Samsara by Saksham Garg

 "Samsara" by Saksham Garg - Mythological fiction ! 

This book is published by Penguin in 2022 and has 298 pages. 

Aman Chandra has gone into a shell for 10 yrs after being branded as traitor's son. No friends, no one to talk and practically invisible to everyone. One day a strange Sadhu called Sanaka comes to meet his mother and he eventually lands in Vanyasa. 10 souls from Samsara are admitted to Vanyasa every 10 years. The souls have to undertake mahayatra to find Madhu. But this time there is no Eka.

What is Vanyasa? Why does Aman land there? What is Madhu? What is the destination of the Mahayatra?

Vanyasa or Gyanganj or Shambhala or Shangri-la is the most sought after place. In this book, it's located in the Dronagiri mountains. Location hidden. Nandana the tree that serves as entrance to Vanyasaa with the cowries of a song. Ithika is the daughter of Vanyasa valley. Her father was banished after he stole the most important thing from Vanyasa. Chayan is the enemy of Vanyasa. He should not get hold of Madhu, the life force of Vanyasa.

Arti, Payal, Dhara, Prithvi & Ujal, Ithica, Faiza, Yuvan, Jagrav, Savitri, Dhara are the souls but this time the initiation ceremony of Adwaita has not revealed any Eka, the leader. Guru Ashwini, Mata Uttari, Mata Kritika, Chatwari sadhu are their teachers. There is Mahayana at the end of the year.

Author has tried to write a fiction capitalizing on mythology. It's a novel idea but the execution is poor. There are too many loose ends and open questions. Why the 11th soul? Why the inhabitants of Vanyasa can't find Madhu? What happens to Faisa? What is the logic behind Eka's death? What is the point of the fight with Guru Amrav? How will Indra's plan work if all religions don't follow it? Why kidnap Prithvi?

As a result, although it has some good ingredients it's not credible and digestible.

The sentence I liked from this book:

'She too was fluent in the language of silence.'

Although the book is publicized as India's answer to Harry Potter, it's not an imitation.

Why did I read this book? Recommended by Siddhant.

What did I like? Umm...

What I didn't like? As mentioned in the review.

Give it a miss!

Long shadows by David Baldacci

"Long shadows" by David Baldacci - New partner!

This book is published by Macmillan in 2022 and has 400 pages. This is Book 7 of Memory Man series. 

Amos Decker had a footballing accident that damaged his brain giving him Hyper thymesia (he never forgets anything) and Synesthesia (Associating emotions with color). He is averse to change. But his ex-partner, suffering from dementia, kill’s herself. His recent partner (Alex) moves to another city and his boss retires. Everything changes and Decker doesn't like change. He is assigned a new partner, Frederica White. They are assigned to investigate murder of a Federal Judge Julia Cummins and her bodyguard at her home in a gated community.

Can Decker put up with Frederica? Can he cope with so many changes? Is the case what it looks? Can Decker crack it?

It's a case that turns out to be a very tricky one. There are so many layers to the mystery. The needle of doubt keeps changing from one person to another. The body count increases to five. There is an attempt on Decker's life. Events that happened 40 years ago are also related. Decker can see what no one else can. His perseverance is legendary. But his brusque manner doesn't endear him to anyone. His lack of respect for authority doesn't make him popular.

The story has decent pace but slows down occasionally. There are changes happening to Decker's brain. Frederica is also a tough nut. One thing leads to another. The Soviet angle sounds outdated after so many years after fall of Soviet Union.

Why did I read this book? Have been reading the series.  

What I didn't like? The Soviet angle.

What did I like? Attention to detail.

Not a must read.

The lost temple by Vishwesh Sharma

"The lost temple" by Vishwesh Sharma - Shiva's weapons!

This book is published by Educreation publishing in 2016 and has 260 pages. 

Dr. Ela Sen, an archeologist, gets a call from her ' more than a friend' Prince Surya after 4 years asking her to come and help to decipher clues and find something. Shivnetras call Aghori's to help because a secret that was revealed. A secret they were guarding for centuries. Russians are involved and so are French. Even Chinese are involved. Government of India sends Marcos (Martin Commandos) on the mission led by Rudra aka Rudy also known as Hunter.

What did Surya find? Can Surya and Ela reconnect? Why are there foreign nations interested in something from ancient India? Can Rudy counter the foreign mercenaries? What is the secret?

Ela is a beautiful, intelligent and determined archeologist. She likes Surya when they were in college. But one day he left without saying goodbye. Now years later he calls her and asks for help. He discovers some ancient artifacts in his old family Haweli. Rudy is the best commando and even better leader. He is tall, handsome and intelligent.

The book is written in amateurish way. The clues and the tracking don't appear authentic, they appear shallow. The attraction between Elsa and Rudy seems artificial. The characters other than Ela and Rudy are underdeveloped. Several threads are left unattended like what happens to French? Where did the Chinese go? Why rescue the neckless? Why kill the General?

I had high expectations from this book, but it fell short on all counts.

Why did I read this book? Subject.

What I didn't like? Writing.

What did I like? Umm....

Give it a miss!