Book Review: The Temple of Avinasi (The Legend of Kalki) by Ayush Pathak

 

Book: The Temple of Avinasi (The Legend of Kalki)

Author: Ayush Pathak

No. of Pages: 389

Genre: Mythological Fantasy, Fiction

Publisher: Frog Books from Leadstart Publishing

 

The Temple of Avinasi is something of the sort where the 'Shiva Trilogy' from the East meets 'Harry Potter' from the West; where a magical world has been created to support an Epic tale with characters pulled out from our Indian / Hindu Mythology.

I am impressed by the storyline - the suspense, the path the story is taking, the characters and their relationships. It has all the bells and whistles of the making of a grand epic tale.

This could be India's answer to Harry Potter ... only more magnificent and magical.

Something that made the story difficult to frame in the mind while reading was also how the author presents the mythical characters in a different alternative universe where they play slightly different roles. The same thing happened in the first episode of Shiva Trilogy when you had to 'see' the well-known characters in a different light. Difficult at first, but once the perspective is set; you begin to enjoy the tale.

Ramayan becomes a central tale where all the different avatars of Vishnu come together since Ravan cannot be defeated by just one of them. And then there is a lot of suspense around the final moments/days of the war with Ravana as it has been wiped out from the collective consciousness of the masses as well as the participants of the war. Very very intriguing … a powerful secret to be revealed in future episodes of the book I suppose.

A Brilliant tale in the making ... I could have easily rated it with 5 stars if not for some grammatical nuances and some silly mistakes in the narrative. For example, a child which has been brought up in a village (never seen the outside of the village) CAN NOT compare a very large palace to a Mall … simply because he/she has never seen a mall. Somewhere the author got 'out of character' even when telling the story from first person perspective.

The author has created a magical fairy-tale heavenly world of the Devas and described them in much detail to put your imagination in 5th gear. The novel is a visual treatise and I just hope the author is able to maintain the tempo of the storyline as well as the visual grandeur.

I am sure there will be several who will begin to draw comparisons between Harry Potter and the Temple of Avinasi … and they won't be wrong. All I can say is that this story has a far greater potential than Harry Potter and I just hope the author is able to live up to it … and the publisher can support the author in that endeavor. Many a great tales have met uncharacteristically futile and disappointing end due to publisher pressurizing the author rather than supporting him/her to turn out a better tale.   

Harry potter and several novels thereafter has the trio of kids … this one for a change, has 5 kids, with the central protagonist becoming the common member of the two trios.

The author has done adequate justice to all the different characters in the story giving them their space and significance. A reader should pay attention to the details in the story since many seemingly irrelevant and unimportant small things have their own place in the story and assume importance as the story moves forward.

The author has done a good work at bringing out various facets of the characters and the storyline and building the suspense in a meaningful and interesting manner, throwing just about the right amount of light on the facts. Author surely knows how to hold the readers gripped to the book.

The cover design was nothing great but the backdrop of stars/galaxy and the artistic font of the title just about captured my attention.

The author shocks the protagonist and the unsuspecting reader with the revelations in the climax. I had kind of expected it ... and it was still interesting to read the revelation.  

I loved the book and look forward to the remaining 5 books of the series … and will read all of them unless the author bungles up the story telling and succumbs to formulaic approach to literary success.

Ratings on Book Review Parameters:

Cover Design: 3.5 / 5

Writing Style: 4.0 / 5

Characters:     4.0 / 5

Story / Plot:     4.5 / 5

Climax:            4.0 / 5

Overall:           4.0 / 5   

Comments

  1. cubic zirconia algeriaFri May 30, 12:59:00 PM

    Nice post, i hope everyone will like your post..

    ReplyDelete
  2. cubic zirconia colorFri May 30, 01:00:00 PM

    Awesome post, thanks for sharing this post..

    ReplyDelete
  3. Richa SinghWed Dec 09, 09:50:00 AM

    5 more books in the series! WOw this is truly India's answer to harry potter!

    ReplyDelete

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