The Cowherd Prince

The Cowherd Prince 

Author : Krishna Udayasankar 

Publisher: Penguin India 

Pages : 337

Price : 399/- INR

Format : Paperback 

Buy : Amazon/Flipkart 

Rating : 5/5 Stars

Blurb :

Govinda, son of Nanda-one of the many cowherds in the verdant kingdom of Surasena, in Aryavarta-was content with his tough but wonderful life. That was until the king's men came looking for him and his brother, Balabadra, spewing death and destruction in their wake.

Forced to leave behind those they love in order to save them, the brothers are now on the run-all the while being hunted by the tyrant king, Kans, and his bloodthirsty adviser, Chanuran, who will stop at nothing to kill them.

Even as their journey reveals Govinda's true identity as a prince and the rightful heir to the Surasena crown, it pulls them deeper into the murky secrets surrounding the throne-and its bloody legacy.

What will it take for an ordinary cowherd boy to grow into a master strategist who will always have a plan?

Review:

Spell bounding Book !!

I never thought it would be such a great novel, finished it in one day. The author Krishna Udayasankar has written the book brilliantly and each character is beyond perfect and you would get drowned in their world. There are very few authors who can create an image of the characters in front of your eye and tell a story like you are watching a movie.  Portrayal of all the characters are effortlessly brilliant. The language  of the book is simple and easy to understand. The cover of the book is apt to the story of the book. Simply unputdownable.

Highly recommended!!

Random Access Memories

Random Access Memories 

Author : Deepak Kaul

Publisher : Self Published

Pages : 105

Version : Kindle

Price : 150/-

Rating : 4/5 Stars

Buy : Amazon India

Blurb :

A collection of short stories

Review :

This is Deepak Kaul at his best,pointed,witty, captivating a complex world in few pages. This book is a mixture of genre suspense, fantasy, comedy, sci-fi,  crime etc. The book give me all the feels. Each story is so much meaning packed as densely as possible into every bit of text. The language of the book is simple and easy to understand. I highly suggest this compilation for everyone. 

The Assassinations

The Assassinations 

A Novel Of 1984

Author : Vikram Kapur

Publisher : Speaking Tiger

Pages : 211

Price : 299/- INR

Format : Paperback 

Buy: Amazon India

Rating : 5/5 stars

Blurb : 

To Deepa, Prem gave no hint of the churning inside him. In front of her he affected a cheery demeanour, indulging her in her plans for their honeymoon, which she kept revising. It was a welcome escape from the mayhem surrounding him. There were occasions where the pretence got to him and a voice rose inside, urging him to tell her everything. He silenced it. Deepa was a Hindu and would never understand.

Until then, he had never thought of her as different.

Prem Kohli, the handsome, ambitious son of a Sikh refugee, has the world at his feet. A glittering career lies ahead, and he has just got engaged to his college girlfriend, Deepa, overcoming her parents' reservations about Hindus and Sikhs intermarrying. But, while Deepa remains occupied with their marriage plans, the Indian Army enters the Golden Temple. Prem cannot contain his rising anger at the desecration of the shrine and at the people around him who shrug it off as 'teaching a lesson' to the Sikhs. He begins growing out his hair and beard, and visiting the gurudwara regularly, where he learns about the militancy in Punjab. Matters come to a head a few months later, when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated and anti-Sikh riots break out all over Delhi, as Prem is caught up in a vortex of violence and hate that threatens to engulf all of their lives.

In The Assassinations, Vikram Kapur writes with sensitivity about a topic that still holds painful memories, skilfully telling the story of how ordinary lives are distorted by the forces of history. At the same time, he masterfully evokes the New Delhi of the 1980s, with its wide, leafy roads masking the precariousness of its Punjabi middle class. This memorable book captures the turbulence of those times, while chronicling the ways in which continuing to live means coming to terms with many kinds of deaths.

Review : 

This is very well researched and well written book concerning  the days following the Indira Gandhi Assassination. Merely just 211 pages, this book has the power to move its reader. I could not stop thinking about the book. Evoked strong emotions in me. The book revolves around Prem and Deepa, the two people in love and planning their life together. Prem is a Sikh boy whereas deepa is a Hindu. Their life plunge after the Assassination of Indira Gandhi by Sikh body guard.  The language of the book is simple. Cover of the book compel you to pick it up. Excellent  book about a very significant  time in history. Highly recommended.

Mohini

Mohini

the Enchantress 

Author : Anuja Chandramouli

Publisher : Rupa Publications 

Pages : 226

Price : 295 INR

Format : Paperback 

Buy : Amazon/Flipkart 

Rating : 5/5 Stars

Blurb : 

Elusive as a fragment of a beloved dream, she slipped in and out of the consciousness of the fortunate ones who had been either arbitrarily chosen or were part of the intricate cosmic design. These willingly allowed themselves to be bedevilled, consumed by a passion that would not be denied, existing only to serve her will, content to be moulded to suit the purposes of the most enchanting creature in all of creation – Mohini.

Distilled from the essence of Vishnu, Mohini, the Enchantress is a part of him and yet she revels in the autonomy and extraordinary powers of beauty, magic and enchantment that are hers to wield. Vivid and ephemeral, she is beloved and desired by all in existence. But she is elusive as the fragment of a forgotten dream, a tantalizing temptress, traipsing her way across the topsy – turvy realms of fable and myth. Her meandering path will see her in the thick of things as the Devas and Asuras churn the ocean of milk to get their hands on the nectar of immortality, blunder into a love triangle that will spark a bloody war, fulfil the last wish of a dead hero, melt into the arms of Mahadeva, the only one capable of enchanting the enchantress and become the mother of Shastha, who will serve as a beacon of hope for all who are considered oddities by a spiteful society that recognizes only two genders amongst the vast multitudes... 

Set against the tumult and intrigue of a celestial quest for immortality, Anuja Chandramouli brings the extraordinary saga of Mohini to vivid life. Balancing delicately on the tightrope between mythology and reality, she takes the reader on a dizzying ride through the shifting sands of time, gender, love, and desire, deftly intertwining the threads of the past and the present, blurring the lines between fact and fiction while spinning a deliciously entertaining yarn for the ages.

Review :

Fast paced, gripping and wonderfully written, this novel makes a great read. The author Anuja Chandramouli has maintained the flow, the amount of excitement, drama, action and most importantly the story line. Fantastically written and wonderfully woven with facts and myths. The description  of few places and sequences are beyond any readers imagination.  The language  of the book is simple and easy to understand.  The cover of the book is very beautiful  and apt to the content of the book. Finally, I want to say that this book is very satisfying  and contended.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED