The Mahabharata Secret by Christopher C. Doyle

"The Mahabharata Secret" by Christopher C. Doyle. This book is published by Om Books in 2013 and has 386 pages.

There is a legend about King Ashoka. It is said that after he embraced Buddhism, he wanted his subjects to live in peace and prosperity. He came across ancient knowledge from Mahabharata that could be used for violence and destruction. In order to save it from unscrupulous elements he formed brotherhood of nine unknowns. The Mahabharata secret was hidden. In order to make it extremely difficult to find it a series of puzzles and clues were devised. Each one of the nine unknowns carried a part of the knowledge or puzzle. Ashoka also ordered destruction of all written records of wiman parva (विमान पर्व) from Mahabharata and decreed discontinuation of it from verbal records.

Vikram Singh, a nuclear scientist is killed for this Mahabharata secret by a Pakistani nuclear scientist turned LeT terrorist, Farooq Siddiqui. When Vikram knows of the impending attack, instead of saving himself he sends a series of cryptic emails to his nephew, Vijay, in USA. The same LeT gang abducts Vijay and his friend cum business partner Collin upon reaching Delhi but they escape. Then these two with the help of Dr. Shukla (Friend of Vijay's uncle and linguist of ancient languages), his daughter Radha(A nuclear scientist) & Dr. White, friend of Vikram start to decipher the emails, follow the clues and obtain artifacts that should eventually lead them to The Mahabharata Secret. There is a global conspiracy afoot that will benefit from Mahabharata secret.

What is the conspiracy? Who are the conspirators? Do the nine unknowns still exist? Can Vijay find Mahabharata secret? Can LeT get their hands on it? What is the secret?

Earlier this year I had read a book called 'The Tenth Unknown' by Jwalant Nalin Sampat on the same legend of 'Nine Unknowns'. Looks like this legend is  catching imagination of Indian fiction writers.

The study and background work that has gone behind this book is evident. Christopher has written the book well. The story is interesting. It is paced to keep you interested. He has used the mythological and historical details properly. Edicts of Ashoka, their locations and correlation of their locations are impeccable. The puzzles and clues are created keeping the mythological and historical references and significance in mind.

I would have preferred if the clues were a little more cryptic. The traitor should have been camouflaged in a better way. Readers can identify the traitor easily but characters can not. Although readers don't know what the secret is, they can make a close-enough guess. The secret should have been better hidden and the readers should have been kept guessing till it's revelation.

This book reminded me of Dan Brown thrillers. Is Christopher C. Doyle India's Dan Brown? Not yet, but he is close.

A very good book. Recommend reading.