Title: The Vikramaditya Trilogy: Book 1 – The Guardians of the Halahala
Publisher : Jaico Publishing
Cover Ratings: 4.9/5
Preview: The title and the cover of the book is fierce and dominates the appearance a dagger looking royal and pristine, but bold enough to hint what the book beholds.
While many may contemptuously flick history as tales of the dead and gone, it has in recent times emerged a one of the best received genre. The art of combining fascinating history with appetizing mythology has not really been around but the Author seems to have carved his way in and has come to stay with a lasting impression. The recipe remains a guarded secret, for all you must know its voluminous amount of research and caliber served hot. The Author has fused legend, mythology, the known, the unknown and the lesser known with an applaud worthy element of mystery. He has sketched the characters of the tale racing against time and has maintained a generous pace. Bon Appétit!
The mythological element in the book is placed in a very contemporary setting, which runs parallel to the Vikramaditya era.
The tale runs a narration across an honour the legendary King Vikramaditya upholds interknitted with although debatable yet an indelible incident of mythology the Amritmanthan. The tale opens with an intriguing narration and holds the reader to a cliff hanger until the end. The Guardian of Halahala is themed on an unexpected plot. It’s a tale of courage, wisdom, passion, kingship, deceit, defeat, greed and victory. The Vikramaditya trilogy sets off with a tale from mythology and history.
Review:
Epic narrates that Lord Shiva, the supreme god had swallowed the deadly, all destructive poison The Halahala that was thrown out during the churning of the White Lake. Halahala holds the capacity to annihilate the evil and the good, the Devas and the Asuras to nil.
But what remained untold and unknown was that, a diminutive portion of the Halahala was stolen by a conniving asura and was hidden in a dagger. What unfurls in this tale of strength and courage is the war to poses the poison, coz the one who owns the lethal poison could destroy his enemy. Overpowered by greed and thirst for power the Devas and Asuras have embarked upon a fierce battle. Lord Shiva had acquired the poison and had guarded it for a time unknown, now it was time to bestow the guardianship of the Halahala upon a protector, safekeeper, the king of his words, the guard of honour, King Vikramaditya and his council of nine priceless courtmen. Duty bound to battle the Devas and Asuras, the King and his council aboard a journey to exploit their intellect and strength to guard the poison.
From the plots of the forces of Indra and Shukracharya, only mankind can contest the mystic powers to save the universe.
Shatrujeet Nath has created a very compelling and intriguing character sketch of Lord Shiva, every arch in the narration brings him to life. However to me, the portrayal of King Vikramaditya was the awe worthy, his might, his intellect, the courage the wisdom is very richly narrated. The language is affluent and the book speaks to the readers. There was no moment when the tale missed a beat.
What I loved : The entire novel is a fast pace thriller read. Although there are multiple characters and depiction, each one stands distinct of the other. A perfectly crafted hard-hitting, intense tale that takes readers to a time undiscovered. Shatrujeet Nath commendably blends reality and fiction into one compelling tale maintaining steady and unexpected twist in the plot.
What could have been better: There isn’t anything essentially a put off in the book. But I believe there was a tiny scope where the Author could have spiced up the political angle of the tale. However with the lasting effect that the book has created this bit can be ignored.
All in All: The story is interknitted with action, brilliant storytelling, and insightful of mythological and legendary elements that get under your skin and challenges the way you perceive history, as only few of the talented authors can. This was the book 1 of the Vikramaditya Triology..looking forward to the the book two in the series!
Overall rating: 5/ 5
Where can you buy it?
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