Urnabhih by Sumedha Verma Ojha

Mandar's book review (17th Dec 2015)

"Urnabhih" by Sumedha Verma Ojha. This book is published by IndiaInc in 2014 and has 351 pages. This is author's debut novel.

Chandragupta Maurya, under guidance of Chanakya, has taken over Pataliputra in a bloodless coup. Chandragupta is going to be married to daughter of Dhananada. Chanakya employees Misrakesi, a ganika, in his Gupt Varangana Sena as a spy.

Is this a temporary assignment or there's more? Can Misrakesi be faithful to Maurya's? How does she prosper? Does she encounter ghost? Is there a man in her life? What is her ambition? Does she succeed?

What is the meaning of Urnabhih? Urnabhih means spider's web, a web of deceit and deception. An apt title for a spy story.

It is a story set at the rise of Mauryan empire. It's a story of spies and espionage. It's the story of rich and opulent. It's a story of politics. It's a story of human emotions and love. It's a story set centuries ago. It's interesting. It's intriguing. It's complex. It's exotic and its bold.

Sumedha Verma Ojha is a Switzerland based Indian author. She has done a commendable job, this being her first novel. Her writing style is good. Narration is interesting. You smell and taste the atmosphere.

The question that obviously came to my mind was 'Why name the heroin Misrakesi?'. There are so many minor characters with beautiful names, but the heroin had a very unglamorous name.

Author has given three maps. One of Mauryan empire, one of Pataliputra and one of Sugaang Prasad (Royal palace) to help readers understand the movements. However more than half the story happens out if the city.

It's a big book in terms of number of pages as well as it's page size, add to it small font and you have a big book to read. Holding it for long time while reading tires your hands. The paper quality is not good, print impressions can be seen on the reverse side of the page.

Full marks to the author for a good entertaining book. Good news is that there will be a sequel.

A very good book. Recommend reading.