The Book Critiques

Book: The Mars Conspiracy
Author: Razi
Publishers: Tree Shade Books
Genre: Science Fiction

Review: Do you really think humans will one day live on another planet? Are our scientists working towards making this possible?

I’m unsure if we’ll witness this in our lifetime, but Dr. Noel Minj dedicates his life to making his dream of colonizing Mars a reality.

The Mars conspiracy began with a breach in the Space-Tech research and development facility located in Simdega, Jharkhand, India. In the next chapter, three YouTubers are filming a new video where they discover a crop circle and a strange object. They take multiple shots of the crop circle and bring them to the local police station, where it is discovered that similar crop circles were seen earlier. However, on investigation, it was found out that circles were made by some local boys. Hence the incharge didn’t pay much attention to them and gave the investigation to a cop who was not in a great shape because of his drinking habits.

The story moves ahead, and we witness the trio’s efforts to unravel the mystery of the crop circle and the strange object.

Simultaneously the story takes you to 1300 BC, ancient Egypt where you get to see why Egyptians believed in otherworldly people.

But the question remains: how are ancient Egyptians and modern-day scientists connected? How will the Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty help Dr. Noel and his Space-Tech team accomplish the dream of colonizing Mars?

This book is not only a treat for the science fiction lovers but readers who are not fan of this genre will also see themselves enjoying it profusely.

The author through his book will definitely make you believe that humans can one day live on Mars and he will also make you believe in the existence of aliens.

The story keeps jumping between two time zones and multiple characters are being involved to make the story intriguing, which could have backfired if the narration was not clean.

For some, the book might become lengthy and they may feel the description too much stressed out but those who like to know everything in detail will find the same description a major part of the story.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this science fiction novel and appreciated the way the author has built the suspense, which kept me engaged until the end.

The mass conspiracy can be picked by science fiction lovers as well as by those who have never read this genre before but want to give it a try.

Rating: 4.5⭐

BOOK – Arjuna
AUTHOR – Dhanika Sharma
PUBLISHER – Notion Press
GENRE – Fiction (Mythological)
PAGES – 204
REVIEW – I guess by now you all must be aware of my love for Indian mythological fiction. I read anything and everything but it’s mythological fiction that soothes my soul and for this reason only I picked up Arjuna by Dhanika Sharma.
As the name suggests, the book shares the story of one of the most important people of the Mahabharat i.e. Arjuna. The story begins at the end of the great Indian epic, where you witness Arjuna all alone in hell. Just like the reader, Arjuna too is shocked, and while navigating his way out he recollects the memories of his entire life, the decision he took, the relationships he had, and the war.

The author by taking the full liberty of presenting the Mahabharata in a modern way has done a commendable job. With a touch of her imagination, the author beautifully recreated the entire epic.

As the story is narrated from the perspective of Arjuna, all of the characters are portrayed from his pov. You will get to see the characters of Mahabharata from a different angle. There are chances that a character you adore is the least likable person by the Arjuna of this book and this is what makes this book more interesting.

The author has narrated the whole story in a very unusual manner, by not narrating the story in any particular sequence. This might sound confusing but it isn’t. As the language of the book is simple and the length is short it’s easy for anyone to keep track of the events described in the book.

One thing I genuinely liked about the book is the inclusion of all the important events that shaped Arjuna’s life, be it his marriage with other wives or the killing of Bhishma.

Although the book is well written, intriguing and illustrations after every few chapters kept me engaged yet I felt the author could have shown more chemistry between Arjuna and Draupadi. As per me, their relationship was not given enough attention.

If you are someone who’s looking to read Mahabharata’s important events from a different perspective then this book is definitely for you.

RATING – 4⭐

BOOK – Only for you, My Love
AUTHOR – Debjyoti Das
GENRE – Poetry
PAGES – 69
REVIEW – Love, the most beautiful emotion, it’s something we all desire, it’s something we all need.
I have read so much on love, be it fiction or someone’s real-life story but what truly touches my heart are poems describing love in lyrical phrases.

And recently I got a chance to read a poetic composition on the theme i.e., ‘Only for you, My Love’ by Debjyoti Das, which is a collection of 54 poems.
All these poems seem like letters written by a lover to his beloved. In a few poems, the lover praises the eternal beauty of his beloved while in some he tells his beloved how much she means to him, how much he loves and cares for her.
All these poems are written in such a satisfying way that as soon as you complete one you will find yourself reading another
Though the author has described love in the most appropriate way however the language used is a bit hard which might create a problem for a few.

I don’t read poetry more often as at times I failed to connect with them, so I try that whenever I read poems, it is something that just touches my heart, and ‘One for you, My Love’ is one such collection of poems with which I was able to relate.
There were a few poems that will remain forever in my heart, some of them are – Hi-tech Love, Penned love, and Happy Soul.
If you are a poetry lover then you must check out this book.

