ASHWATTHAMA'S REDEMPTION: THE RISE OF DANDAK
AUTHOR: GUNJAN PORWAL
PUBLISHER: OM BOOKS INTERNATIONAL
GENRE: MYTHOLOGICAL FICTION
PUBLICATION DATE: 15th SEPTEMBER, 2018
FORMAT: PAPERBACK
PAGES COUNT: 264
GOODREADS RATING: 4.17/5 (71 Ratings)
MY RATING: 4/5
BLURB: (Taken from Amazon)
Over a hundred years after the Mahabharata War, an ancient power threatens to destroy the new Age of Men, by establishing the Age of Terror of the asuras, long believed to be extinct. the only hurdle in its path is Guru Dronacharya’s son, the mighty but accursed warrior Ashwatthama, who lost all his powers following Lord Krishna’s curse and who unwittingly finds himself drawn into the quest of the lost bow of Lord Rama-the Kodanda.
As ghosts of the distant past return to haunt him and the line between friends and enemies blur, Ashwatthama must fight his inner demons to emerge victorious. He undertakes a perilous journey—across the vast plains of the Ganges, to the snow-capped peaks of the Himavant where the price of failure is a fate worse than death and death is a privilege not granted to Ashwatthama.
Is this all part of Lord Krishna’s great plan? Will Ashwatthama be able to regain his lost glory?
MY REVIEW:
'Ashwatthama's Redemption: The Rise of Dandak' by Gunjan Porwal is an mythological fiction. The story takes place a hundred years after the Kurukshetra war (also called the 'Mahabharata War') where the author tries to explore the life of Ashwatthama, aftermath of the war.
Now before I talk about the plot of the story, let me tell you briefly about Ashwatthama. Ashwatthama was the son of Dronacharaya, who was the royal preceptor of Kauravas and Pandavas. Ashwatthama was trained in the art of warfare along with them. He was born with a gem in his forehead which gave him power overall living beings lower than humans; it protected him from hunger, thirst, and fatigue.
He along with his father fought in the Kurukshetra war in Mahabharata from the Kauravas side against the Pandavas. When his father Drona was killed deceitfully by the Pandavas, Ashwatthama slaughtered the Pandava camp and out of rage directed the weapon 'Brahmastra' towards the womb of the pregnant Uttara(wife of Arjuna's son Abhimanyu) in an attempt to end the lineage of the Pandavas. As a punishment, Ashwatthama was asked by Sage Vyasa to surrender the gem on his forehead to Pandavas for his forgiveness. Krishna then cursed Ashwatthama that he will roam in the forests with blood and puss oozing out of his injuries and cry for death for 3000 years.
Now, the story goes like this- When the kingdoms of Avanti and Surparaka discerned the fact that some uncanny events are occurring in the forest of Dandakaranya, they suspected that it can be the possible resurrection of the Asura king Dandak. Dandak, who is known to be a master of black magic and sorcery once resurrected can wreak havoc on their kingdoms. He cannot be killed by any mortal or god except Lord Shiva. Only, Ashwatthama, the last living form of Lord Shiva has the power to stop him. Thus to prevent the rise of Dandak, Rana Pratap Singh, the Prince of Avanti, and Vikramsena, the King of Surparaka seeks the aid of Ashwatthama. Together, they embarked on a precarious journey to retrieve 'Kodanda', the bow of Lord Rama, which is the only weapon that can kill Dandak.
Will they be able to retrieve the bow and stop Dandak? Read the book to find out!
The reason I picked up this book was that I found the blurb intriguing and yes, the book didn't disappoint me! I would say that the author has done a commendable job in his debut novel. It is an action-packed mythological thriller. The story was fast-paced and well-elaborated. All the characters were well-etched and the writing style was simple and neat. It was good to go through the instances of Mahabharata that the author has incorporated in the story.
However, I felt that the ending was quite abrupt. Eagerly waiting for the sequel to know what happens next. And also, I felt that the book could have been made a little less detailed because at times it slows down the reading pace.
All in all, 'Ashwatthama's Redemption: The Rise Of Dandak' was a good read for me. I would definitely recommend this book to the fans of mythological fiction.
