The Mahabharata Quest: The Alexander Secret review

I had received The Mahabharata Quest: The Alexander by Christopher C. Doyle, as part of Blogadda’s review program but was unable to review at that time, and being forgetful (by nature) forgot about it till now. Anyway, being a firm believer in the ‘better late than never’ philosophy, here’s the review as promised! (My most sincere apologies to the Blogadda team for the extreme lateness in posting this review!)

Just to add, this is the second part of a series, after The Mahabharata Secret, and even if one hasn’t read the first part, it’s easy to start on this book directly without missing much, as the plot of the sequel has little to no dependency on its prequel. 

So, to begin with here’s the book cover summary:

334 B.C.

Image Courtesy: Christopher C Doyle

Alexander the Great begins his conquest of the Persian Empire. But his plans for everlasting glory do not end there and the young king marches towards the Ends of the Earth - the lands of the Indus - on a secret quest. It will lead him to an ancient secret concealed in the myths of the Mahabharata; a secret that is powerful enough to transform him into a god.
Present Day
In Greece, the ancient tomb of a queen is discovered, a tomb that has been an enigma for over 2000 years.In New Delhi, the Intelligence Bureau discovers unexplained corpses in a hidden lab. Vijay Singh and his friends, now members of an elite task force, are sucked into a struggle with a powerful and ruthless enemy. In a deadly race against time, they will need to solve a riddle from antiquity that will lead them to encounter shocking secrets from the past; secrets that will reveal mystifying links between ancient history, the Mahabharata and the ancient enemy with diabolical plans for a future that will hold the world to ransom.
The Quest has just begun.

Private India Book Review

Before I received a mail from Blogadda about “Private India” being up for review, for the first time after ages I already knew about the book, after all I had been waiting for it for a really long time, possibly since I first heard about the co-authorship. A combined effort of James Patterson, one of the most popular thriller writers of the world and author of more than 100 novels, and, Ashwin Sanghi, better known as the Indian Dan Brown and author of one of my absolutely favourite books ‘Chankaya’s Chant’, comes the latest addition of the Private Series, “Private India.”

Before beginning with the review, here’s the basic storyline from the back cover of the book, after all I don’t think I’ll be able to provide a summary as enticing as this one, just yet.

In Mumbai, seemingly unconnected people are dying, strangled in a chilling ritual and with strange objects carefully arranged with corpses.

For Santosh Wagh, head of Private India, the Mumbai branch of the world’s finest investigation agency, it’s a race against time to stop the killer striking again.

In a city of over thirteen million, he would have his work cut out at the best of the times, but this case has him battling Mumbai’s biggest gang lord and a godman who isn’t all he seems.

And then he discovers there may be an even greater danger facing Private India. Hidden in the shadows is someone who could destroy the whole organisation – along with thousands of innocent Mumbai citizens.

Shoes of the Dead Book Review

Before I started this book, I checked up a little about the author, Kota Neelima and her previous works. Amongst articles and abstract paintings done by her, she also has 2 books published under her name. Death of a Moneylender and Riverstones. Both these books have one thing in common, the sense of true and unabridged reality.

Before I start my review, as always, here’s the book cover summary to give you a better idea of what this particular book is all about.

Crushed by successive crop failures and the burden of debt, Sudhakar Bhadra kills himself. The powerful district committee of Mityala routinely dismisses the suicide and refuses compensation to his widow. Gangiri, his brother, makes it his life’s mission to bring justice to the dead by influencing the committee to validate similar farmer suicides.

Keyur Kashinath of the Democratic Party - first-time Member of Parliament from Mityala, and son of Vaishnav Kashinath, the party’s general secretary - is the heir to his father’s power in Delhi politics. He faces his first crisis every suicide in his constituency certified by the committee as debt-related is a blot on the party’s image, and his competence.

The brilliant farmer battles his inheritance of despair, the arrogant politician fights for the power he has received as legacy. Their two worlds collide in a conflict that pushes both to the limits of morality from where there is no turning back. At stake is the truth about ‘inherited’ democratic power. And at the end, there can only be one winner.

 Passionate and startlingly insightful, Shoes of the Dead is a chilling parable of modern-day India.

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.