RATING – 4.5⭐

BOOK: War of Lanka
AUTHOR: Amish Tripathi
PUBLISHER: Harper Collins
PAGES: 475
REVIEW: The first mythological fiction I read was Immortals of Meluha. In fact, it was this series that only introduced me to the world of mythological fiction and instantly I realised that mythological fiction is my genre. I became a fan of Amish’s writing after reading the first part of the Shiva trilogy and was excited to read his Ramchandra series.
I read Ram, the first part in the series in 2020 and after that picked Sita and Ravan but while reading Sita somewhere I found something missing, it was like the book is written by someone else but then Ravan was a hit for me and recently when the fourth book in the series was released I immediately picked it up but unfortunately, this book failed to meet my expectations.

For me the length of the book was overwhelming (475 pages). And I was not expecting to read words like ‘bro’ and “memes” in the book! As if this was not enough, Amish kept repeating that Vibhisan is a smart sneaky weasel which was a major turn off for me.

There’s no doubt that the Ramchandra series gives a different perspective to Indian mythology Ramayana and if you are someone who’s open to reading it’s different versions then you can pick this series but only at your own risk.

I would have liked this book if the author had added some new elements to the story.

RATINGS: 3⭐

“How did I, the fire-born, receive and return such love for a son of the god who brought water? ‘Opposites attract, Krishnaa.’

‘But reverses can repel.”

‘Not with you two. Forces in friction sometimes fall into an inseparable bond. Rules apply as much as they don’t. Neither fire, nor water spares what comes their way. They purify all. They burn or drown if besieged. No one is judged. You both are aligned by your values.”

BOOK – Draupadi
AUTHOR – Koral Dasgupta
PUBLISHER – Pan Macmillan
PAGES – 236

REVIEW – Mahabharata, the great Indian epic is one such theme which has been written over and over again by numerous authors. So many POVs have been shared, and so many retellings have been composed. I too have read multiple fiction tales from different viewpoints but it’s always Draupadi’s character that captivates me.

As a sucker for Indian mythology and a fan of Koral’s writing, I was bound to read Draupadi as soon as possible.
Koral is set on a mission to explore the characters of Pancha Kanyas which are scarcely talked about.

In her latest book, Koral explores the character of Draupadi and shares her journey, desires, and relationships with her five husbands, mother-in-law, Granduncle Bhishma and Krishna. And among all the relationships shared, I like the one with Kunti. In almost every retelling, you will find the relationship between the two ladies daunting, they never go parallel with each other but in Koral’s retelling, the relationship between the two was harmonious and it was Kunti who provided strength to Draupadi in her hard time.

No matter how many times, I read Mahabharata’s retelling, the scene where Draupadi was ripped off in front of the entire court always makes me cry and left me wondering why this world is this cruel, why it’s always a woman who has to pay for the wrongdoings of a man?

If I have to talk about the writing style or narration then I’ll only say that Koral’s lyrical narration left me mesmerized and I love this book more than the previous two.

If you too are a mythological fiction fan and want to read Draupadi’s story from a different angle then do give this book a read.

RATING – 5 ⭐

BOOK – Ruin of Scarred
AUTHOR – Medha Nagur
GENRE – Fiction
PAGES – 230
REVIEW – Set in the British era, Ruin of Scarred is the first part of the duology ‘Sting of Love’ where the story revolves around a young woman, Bidisha Maitra. Born out of wedlock, Bidisha was ready to avenge the humiliation faced by her mother, Mokshita, who was accused of killing a British officer and her lover.
Bidisha through luck got an opportunity to join the royal palace as a maid and to free her mother from the false charges she took that opportunity readily. However, things didn’t work in her favour as she was placed by Rani Maa in the palace to keep a watch on Prince Prabir and no matter how hard she tried, she failed to execute her plans.
But even after all the challenges Bidisha was adamant to pursue her goal but a blunder snatched away a lot from her and led her along with Prabir’s most loyal servant Debesh Das to the land of Britishers.
And from there the plot takes an unexpected turn making readers to not leave the book for a second.
The story ends with a cliffhanger and what happens with Bidisha and Debesh will be revealed in the second part.

With the slow start, the story picked up speed as the second half approached and make this book more intriguing.

The character of Bidisha is well portrayed, a young lady, fierce and strong headed ready to take down the whole world for her mother and not only hers but other characters too are well crafted and help readers to understand the story better.

The narration is smooth and the language is crisp and easy which makes this book a perfect entertainment combo.

If you are someone who likes to read romance and drama then do give this book a try.

RATING – 4⭐

BOOK – After Life: Reborn of Love
AUTHOR – Nikhilanshu Janwa
PUBLISHER – Paper Towns Publishing
GENRE – Fiction (Fantasy)
PAGES – 294
REVIEW – Have you ever wondered what happens to us once we die? Do places like hell or heaven exist? Or our soul lands up in another world just like earth?

In his debut novel ‘After Life’ Nikhilanshu Janwa tries to portray his perspective on the topic through his fictional character Nikhil.

Nikhil, a teenager entered Sanbri-Lok after his sudden demise. At first, he was in shock, it was hard for him to digest the facts thrown at him by Mayank, a Meinus. Mayank told him everything about Sanbri-lok, what it exactly is, how things work here, etc. Nikhil gets to know about the only temple of Sanbri-lok where if a person prays then the gods fulfil his/her wish. Sounds easy, no? But it isn’t. Prayer in Sanbri-Lok means that a person has to enter the temple and have to open all fifteen gates of the temple to complete the prayer and then only the god will grant him a wish.
With the new information, Nikhil made up his mind to pray in the temple so that he can reunite with his love Vaishnavi.
When I started reading the book, I was sure that I will be dnfing it soon as at that moment the story didn’t appear as it actually was. After reading the initial chapters I get the idea that it’s romance fiction and the title and the cover are irrelevant however I didn’t lose hope and continued reading. I am glad that I didn’t DNF the book as the second part was a blow for me, I was not expecting the story to take such a turn.
Kudos to the author for his imagination and creative skills, what seems like a young adult cliche romance fiction turned out to be an unexpected fantasy.

I recommend this book to young readers as they will find the story entertaining.

RATING – 4⭐

BOOK – The Empress of Indraprastha: Entering Kuruvansh
AUTHOR – Sonali Raje
PUBLISHER – Vishwakarma
REVIEW – Draupadi, the pivotal character in the Mahabharata or you can say the regal Queen was one of the main reasons behind the epic war of Mahabharata.
From time immemorial, several authors have tried their hands at giving life to this magnanimous character through their words. There are so many books written only on her, sharing her story from different perspectives.
I too had read so many books about her even recently got a chance to read ‘The Empress of Indraprastha’ where Sonali Raje has brought Draupadi’s character to life through her own point of view.

The book starts from a day before the swayamvar of Draupadi where the readers get to witness Draupadi’s anxiety about her would-be husband as the conditions set by her brothers and father were difficult to fulfil.
The author takes the story further from her Swayamvar where she insulted Karna for being a sutaputra and finally marry Arjuna.

The Empress of Indraprastha is the first part of the series ‘Entering Kuruvansh’ and in this whole series, the author has decided to divide Draupadi’s tale into parts according to the events that occurred in her life.
The first part ends with the partition of Hastinapur where Khandava Pradesh was given to the Pandavas.
And then the Pandavas decided to build an empire vast and more prosperous than Hastinapur and from here will begin the second part of the series.

Now coming to the writing style, narration and language. The author has used easy yet effective words to share her story. The character of Draupadi is shown as actually was, strong, regal and fierce. Even the author has done justice with other characters also.

As this is mythological fiction and the author has the liberty to mould the story as she desired which she utilised fully and efficiently yet she didn’t fail to inculcate the important events that shaped Draupadi’s life.
For a mytho fiction lover like me, this book was nothing less than a treat and am eagerly waiting to read the next part.
You too should definitely give this book a read.
RATING – 4.3⭐

BOOK – Hakka & Bukka: Dawn of the Vijayanagara Empire
AUTHOR – Kamal Niranjan
GRNRE – Fiction (Historical)
PAGES – 333
REVIEW – Every time the name of the Vijayanagara Empire comes, the image of Raja Krishnadeva Raya pops up in my brain but do we know who was behind building this vast empire in the south?

Kamal Niranjan bring the heroes of the past to share their story with the world. The five sons of Bhavana Sangama, the Chieftain of Kakatiya were compelled to vacate their homes when the kingdom was attacked by the army of Alauddin Khalji.
The five brothers took refuge under Hosalaya King and proceeded with their lives but destiny played once again its cruel game with them. When the five brothers stood side by side to save the land of Kampili from the Tughluqs they lost three of them. Out of the war only Harihara and Bukka came alive.
The Sangama brothers started their lives afresh with the help of the fisher community of Anegundi. During their stay they got a chance to meet Swami Vidyaranya.
The encounter with the holy one changed the course of the lives of the Sangama brothers. What started with wiping out the evil and reinstatement of Sanatana Dharma in the Dakshina Bharatha ended up with the establishment of the largest empire of South.
Kamal Niranjan through his writing brings the Sangama brothers into life. He brilliantly mixes history with fiction without changing important facts.
The author has not only focused on the lead characters but has also given equivalent importance to various other characters. He has also described vital events, wars, and political upliftments in a chronological manner which helps those who do not have enough knowledge about the struggles and battles that occurred in the 14th century.

This book is the proof of hard work and research done by the author. You might have read about Hakka and Bukla in your history books yet you will find so many astounding facts in this book.

The only drawback for me in this book was the descriptive narration which made the story slow at certain points.

There is no doubt that this book is a treat for historical fiction lovers.

RATING – 4⭐