Exploring the Bookish World

Adity Kay's recent historical fiction, Emperor Vikramaditya, is a sequel to her previous book, Emperor Chandragupta.  After reading Emperor Chandragupta, I couldn't wait to read the author's second book which just released last month! As the title of the book suggests, this book tells the tale of the legendary emperor of ancient India, Chandragupta II, or Vikramaditya. The younger son of the Gupta king Samudragupta, the young prince Chandra is troubled within himself as his elder brother Ramagupta prepares to take their ageing father's place on the throne, he wrestles constantly with his brother's decisions. He finds his brother's decisions to be dangerous to the stability of the empire. And thus, begins the conflict, and struggle for power between two brothers. But when the empire is threatened by a dangerous enemy from outside, Chandra emerges as the king in his own right. Read the book to know whether an unwanted prince can save a kingdom on the brin...

History has always been one of my favourite subjects since school days. The stories of ancient times have fascinated me since childhood. The stories of ancient people, their civilizations, the great kings and queens, the battles they fought - amazed and intrigued me. Historical fiction, as a literary genre, is very interesting, intriguing and informative at the same time. This is the reason why I guess I am a sucker for historical fictions. Adity Kay's book, Emperor Chandragupta,  tells us the story of the Maurya king Chandragupta Maurya. He founded the Mauryan empire. The story traces back to the early days, in the third century BCE, when India was a land ruled by powerful dynasties, each fighting for supremacy over the other, and Alexander the Great had arrived from Greece to conquer and wanted to establish his dominion over the entire known world. Moriya, a young boy, raised by a tribe of peacock-tamers, was completely unaware of the legacy that was rightfully his. Und...

Vibha Batra's latest novel, The Reluctant Debutante, is a short and fun read, which will amuse and amaze the readers. The plot is funny, crisp and unique. The story is about how Tanya Grewal, a nerd, who is not as interested in fashion as her sister, Sanya is. Sanya is the multi-talented identical twin of Tanya. When Sanya is all set to attend Debutante International - a glamorous social event - she ends up fracturing her foot! Under such circumstances, Tanya lands up in a sticky situation. She has to attend the super glamorous event in place of her sister. How will Tanya manage to keep her secret intact? Read the book to know more! The characters are very well developed. I found the protagonist, Tanya, to be very relatable. The authour brilliantly uses tongue in cheek humour. It is written in a very lucid and easy language and is fast-paced, which is just perfect for this book. The story is a perfect combination of glamour, humour, and romance. It is a sweet chick-lit,...

Priya Kumar's novel, I Will Go With You , or  The Final Call, which is now a web series on Zee5   is a rather interesting thriller. The plot is wonderfully constructed and it beautifully spins together spirituality with nail-biting suspense. The story starts with Sarah, a writer, who was almost about to miss her flight as she had lost track of time while she was busy shopping. The other important characters in the novel include Muttuswamy, an Indian astrologer; Jim, a teenager; Paul, a businessman who is a billionaire; and Captain Robert, who is going through a tough time. He was in his late forties and was suffering from severe depression. He was suicidal. Captain Robert had lost his wife and two daughters in a car crash. He was thinking about committing suicide while he was at work, mid-air at thirty-five thousand feet above sea level. Read the book to know more about the fate of all the characters in this novel! The book has the capability to make the readers thi...

The Broken Amoretti is an interesting and gripping novel by Sudipto Das and Aparajita Dutta. The subject which forms the crux of this story is sensitive and a very important issue - LGBTQ relationship. The title of the book is very intriguing. Edmund Spencer's Sonnets which he wrote in the 16th century are known as 'Amoretti'. The title  The Broken Amoretti suggests a love lyric which is unusual, similar yet different from the conventional sonnet, which basically deals with the poets' love for his beloved. Poems are a significant part of this novel and so is love. The story begins with Saoli who returns to India after a broken marriage and starts living in Prembajar. She comes across an old diary which contains cryptic poem written in dactylic hexameter, which is an archaic meter used in the composition of ancient Greek epics. There are amazing interpretations of Greek mythology in this book which I really liked. Although the plot is complex and the story is ...