim’s character was sketched and how he interacts with the people around him, especially the change in the first and the second half.

The book is a decent read that scores a 3.5/5 for me.

I was provided a copy of the copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Dust Dancers-Sarthak Paliwal

Book: Dust Dancers
Author: Sarthak Paliwal
Publisher: Kalamos Literary Services

Do you think that the truth can change your life?

What happens after a performance ends? Do the characters seize to exist the moment curtains are drawn and the audience leaves? Or is that a point where a different story begins? This is the story of characters behind that curtain. Six people. Six different stories, pasts and lives. Yet, there is something that connects all of them – an emotion. A powerful one. Fear. In the town of Jodhpur, Rajasthan, a traditional dance group is being formed. Its members are dancers and singers, and more than that, they are dreamers, philosophers, romantics, runaways, heartbroken, hopeless and a lot more. Meet Ustaad, Daka Singh, Mitha Lal, Vidushi, Anahita and Gora Dev and see with them, what choices they make and what stories they have to tell you. An inspiring tale of being hopeful and courageous when all seems lost.

Dust Dancers is an interesting story that explores the idea of family, self-identity and the social obligations that one has. The plot of the book explores the stories of six people who are across age groups and social strata. Sarthak takes up the idea of following one’s dream as a central plot and then shows it through the lens of his six characters and their intersections produce a wonderful story. The idea to structure the book like a stage performance ties in with the overall concept. What didn’t work for me was the fact that the six stories seemed to be disjointed at times and while events were happening, the coherence was missing, which can easily be corrected through a round of detailed editing. Another aspect the book missed was that the timeline of the characters’ stories wasn’t clear and hence the connections couldn’t be easily made. The story’s idea was to explore the life of the people in a dance group, however the dance group itself does not feature much in the book. The climax is interesting; however, I would have loved if it was a tad bit more polished.

Coming to the characters in the story, each of the six characters has been sketched nicely. I loved the fact that each of them had a back story and how that tied up to the overall plot. The stories were told at the opportune time and that helped push the plot ahead. I liked the character of Daka Singh and how his story shapes him and his part in the story. I felt that Mitha Lal’s character could have been fleshed out a bit more which would have added a bit more of flesh to the story.

Overall, it is a decent book that explores a complex story. The book stores a 4/5 for me.

I was provided a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Get a copy of the book on Amazon here.

The Blind King's Wrath (The Burnt Empire Saga #3)-Ashok K. Banker

Book: The Blind King's Wrath (The Burnt Empire Saga #3)
Author: Ashok K. Banker
Publisher: Simon and Schuster India

Have you read the Burnt Empire Trilogy?

The Blind King's Wrath brings the tumultuous Burnt Empire Trilogy to a thrilling end. Krushni, the prophesied Dark Queen, has risen in the East, determined to have her vengeance on Jarsun, her father in her past life and murderer of her mother and grandfather. She is joined in her quest by the five children of Shvate, Karni and Mayla, now grown to young adulthood, and a host of other champions all burning with righteous rage against the God Emperor. As old foes emerge and new allies reveal themselves, the stage is set for the greatest clash of all. A great war. On one side are the valiant but hopelessly outnumbered forces of justice and righteous vengeance led by Krushni and the Shvate Five. Looming against them are the brutal, demonic forces of their enemies led by Jarsun and the tyrant king Dronas. In a shocking turn, Emperor Adri dispatches the vast armies of the Burnt Empire, countless tens of millions of brutally efficient killing hordes, against the brave champions. On this blood-soaked field, the fate of the Burnt Empire will be decided once and for all.

The last book in the trilogy brings the chapter of the Krushans to a close. Pulling all the threads together from the previous books, this book begins with Shvate’s death and how the grand plan comes to fruition. This part of the trilogy moves faster than the others and the events take place quickly as we see the characters come together and the final picture starts getting clearer. The one thing I liked about this book was the pace and the storytelling which made for an interesting read. The previous books were heavy on detail and the pace slow, but the reverse was quite refreshing to read. Another good aspect of the story is the conclusion that Ashok builds into the story and the take he has on the events of the inspiration he had used. The thing which was a major let down was the fact that the initial books had built up the hype so much that I thought the war would be an interesting part of the story, which did not turn out to be the case. Another drawback for me was that of Jarsun’s story and while it had been created with so much of intrigue, the climax was quite bland and hurried.

This book focuses on the closure of the stories of most of the characters, and there are both good and not-so-good aspects in the way the characters are treated. The five children of Shvate feature prominently in the story, however their role in the story is primarily that of narrator, and while they do show their talents in the story, the fall quite shy of the expectation one has from characters of this caliber. The character of Krushni is formidable, and I loved the way her role and character has been created. Her role in the grand scheme of things is quite interesting and for me, she stood out as a character in the book. The others, however, such as Dronas, Dhuryo etc. felt incomplete somehow, specially in the picture that Ashok was painting in the book.

Overall, a decent book that gives a good end to the trilogy. The book scores a 4.06/5 from me.

I was provided a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Get a copy of the book on Amazon India or your nearest bookstore.

Read my review of the previous books in the trilogy: