The Vault of Vishnu by Ashwin Sanghi (Book Review: 3.5*/5) !!!

11th Book of 2020!

Before reading “The Vault of Vishnu”, I had read 4 books of Ashwin Sanghi and I have considered him as the best writer in India who writes only after researching and verifying a lot. Unfortunately, I had missed few of his books in between but during this lockdown phase, I committed myself to read his latest release in the “Bharat Series” named “The Vault of Vishnu” which is published by Westland in about 315 pages. This book again brings for you multiple plots like all the books of Ashwin and makes you create the whole chart with connecting arrows for yourself to be able to remember the characters and their relationships and roles later on in the story. I believe, I end up making the similar kind of connecting diagrams at my end while reading Ashwin Sanghi’s books the way he must be creating while drafting the story. Haha!

Ashwin Sanghi’s writing style remains to be top-notch even here. The narration is soft-paced which shall ensure that you don’t get lost more often regarding which plot or era you are currently reading about. I like how the author has chosen regular words to describe this over-the-top story without making it sound richer by adding unnecessary English words for which readers have to run behind the dictionary.

The book is a mixture of a lot many things such as Politics, India-China relationship, ancient China tales, Indian culture, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Spirituality, Mythology, Religion, Action, Murder, Love, Family, History, Temples etc. There are basically two plots running simultaneously- One is about the journey of Xuanzang from 627 to 645 CE whereas another one is about the India-China relationship in the current scenario where Paramjit Khurana is the protagonist who is trying to connect the dots to reach to a conclusion to a lot many things including her father’s murder case.

I must say that the book carries a lot of information and knowledge that you could get only while reading fiction stories as none of us are going to go into historical books to know about such minute details. Similarly, how Sanghi connects the mythology with history and current scenario makes you get up and read the book little more seriously in the 2^nd half. The climax is a fine finish to this story.

I have never rated any of the 4 books that I have read of Ashwin Sanghi’s below 4.5 stars out of 5 as he never disappointed the reader in me but this time I just got disappointed with few things. I felt that the book is written in a very slow-paced manner which this story didn’t deserve. You start getting bored after a while as nothing great happens in either of the two plots and there’s not enough twists and turns to keep you awake. Similarly, the characters aren’t introduced very well due to which you are unable to empathize with them most of the times. Even the climax is not very actionable which is not what I was expecting after such a long story. The book could have been easily 60-80 pages less than what it is and that would have made the story crisper and tight. This time it felt as if we are reading a script of a web-series and not a novel – may be if author had that in his mind while writing the book.

Except these few points, still, for the kind of research author has made for this book- and the connection author makes between history and mythology, this book is worth reading- just that it is not of the standard Ashwin Sanghi has created for himself in all these years. I give this book 3.5 stars out of 5.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA 

The Patriots Legacy: Forbidden Treasure by Apurva Bhuta (Book Review: 3.5*/5) !!!

10^th Book of 2020!

Finally, I have completed 10^th book this year and it has never taken me this long the way 2020 has made me wait. Thanks to this isolation period that I am getting chance to pick all those books I had kept aside considering their complexity and subjects and wanted to read them all at one go on a  ong leave. One such book that I had kept aside which I am done reading today is “Forbidden Treasure” which is 1^st book in the series of “The Patriot’s Legacy” written by the 1^st time author- Apurva Bhuta. The book is self-published by the author in around 300 pages and belongs to the fantasy fiction genre.

The book is about the team of 7 people out on search of a treasure kept in a secret place by the Patriots 400 years ago. The search is not easy because the clues of the treasure is kept in countries lying in different parts of the world which can be found out only when gone in the series one after another. One more challenge out here is that the adventure is sponsored and initiated by the Secret Society hence this has to be executed without the world noticing it. And finally comes the twist in the book when the Underworld gets involved in this and demands the treasure from this gang of Patriots. Now, the group has two difficult tasks in hand- to find out the treasure by applying their logic and genius through the clues and be safe from the Underworld gang who is two steps ahead than them.

