'Karthikeya- and his battle with the soul stealer'
by
Usha Narayanan
BLURB
Surapadma's reign of terror flourishes and the fate of all creatures--mortal and immortal--hangs in the balance. Shiva's son, Kartikeya, must destroy several formidable asuras before he can confront the Soul Stealer and save the dying, gasping universe.
But Kartikeya, whisked away by mysterious forces to live amidst birds and beasts on a bleak mountainside, is ignorant of his destiny, and struggles to learn his identity. Not even the gods--Brahma, Vishnu or Shiva--come to his aid.
He can win the final battle only if he can discern his enemy's weakness and his own inner strength.
Will Shiva's son rise to the challenge before it is too late?
The world waits with bated breath. . .
MY REVIEW
Must I start every review of the writer’s book with a disclaimer? Yes, I must; to be on the safer side, lest I should end up enraging one of her millions of fans. So, here goes…
I am a self-proclaimed, publicly-acknowledged-and-ridiculed-on-several-occasions-because-I-live-in-a-country-of-intolerants agnostic. I do not believe in God (or gods) of any advertised nationality, ethnicity, caste, color, creed, or sex. And yet, I read and review each and every book from this, one of the best mythological writers of the country, Usha Narayanan. Why you ask? Dude, have you read her yet? I’m sure you haven’t because you wouldn’t be asking me this question if you had. You don’t read her books; you watch a 70mm film being screened in front of you. That’s how good her portrayal and narrative is.
Okay, enough of fanboying, let’s get down to review the book.
The only time I remember hearing of Karthikeya, the elder son of Shiva and Parvati, is when my mother told me a story about him and Ganesha. It so (supposedly) happened, that Ganesha and his elder brother Karthikeya got into an argument somehow, as to who was better or stronger, or something like that... Their parents, Shiva and Parvati had to ultimately intervene and suggest a solution to it. They said whichever of the two would circumference the world three times and comes back to them earlier is better. Now, Karthikeya hops on to his trusted souped-up-on-endless-red bulls-it-seems peacock and zooms around the Earth, happy and content in his belief that Ganesha’s mouse would never be able to match up the speed of his peacock. Ganesha, on the other hand, is as we all know, one dicey, slimy, slippery, street-smart operator. What he does is, he makes his parents stand together, and runs around them thrice (Told you he’s one slimy operator). His explanation was that his parents were his whole world. Guess what, he won. That smooth operator won.
I remember feeling bad for the poor Karthikeya when I heard that story for the first time. I mean, the poor guy did everything by the rule book, but the younger sibling won. Why, because he was one manipulative dude who knew all the soft points of his parents. Pathetic! I could immediately relate because I have a younger sibling too. :/
Anyway, dudes, if you have an interest in Indian mythology, if you love fantasy fiction, and if you appreciate brilliant, excellent, true-to-life, and easy-to-read story-telling, you HAVE to read this book. Citizens of the Earth, this book has to be in ‘One Of The One Books You Must Read Before You Die’ list.
I give this book, a complete 5 out of 5 stars.
Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of the book in lieu of my honest, unbiased review. No monetary transactions were involved in the process.
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