Tarikshir: The Awakening by Khayaal Patel: Book Review

Title: Tarikshir: The Awakening

Author: Khayaal Patel

Publisher: Westland Publications

Publishing Date: 20^th August 2018

My Rating: 3.5 stars

Links: Amazon Goodreads Instagram Twitter

An insatiate monkey called Valikesh found himself at the site of Ravana’s palace after he survived the war between Lord Ram and Ravana’s army. His greed made him detain a powerful red stone charged with wicked properties and it’s when there was a quick glimpse of the evil Tarikshir. The prologue of the book begins with this appealing account but later in the book, there was hardly any comprehensive narrative of who is Tarikshir and his rise. The evil called Tarikshir never came into existence in the book and before that, it could have even happened, the story took the turn in a way for the closure which was abrupt.

The narration leaps to the period when the Britishers were set to coup the kingdoms of the Indian continent. Lord Walken leads his British army against the kingdom of Devgarh, a small state in Rajasthan. The king of Devgarh, Raja Ravindra Singh died mysteriously after the end of the war. Totally wretched with the news of his father’s death, Prince Rudra vowed to take revenge and seek justice. During the investigation, Rudra discovered a lot of unusual and dark secrets.

It’s intriguing how the plot constitutes the fusion of history, mythology, and fantasy. The history of rising of English traders capturing the country under control, the mythological account of sons of Hanuman and the inclusion of Zombies. The book offers a great blend of these distinct genres.

With every twist and turn coming up with the revelation of different characters and accounts, the story went engaging and thrilling. Though I didn’t like the idea of Zombies in the book as it seems that everyone wants to incorporate it but the author has cleverly included them in the story.

Talking about characters, Rudra’s and that of King Ravindra were satisfactorily narrated. What didn’t go well with me was that there wasn’t much of Nafisa and Duryadutta. Nafisa’s exit was quite undesirable. Besides, the way the book ended, I hope there is a sequel coming up.

Overall, Tarikshir is a good read exploring different genres and proposing a unique story. The book is recommended to readers who would love to read the blend of distinct genres in one narrative.

 

 

Have you happened to read this book? or thinking of it lately?

Do share your thoughts in the comments below.

 

-Harshita