The Mahabharata Secret by Christopher C. Doyle- A book Review:
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| The Mahabharata Secret by Christopher C. Doyle: A book Review |
ISBN: 9383202319
Edition Language: English
Published Date: 21 October 2013 by OM Books
Page Count: 386
The novel announces Christopher C. Doyle in the India author arena and with a potent weapon of being one of the most captivating read in theology genre. For a beginner, it’s a nice read since the chapters are clearly defined and one can easily understand where the author is, whether in past or in present.
It revolves around Asoka the Great and its secret brotherhood called the ‘Nine men’, which save guards a secret that could destroy the earth if found, a secret hidden away for more than two thousand years, and an Indian turned American-Vijay Singh, nephew of a retired and murdered nuclear scientist Vikram Singh, who was bestowed upon a task to save the secret from evil hands by his uncle.
He and his friends embark a journey to decipher the clues left by the secret society. The research has been done, but the research was done just to keep his daughter engaged in the story before it got expanded into a full-fledged book. The basic is the great war of Kurukshetra-Mahabharata and the secrets which never came out because of King Asoka. Author believes in alternate history attached to Mahabharata and tries to scratch its turf through the scalpel of his writing skills. The book actually shows that the author is new and what started as a small bedtime story, picked up pace from third or fourth chapter.
One can actually research about the edicts of Asoka, which talks about way of life in Buddhism, Vimana Parva which is believed to be a lost secret of Mahabharata, metamaterial cloaking which is technique to create invisibility by multiple refraction and the pillars of Asoka which are inscribed with edicts by Asoka the Great and much more; a true knowledge booster.
The book is full of twist and turns, but an indulged mind can actually guess the story where it is heading. But, all and all a good read and recommended for those who likes creating or reading about alternate history, theology or mythology.
Rating time:
Disclaimer- The rating is based on my personal thinking and can vary person to person. The scoring has been done out of five. I believe each book is readable and imparts knowledge irrespective of the rating. Though, the rating can make your choices easier and can save you from making some good choices from better choices in your reading life cycle.
Plot and narrative stamina: 3.5
Stylistic Invention: 2.5
Craftsmanship: 3.0
Characters: 3.0
Credible Dialogue: 3.5
Overall: 3.0
To understand the meaning of above rating criteria, you can refer to my previous book reviews:
Nice review, Mrigank. :)
ReplyDeleteDo check out my blog: http://bit.ly/1TJu2AE
Hi Radhika was trying to access your take on the book but the link does not seem to open
DeleteI had liked the book too, it is a very interesting concept. here is my take on it..https://kitabikida.wordpress.com/2014/05/18/an-asokan-quest/ I read Sharath Komarraju, and Krishna Udaysankar around the same time so this book fell a notch.
ReplyDeleteYa right now on my desk is Mahabharata Quest and to read list have Krishna Udaysankar, Jvalant Sampat and Amritanshu...Going to read your review now :)
DeleteI look forward to your review of my book. Let me know when you do get around to penning it.
ReplyDeleteI will surely do...please share your book details here JNS. Sorry I was off radar for sometime.
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