The writing style of the author is captivating and keeps you hooked. The story is written in a very intelligent manner which tells you the amount of effort the author has put in drafting this. Similarly, as the book involves mention of many real location and spots in the world – the research work gone into the same by the author is commendable. There are several historical and cultural mentions too which makes it an interesting read. Author has nicely included history, geography, mythology, science, fiction together with lots of other elements. There are too many characters in the book which author has been able to give equal attention throughout the story without missing out on anyone.

I liked how the background of few characters are also connected with this search of treasure. The last 70-80 pages of the book are just mind-blowing and keeps you thrilled. The book makes you imagine a lot of things and thus, navigates you to a world of yourself. The climax is very well-done and even though the end is open for 2^nd part of the series, there is no incomplete feeling in you as a reader and you are satisfied on completing this 300-pages book.

Now talking about the drawbacks- The book starts with mention of all the characters at once which makes it very difficult for you as a reader to keep everyone’s personality in mind. What author does later i.e. giving description of each one’s background should have been done initially itself by slowly taking us through each character. The 1^st half of the book is very slow and there are too much of conversations involved which brings the matter to any conclusion only after 4-5 pages of it which irritates you as it goes nowhere. The book could have been easily kept under 250 pages. The cover page of the book needed more efforts for readers to pick it up attracted by it.

Overall, this book is thrilling, high on imagination, exploratory, well-researched and a nice adventurous story. The 2^nd book in this series shall be filled with more excitement as now, all the characters are made friendly with the readers. I give this book 3.5 stars out of 5.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA 

Enjoy Success, Relish Failures by A.D. Padmasingh Isaac (Book Review: 4*/5) !!!

9th Book of 2020!

Well, staying at home in self-isolation due to Coronavirus spread is a tragedy if you are doing nothing and only scrolling your mobile and checking latest updates out of curiosity whereas it is a boon for the people like me who love reading as I am getting time to read books which were lying in my shelf since long. I have just completed reading another non-fiction book named “Enjoy Success, Relish Failures” which is written by the entrepreneur- A.D. Padmasingh Isaac who is founder of the company named Aachi. The book is of around 185 pages published by Rupa Publications written in a very humble manner. You will just not agree that this has been written by a person who is running an organization. This itself gives you a kind of positive vibes throughout your reading experience.

The cover page has the image of Mr. A.D. Padmasingh Isaac in a very well-dressed avatar which is what he also discusses in a very start of the book about how dressing good is one of the key factors for him that he has analysed is essential for growth. The author starts writing his autobiographical story right from his birth to make us understand the background he comes from and that is how every autobiography should be written. Reading about his humble beginning gives you a lot of confidence to dream more and do impossible as the way everything has been described by the author tells you the importance of having good values, right idols and positive and dedicated approach.

Generally, whenever I have read an autobiography of an entrepreneur, the author generally speaks about the greatness of their father but this is the first time when I have seen an entrepreneur talking about his mother and the kind of skills and values he inherited from her which helped him in forming, running, managing and growing the company. It was so great reading about author’s view about his mother, wife and other women which makes you understand how important women are in our society whom few people still consider as 2^nd grade. This book is an eye-opener for such people.

Author, then, focuses in the 2^nd half of the book on his entrepreneurship life and the challenges involved in the same. The way he left his job to start his own organization with no much capital to put in makes this story a great read. How Aachi Masale became famous and what all Padmasingh Isaac underwent to keep it running is a wonderful story in itself. I liked how author, rather than praising himself, regularly keeps giving references of other businessmen like Dhirubhai Ambani, Narayana Murthy or say, a Bollywood personality such as Amitabh Bachchan shows that he is still grounded and learns from other personalities in the same game.

Now talking about the drawbacks, I must say, that author doesn’t discuss much of the internal challenges that he must be facing on daily basis while running the company such as one discussed in the book where an employee used to steal from the company premises. There was a need of many such scenarios and how author fought against it. This helps the readers in understanding how an entrepreneur takes decision.

Except one point discussed above, this book is written in a very simple language with a message in the end of every chapter to make sure you have Take-away pointers with you after completing it. I give this book 4 stars out of 5.

Thanks.

WRITING BUDDHA