The Krishna Key : A Review

As part of the initiative of Blogadda.com Book Review Program, I have become the proud owner of the book, The Krishna Key by Ashwin Sanghi. The rule after receiving the book is to write a review about it within a week of acceptance. So, needless to say, I started reading it as soon as I got it out of the delivery packaging.

To start with I’ll post the book cover summary. I mean, what’s better to give you an idea about the book than the original summary which was published for this purpose only, right?

Five thousand years ago, there came to earth a magical being called Krishna, who brought about innumerable miracles for the good of mankind. Humanity despaired of its fate if the Blue God were to die but was reassured that he would return in a fresh avatar when needed in the eventual Dark Age—the Kaliyug.

In modern times, a poor little rich boy grows up believing that he is that final avatar.

Only, he is a serial killer.

In this heart-stopping tale, the arrival of a murderer who executes his gruesome and brilliantly thought-out schemes in the name of God is the first clue to a sinister conspiracy to expose an ancient secret—Krishna’s priceless legacy to mankind.

Historian Ravi Mohan Saini must breathlessly dash from the submerged remains of Dwarka and the mysterious lingam of Somnath to the icy heights of Mount Kailash, in a quest to discover the cryptic location of Krishna’s most prized possession. From the sand-washed ruins of Kalibangan to a Vrindavan temple destroyed by Aurangzeb, Saini must also delve into antiquity to prevent a gross miscarriage of justice.

I have been an ardent fan of Ashwin Sanghi after reading Chanakya’s Chant, I mean as enthusiastic a person can be after reading the only 2 books available.  

As most readers would know, Ashwin Sanghi is known as the Indian Dan Brown or Dan Brown of India, due to the similarities between their writing styles and thorough research, also the story line or plot of their books seems similar at times.

Coming back to the review of this book, the plot is intriguing but to some extent only.

When I first came to know about the “new release”, I was really excited and maybe that’s one of reasons why I feel disappointed by this book.

I had expected a lot from this book hoping to find some conspiracy theories and untold tales about Lord Krishna. But this book turns out to be slightly less than what I had imagined it to be.

Same as Chanakya’s Chant, here also, the author is narrating two tales, one of the past that is of Lord Krishna and the other one of present times of the historian Ravi Mohan Saini, our protagonist. But unlike the previous novel, here the past story is not as detailed or as interesting, at least to me, partly because of the fact that I know the Mahabharata pretty well, also I felt that for a person who doesn’t know much about the Indian history will have to do some research about it, to understand the underlying plot better.

However, I have to acknowledge the hard work that the Author must have put into the book. From Mahabharata to the Vedas to the different Indian civilizations, he has thoroughly researched everything. I had no idea about a lot of things that were mentioned in the book and I was intrigued enough to actually look them up. It has been really very well researched and includes many a surprise for the uninitiated. It also has a series of references for you to cross-check.

Also, one of the negative points about this book is, for those readers who have or will read it as a guide to history or some kind of unsolved mystery of ancient past, that we cannot differentiate which part is real and which fictional. True or False. Fact or Myth. By the end of the book, you’ll be utterly confused and after reading it, will have to do your own thorough research, I know I did.

With a few exceptions of very clichéd dialogues and intentional use of American terms, his language is definitely a plus point of the book.

If the author had imagined that the revelation of the antagonist will be a bolt from the blue, then he was seriously mistaken. Anyone who has read a few good thrillers or watched some nice suspense movies will be able to guess the real antagonist in almost the beginning of the book just like I did.

Also, sometimes the “facts” about lord Krishna have been duplicated, as in the same stuff has been repeated over and over again.

Towards the end, I felt like the story is deviated from what it was supposed to be with a not-so-exciting end.

I found the ending rather abrupt, sudden and a bit of an anti-climax. It is not what one expected, beginning with thriller and ending on a philosophical note.  

A satisfactory read as it introduces you to delightful and strange aspects of our history that will send you scurrying to do a Google search. In those parts, the book is elevated to a true class book.

I cannot say any more positive or negative aspects as it will reveal too much about the story.

It is a good read for a journey or on a leisurely afternoon.

It is decidedly not his best work though, it definitely could have been much better.

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!