Tuesday 28 November 2017

Book - Karna's Celestial Armor: Mytho - Fiction - Thrill - Suspense: It is the Ultimate Combo

#BookReviews


Title:  Karna's Celestial Armor
Author: Surendra Nath
Publisher: Kindle
Pages: 281
Price: Rs. 65
My Rating: 3.5/5

Blurb:
We all know that in MAHABHARATA, Karna had, on his body, his Kavach-Kundal (set of armor and earrings) which rendered him invincible in battle against any foe. God Indra tricked Karna and took away the divine set. So, in the final battle Arjuna killed Karna.

That’s the back-story. After that, what did Indra do with the all-powerful Kavach-Kundal? Did he hide it somewhere? What if someone can find it today? That’s what this novel is about. Vasu, from the present time, sets off to find the set. The spirit of Karna guides him through the search.

Indra always knew someone would come looking for it. So he used all his ingenuity to hide it in most impossible of places. That makes Vasu’s task so much more challenging. And he is not the only one who is interested in this quest. There are others trailing him.

Join Vasu in this thrilling adventure through mysterious locations in India to know why the armor was all that potent, and if it still is. 

Review:
The book is very hard to classify - it cannot be said as purely mythological, nor can it be classified into fiction. It is a combination with hints of suspense, thrill, treachery and present day drama.

The story revolves around Vasu, kind of an alter ego of Karna, who sets out to hunt for Karna's long-lost celestial armour. Evidently it is a very powerful object and in hands of enemies it can wreak havoc. Vasu, an army man, travels around to find it's missing pieces. The story is entertaining and gripping. However it lacks a pace. At times you feel like it is flying and at times you feel like it is dragging - its the parts where it drags when you feel like taking a serious break.

The characters are fine. The depth of Vasu's character is pretty good and you can simply relate to him and his ambition.

The most important angle to the story is its linkage to the epic Mahabharata. It's very satisfying the way it has been linked. The only issue here is that if you have no knowledge or poor recollection (like in my case) of Mahabharata then you will find it a bit difficult to read this book. However no harm there, Google always come to aid for forgetful people like me, LOL!

What I disliked about the book are two things - to start with cover. Cover is the image of the book and author has done a poor job in it. Just by looking at cover one would feel it is a poor monotonous book - which is tottally wrong. Author should definitely get it remade so that it can do justice to the content of the book. And secondly, it needs proof-reading. Errors in pages is bit disappointing and off-putting to some.

Overall, it is a pretty decent book, bit lengthy but good. I am sure you will enjoy reading it.

Lots of Love


Sunday 12 November 2017

Book: Undelivered Letters - Leaves you with a feeling of 'incompleteness'

#BookReviews


Undelivered Letters by [Alchem, J.]
Title:  Undelivered Letters
Author: J Alchem
Publisher: Kindle
Pages: 160
Price: Rs. 49
My Rating: 3/5

Blurb:
Aron, a postman with Marioson Postal Service, found an abandoned bag. It had a few letters that were supposed to be delivered - 20 years ago. He had a choice, either to deliver them now, or abandon them forever. He chooses the former.

What were these letters all about?
Who wrote them?
Who are the recipients?
Do these letters still carry a value, after 20 years?


Review:
Undelivered letters is a lovely tale of Aron who missed out on delivering 9 letters 20 years ago. While clearing out his home to move he and his wife Sara discover the blunder he did back then.
His wife, who suffers from longing of her long lost father, is his motivation to hunt down the recipients of each letter and deliver it to them now

The story now revolves around 3 people - one man who is falsely accused of immolating his wife; one innocent thief who wants to avenge is father's death and one daughter who lost her father to a mountaineering expedition.

Each of the story is very touching and is a gripping tale however they seem like 'touched and gone'. After every story I felt like so many questions stayed open. Like why did Elizabeth didn't jump out of the door while she closed it on her husband's face? Why was she sick? Why couldn't her father save his husband? How did Carl helped the estranged boy? What is the significance of 'Shakesphere's cafe'? How did Adam die? What happened to Kara's mom? and so on...

I have read 'Highway man' from the author and also 'Road not traveled' and both are very good books. I loved them, however, with this, I am a bit disappointed. Not with the writing style or lack of emotions, but the way it has been rushed and gives an incomplete feeling.

I hope author will look into filling more gaps in the story and provide more answers to his readers.

My overall rating to the book - 3/5

Lots of love