Rarely did we
come across where we got to read a novel of two genres blending into one like a
smooth confluence. Looking at the title of the book, we expect you to think
that it’s based and built around the legendary king Ashok, however, we would
like to intervene to inform you there is much more that goes beyond Ashok and
his kingdom. Something that you cannot even imagine! Yes, it is true that Ashok
and his deeds run throughout the novel like banter in the background.
Well, coming
to the story, we found out that it is a mixture of history and fantasy genre.
After some chapters you may adrift to the fantasy world of Anshul which he
conjures up like a champion while cleverly underplaying the king Ashok. The
novel opens with the battlefield of Kalinga – it is all about heaps of corpses
and the ambience is of death. It is a point of utter shock and realization for
the king Ashok. However, in the battlefield all seemed to have died. The king
Ashok is repenting his actions, the bloodshed and surmounting dead bodies
thwart his heart from within, and he decides to end his lust for winning
territories one after another.
Well, from the
dead-inflicting battlefield of Kalinga emerges one strong soul. He is Amartya.
Despite losing his wife and a child and both of his arms and one eye,
surprisingly he is still alive and full of revenge towards Ashok. He refuses to
take the help from Ashok, who in much contrition tries to help and resurrect
the people of Kalinga. Though he is happy to find his younger brother Vatsal
safe and alive but to seek revenge from Ashok he moves on to a mysterious place
called Mayong. It is a very different place, full of magic and other tantrums;
in fact from here onwards the novel gets totally into the skins of fantasy. The
less you say about this place, the safer you feel. This place proves a kind of
wonderland for Amartya – he not only regains a full body but also learns
something terrific that he becomes immortal. However, little did he know that
he has no control over his mind? Killing and bloodshed becomes a daily routine
for him.
The people of
this village – Mayong – are not common folk. As a matter of fact they carry
many secrets with them, stored at their homes. On the other hand, there are
some people looking to get all those secret-carrying documents into their
hands, including a bunch of Chinese people, who attack the locals with their
fire-spitting dragons. So, who’s going to stop them or will they trample
everyone and get away with the secrets as high as having access to immortality.
That’s the start of suspense, more to come throughout the novel.
Around the
same time, in the kingdom of Ashok, he forms a team of nine intelligent people
from the field of Alchemy, Gravitation, Light, Sociology, Physiology, and so
on. The ultimate aim of Ashok is to preserve the resources and technology that
are used in wars. Ashok forms the team of Nine
Unknown to save the humanity from the wrath of wars. But the question is,
has he chosen the right people for the right job, even so how will he test
their mettle? You may be surprised to know that one of the team members is
Vatsal, brother of Amartya.
Though it is a
224 page novel, but it reads like a saga. To make it a gripping fantasy, the
author has made the storyline and characters shuttle between various locations,
like Egypt, Mayong, Patliputra and of course Kalinga. The novel is full of
events and twists, which alone makes it a fantastic read. You will be thrown up
for a loop when you discover that the main storyline has much to Atlanteans and
the statue of The Sphinx located in Egypt may give an unexpected suspense
element to the overall story. Is it going to be good vs. evil or the theory of
one land? May be, may be not! Give it a try and you, for sure, will not return
disappointed. Will the Nine Unknown succeed in their mission? What will happen
to Ashok and Amartya – will they come face-to-face for the final fight? What’s
that Atlantean connection? By now you must be raging with inquisitiveness, well
grab the copy as soon as possible, and find out yourself.
Thank you so much for such a wonderful review! I am glad that you liked the book :)
ReplyDelete