Narasimha: The Mahaavatar Trilogy Book 1 — by Kevin Missal
Publisher: HarperCollins India
Pages: 320
Price: Rs. 250 INR(Paperback)
ISBN: 978–9353570767
Buy here: https://amzn.to/2xxxnBD
Narasimha, once a brave soldier, has left the war and lies low as a physician in a village. But a familiar face from his past seeks his help to stop the tyranny of the blind usurper Andhaka. If Narasimha refuses, the world might just end. What will he do? And why did he leave the war in the first place? Prahlad, the interim king of Kashyapuri, is torn between the ideals of his unrighteous father and his love for Lord Vishnu. Whom will he choose? Hiranyakashyap, the ruler of the Asura Empire, wants to avenge the death of his wife. To do that, he must go through the Trials and get the ultimate weapon — the Brahmastra. But the Trials have sent so many others to their death. Can Hiranyakashyap survive? Welcome to the reimagining of the fourth Avatar of Lord Vishnu by bestselling author Kevin Missal.
About the author:
Kevin Missal wrote his first book at the age of 14, and at 22, the St Stephens graduate is best-selling author and a full-time writer. The first two books in his Kalki, Dharmayoddha Kalki: Avatar of Vishnu and its sequel Satyayoddha Kalki: Eye of Brahma, have both been runaway successes.
My take on the book:
Narasimha, the greatest warrior of the Simha clan is now in self proclaimed disguise as an ordinary doctor moving between villages and treating the people he came across. He was hell bent on trying to evade a prophecy from fourteen years ago, and his belief is to avoid and move away from war. Hiranyakashyap is raring to avenge his wife’s death and hence leaves his kingdom under his younger son Prahlad. The young prince who slowly realizes the evil and unlawful practices in his kingdom, all approved by his father for the sake of funding this never ending war, has to rise up to the occasion. Prahlad can either rule the empire following the foot steps of his father or follow his heart and values that would guide him.
There is the Vishnusena trying to end such evil doers, Prahlad’s elder brother Anuhrad sent on his own mission, the various tribes like the Rakshasas, Pisachas, taking sides and each believing they are on the right side and waging war for saving Dharma, standing for their honor. What will each of them do and how far will they succeed is just the beginning, to be continued in the upcoming installments of The Narasimha Trilogy.
The story for a majority is the author’s own interpretation of the widely known Narasimha avatar of Lord Vishnu. While a lot of names and places from the known mythology are retained, this book will be best enjoyed if read without comparing to the known information around this. Since this is book1 in the trilogy a major part of the book is about establishing all the characters. The reader might take sometime to get into the tune of the narration and relate to all the characters and once this stage passes, the book turns extremely interesting.
The language used at few places could have been chosen carefully as it sounds from current times than from the past, not exactly fitting for kings. Also, the war scenes could have been narrated with more grit as some sequences fall flat and fail to catch the reader’s attention. This book is a must read for fans of mythological fiction and if you are interested in reading a varied interpretation of the mythological tales you might have heard growing up.
My rating:
4/5.