The exiled Prince by Ravi

"The exiled Prince" by Ravi. This book is published by Fingerprint! in 2014 and has 262 pages. This is Book 1 of 'The crystal guardian' series.

Don't try to imagine what the story is about. It's the story of Ramayan told differently. The crystal of creation, guarded by the council of Brahmarshi's, has gone missing. Ravan has become too powerful to oppose. He has got hold of Elixir of life. If he gets hold of the crystal, it's end of the world for celestials and humans. Ram, who is still to be born, is the only hope.

Ram tells the story of his life to his children and we read it in flash back.

Author has done away with magic and based everything on science. Brahmarshi's have the ability of intergalactic travel, space travel, time travel. They can also travel through parallel universes. God's are present and they are powerful but Ravan has become so powerful that it is going to take the birth of Ram with Narayana's soul in him to defeat Ravan.

Thus the events unfold where Ram is born. Vishwamitra takes responsibility of tutoring him and making him capable. Kaikeyi helps Ram in fulfilling his destiny by sending him to Vanvas accepting loss of her reputation as the sacrifice that has to be made for Ravan's defeat.

Book 1 ends with Ram, Lakshman and Sita reaching Chitrakoot. I thought author would stop at the start of Vanvas, but he goes a little further. I suppose two more books are still to come.

Key differentiator of this book is of course the crystal of creation who has its own mind and who somehow responds to Sita (though she is unaware of it).

It's the same story in news clothes presented differently, but it's good.

Recommend reading.

Blue Labyrinth by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

"Blue Labyrinth" by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. This book is published by  Grand Central Publishing in 2014 and has 416 pages. This is 14th novel of Pendergast series.

FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast is stoically aloof, eccentric, ineffably polite and unerringly intelligent. He is 5'6", has platinum blond hair & ice blue eyes. One night a corpse is left on his door step. The corpse of his estranged and vicious son. A technician is murdered in a museum. Pandergast is tricked and gassed.

Why was his son killed? Why was he left on Pendergast's doorstep? What is in his stomach? Is there a clue in Pandergast family history? Why is he gassed? Will he die?

Although the book is written as fiction, it appears more like a fantasy with elixir of life, rare aquatic plants, rare chemicals, super acids, extinct herbs and near death experience. Author states that Pandergast is master of a Thai art that allows a person to travel and see through minds eye, the things that happened in the past. Don't know if such an art really exists. But sounds far fetched.

Author has given detailed description of autopsy and reconstruction of bones to create skeletons. It's interesting.

It appears that Pendergast is a super hero who can do no wrong. The complete loyalty he commands is amazing. People are ready to sacrifice their career and life to save him. He has unorthodox ways of doing things. An interesting character.

Since this (14th book) was my first book of Pendergast series, I was lost on a few occasions when there was a reference to something in the past, until I caught up. If you don't start from first book, you will also face the same situation. I could not decipher till the end why the book is titled 'Blue labyrinth'? The epilogue appeared little too stretched, could have been concise.

Considering that it was an out of sequence read and that it was not very enjoyable, recommend to give it a miss.