Book: Agniputr
Author: Vadhan
Genre: Fantasy Fiction
No. of Pages: ~350
Introduction:
I have received numerous books so far - sent by Authors, Publishers, Book Review programs etc. But, Agniputr, is by far the best among them (not many of my reviews start this way!). I have always been a sucker for fantasy and that is probably why it was very interesting. Thanks to the publisher for sending an author signed copy this time - gave it a very personal touch - glad you recognise that there is a human being behind the blog!
It is difficult to summarise everything that happens in the book, to be honest. The blurb for the book itself is pretty confusing - check it out on GoodReads. It is that busy a book. But, when reading the book itself, it all unravels at a pretty good pace and makes complete sense (as much as a fantasy can) leading to a pretty cool finish.
What I Loved:
The amount of domains it has touched. My God! It is a long list. There is Mythology and Theoretical Physics, and Political Science, and even a little bit of Law. It is just amazing, how much research would have gone into this book. Two thumbs up to the author for this. Vadhan is a Lawyer by profession and usually this would mean he would try to fit in more of the area that he knows best i.e., Legal stuff. But contrary to the norm, I was amazed by the detail in which he has used complicated scientific concepts to complement the mythology in his story - the Vedas going hand-in-hand with Quantum Mechanics.
The cover of the book is decent enough and there are not many glaring typos or grammatical errors - one of the benefits of bagging a major publisher, I guess. But, a well edited book is always a pleasure to read.
Since it is a fantasy, there was enough room for a lot of experimentation. As a result, the epilogue was wow! Now, I did not see that coming!
What I Did Not Love (Spoiler-alert):
There are a few things that were a little off:
Summary:
Despite its few issues, the book altogether does not fail to impress. As I mentioned at the start, it is one of the best books I have received recently to review and hence I rate it a 3 out of 5.
You will enjoy the book more if you paid complete attention to it throughout rather than thumb through it casually. There are many complicated mythical and scientific references in it that are both interesting and important to the story.
Vadhan should continue working on the same genre going forward too. He is good at it. I will definitely read his next!
Disclaimer: A review copy of this book was provided by the Publisher.
Author: Vadhan
Genre: Fantasy Fiction
No. of Pages: ~350
Introduction:I have received numerous books so far - sent by Authors, Publishers, Book Review programs etc. But, Agniputr, is by far the best among them (not many of my reviews start this way!). I have always been a sucker for fantasy and that is probably why it was very interesting. Thanks to the publisher for sending an author signed copy this time - gave it a very personal touch - glad you recognise that there is a human being behind the blog!
It is difficult to summarise everything that happens in the book, to be honest. The blurb for the book itself is pretty confusing - check it out on GoodReads. It is that busy a book. But, when reading the book itself, it all unravels at a pretty good pace and makes complete sense (as much as a fantasy can) leading to a pretty cool finish.
What I Loved:
The amount of domains it has touched. My God! It is a long list. There is Mythology and Theoretical Physics, and Political Science, and even a little bit of Law. It is just amazing, how much research would have gone into this book. Two thumbs up to the author for this. Vadhan is a Lawyer by profession and usually this would mean he would try to fit in more of the area that he knows best i.e., Legal stuff. But contrary to the norm, I was amazed by the detail in which he has used complicated scientific concepts to complement the mythology in his story - the Vedas going hand-in-hand with Quantum Mechanics.
The cover of the book is decent enough and there are not many glaring typos or grammatical errors - one of the benefits of bagging a major publisher, I guess. But, a well edited book is always a pleasure to read.
Since it is a fantasy, there was enough room for a lot of experimentation. As a result, the epilogue was wow! Now, I did not see that coming!
What I Did Not Love (Spoiler-alert):
There are a few things that were a little off:
- Who (except school children!) continuously quotes their initials with their name? "Hi! I am P.Eshwar!", "This is the P.Eshwar I was talking about!" - this happened so many times that it was getting on my nerves. And it was quite a huge giveaway as to who that character really was!
- The romance between the two main characters. Argh! It was so damn rushed. I know it does not have a huge impact on the story anyhow, but it was not allowed to develop properly. Given that the Hero was a known playboy and the Heroine a strong woman, it would have been better if there was no romance at all, and instead they just had a fling!
- The climax itself was quite predictable - that the evil will be destroyed through the hero's sacrifice!
- I do not know much about rural Andhra, where the story is set, but I am not sure if there still exists such benevolent ex-Kings whom the subjects so loyally revere. Enough to agree to take on a corrupt and powerful Home Minister! A tab unbelievable - But then, what-the-heck, it is a fantasy after all!
Summary:
Despite its few issues, the book altogether does not fail to impress. As I mentioned at the start, it is one of the best books I have received recently to review and hence I rate it a 3 out of 5.
You will enjoy the book more if you paid complete attention to it throughout rather than thumb through it casually. There are many complicated mythical and scientific references in it that are both interesting and important to the story.
Vadhan should continue working on the same genre going forward too. He is good at it. I will definitely read his next!
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