The Signet Ring by Kapil Dabur (Book Review: 3.5*/5) !!!

23^rd Book of 2020!

This lockdown has certainly made me a little more religious along with the spiritual belief that I already have in everything that’s happening in nature and around us. This took me towards watching Ramayan and Vishnu Purana that were telecast recently on DD Bharati. Since then, I have started believing in Lord Vishnu like anything and I feel the energy associated with it since then. Hence, when I came to know about this book named “The Signet Ring” which is written by the author, Kapil Dabur, I thought of going through it as generally, the book based on mythology, religion, epic and Gods are thick but this one was a short read of around 170 pages and majorly talked about phenomena of Lord Vishnu.

The book is a thriller and co-incidentally talks about a pandemic that has broken around the world which has been spread by a group not realizing that they are also a part of it and shall suffer later on if it grows. From here, right from the first page, begins the introduction of several characters from this Brotherhood group. Their leader believes himself to be a devotee of Hiranyakashyap and wants to take revenge from Lord Vishnu because as per him, he had fooled Asuras when Amrut was found out during Samudra-Manthan and cheated his ancestors. Later on, we are also introduced to the followers of Lord Vishnu and then the real story begins where a group is in search of things needed to make them powerful which are left by Lord Vishnu’s avatars whereas there is another group who is trying to find out where they would be landing up next based on some clues.

It is not easy to write on the facts based on religion and mythology as generally, these days, authors find it very easy to fictionalize them as per their will, which I believe, has not been done in this book, as every tale of Lord Vishnu that has been described has been almost the same as I have read them while my search for religious knowledge. I liked how all the avatars of the Lord Vishnu are mentioned. Even the names of few characters are kept considering the mythology and its context. The characterization is nicely done and the reaction of each of them as per their personality makes you imagine them as they are.

The way author binds the story running in two different time-zones and connects them is a fine attempt. The locations and several temples etc. that are mentioned adds to the curiosity of the readers as to what secrets are going to unfold there which shall connect us with the tale of God. The few sections and descriptions are really informative and I believe, if someone doesn’t have any idea of Hindu religion, shall get to know meaning of why certain things are the way they are, while reading this book. I am also glad that author has added a philosophical part in the climax which gives the book a nice ending.

Now, talking about the drawbacks, I must say, that, the pandemic part should also have been connected with the tale of Lord Vishnu as that is how the book starts but the thing is closed down somewhere in between. Secondly, I felt that the characters of Dr. Indira and others in the team of Kartik could have also been connected with some mythological characters as it would have added layers to the story. Thirdly, as the book is based on thriller genre, I wished if it had more shocking revelations in between the story which could have given more twists and turns. Lastly, I believe author could have described few more incidents from our religious and mythology books based on Lord Vishnu or his avatars as very few people are aware about Lord Vishnu’s tales specifically.

Overall, this is a fine attempt as a debut book considering that it has been written in just 170 pages itself with a thrilling factor connecting two different stories running in parallel time. I give this book 3.5 stars out of 5.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA