The Mahabharata Quest - The Alexander Secret - Book Review

Title: The Mahabharata Quest 

           - The Alexander Secret

Author: Christopher C. Doyle

Publisher: Westland Ltd.

ISBN: 978-93-84030-59-9

Number of Pages: 358

Price: 295[INR]

Genre: Fiction

Blurb on the Book:

334 B.C.

Alexander the Great begins his conquest of the Persian Empire. But his plans for everlasting glory do not end there and the young king marches towards the Ends of the Earth - the lands of the Indus - on a secret quest. It will lead him to an ancient secret concealed in the myths of the Mahabharata; a secret that is powerful enough to transform him into a god...

PRESENT DAY

In Greece, the ancient tomb of a queen is discovered; a tomb that has been an enigma for over 2000 years. In New Delhi, the Intelligence Bureau discovers unexplained corpses in hidden lab. Vijay Singh and his friends, now members of an elite task force, are sucked into a struggle with a powerful and ruthless enemy. In a deadly race against time, they will need to solve a riddle from antiquity that will lead to encounter shocking secrets from the past; secrets that will reveal mystifying links between ancient history, the Mahabharata and an ancient enemy with diabolical plans for a future that will hold the world at ransom...

My Review:

This book arrived on the day before my exams and it was very difficult to hold back for four days, until my exams were over to start reading the book the book. I love mythological stories and I love mysteries. This book is a perfect combination of both, along with dose of history! Though I wasn't very fond of history during school days, this book didn't fail in captivating my attention through out. Here is what the book is about -

In the past, Alexander The Great had been on a secret quest in order to gain the power of gods. The person who succeeds in finding this 'secret of gods' is supposed to live on forever; a secret that was mentioned in The Mahabharata itself! But something went wrong on this quest and the secret was buried with him, until now! But not anymore!

The story is about a secret hidden in our mythology - The Mahabharata; a secret that can provide human kind with immortality. A group of mysterious people are  trying to put their hands on this secret in an attempt to rule the world. If they succeed in this mission, then there is no stopping them. Will the Intelligence Bureau succeed in stopping them? Or will the world become a slave to those powerful people who belong to a mysterious Order which is as ancient as time?

While reading the story, I felt that the author has done a great job of combining mythology, history and science. It shows that a lot of research has been made for writing this book and the hardwork has paid off well. The story is gripping. There are a lot of elements that keeps one engaged throughout the book - the riddles, the mystery, the anticipation of what might happen next! The plot becomes so believable sometimes that it is difficult to differentiate between reality and fiction.

Though this book is first in the series, it has some references to the author's previous novel - The Mahabharata Secret. The book would be even more interesting if one has read the previous novel, as it gives more insight about the characters and their adventure together. There are some questions left unanswered in this book - like 'What happened to Radha? Will she survive?' or 'Who these mysterious Order people are?' that piques the curiosity and leaves you waiting for an answer. But the wait doesn't end in this book; you have to wait for the next book in the series to find answers for these questions.

Though I liked the book very much, there were some places where I lost interest. Sometimes there are too many scientific terms used and scientific explanations provided which was an overhead transmission for me. Explanation about these terminologies are provided at the end of the book but I still felt that the pace was slowed down when the narration got too much scientific!

Other than a few glitches, the story makes a very interesting read. I finished it in one stretch and now eagerly waiting for the next book in the series. I would recommend this book to anyone who love mystery and mythology.

My Rating: 3.7/5 stars

Until the next review,

Keep Reading :)

Love,

Swathi :)