To buy a copy of the book, click on the link here
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Gunjan Porwal, an engineer by day and writer by night, is fascinated by Indian mythology, especially the Mahabharata and Ramayana.
After graduating from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur in 2002, Gunjan worked in MNCs as an engineer while contemplating writing anything other than code.
Gunjan lives in Pune with his wife, children, and parents. 'Ashwatthama’s Redemption: The Rise of Dandak' is his debut novel.
*I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review*
For more bookish updates, follow me on Instagram
AUTHOR: GUNJAN PORWAL
PUBLISHER: OM BOOKS INTERNATIONAL
GENRE: MYTHOLOGICAL FICTION
PUBLICATION DATE: 15th SEPTEMBER, 2018
FORMAT: PAPERBACK
PAGES COUNT: 264
GOODREADS RATING: 4.17/5 (71 Ratings)
MY RATING: 4/5
BLURB: (Taken from Amazon)
Over a hundred years after the Mahabharata War, an ancient power threatens to destroy the new Age of Men, by establishing the Age of Terror of the asuras, long believed to be extinct. the only hurdle in its path is Guru Dronacharya’s son, the mighty but accursed warrior Ashwatthama, who lost all his powers following Lord Krishna’s curse and who unwittingly finds himself drawn into the quest of the lost bow of Lord Rama-the Kodanda.
As ghosts of the distant past return to haunt him and the line between friends and enemies blur, Ashwatthama must fight his inner demons to emerge victorious. He undertakes a perilous journey—across the vast plains of the Ganges, to the snow-capped peaks of the Himavant where the price of failure is a fate worse than death and death is a privilege not granted to Ashwatthama.
Is this all part of Lord Krishna’s great plan? Will Ashwatthama be able to regain his lost glory?
MY REVIEW:
'Ashwatthama's Redemption: The Rise of Dandak' by Gunjan Porwal is an mythological fiction. The story takes place a hundred years after the Kurukshetra war (also called the 'Mahabharata War') where the author tries to explore the life of Ashwatthama, aftermath of the war.
Now before I talk about the plot of the story, let me tell you briefly about Ashwatthama. Ashwatthama was the son of Dronacharaya, who was the royal preceptor of Kauravas and Pandavas. Ashwatthama was trained in the art of warfare along with them. He was born with a gem in his forehead which gave him power overall living beings lower than humans; it protected him from hunger, thirst, and fatigue.
He along with his father fought in the Kurukshetra war in Mahabharata from the Kauravas side against the Pandavas. When his father Drona was killed deceitfully by the Pandavas, Ashwatthama slaughtered the Pandava camp and out of rage directed the weapon 'Brahmastra' towards the womb of the pregnant Uttara(wife of Arjuna's son Abhimanyu) in an attempt to end the lineage of the Pandavas. As a punishment, Ashwatthama was asked by Sage Vyasa to surrender the gem on his forehead to Pandavas for his forgiveness. Krishna then cursed Ashwatthama that he will roam in the forests with blood and puss oozing out of his injuries and cry for death for 3000 years.
Now, the story goes like this- When the kingdoms of Avanti and Surparaka discerned the fact that some uncanny events are occurring in the forest of Dandakaranya, they suspected that it can be the possible resurrection of the Asura king Dandak. Dandak, who is known to be a master of black magic and sorcery once resurrected can wreak havoc on their kingdoms. He cannot be killed by any mortal or god except Lord Shiva. Only, Ashwatthama, the last living form of Lord Shiva has the power to stop him. Thus to prevent the rise of Dandak, Rana Pratap Singh, the Prince of Avanti, and Vikramsena, the King of Surparaka seeks the aid of Ashwatthama. Together, they embarked on a precarious journey to retrieve 'Kodanda', the bow of Lord Rama, which is the only weapon that can kill Dandak.
Will they be able to retrieve the bow and stop Dandak? Read the book to find out!
The reason I picked up this book was that I found the blurb intriguing and yes, the book didn't disappoint me! I would say that the author has done a commendable job in his debut novel. It is an action-packed mythological thriller. The story was fast-paced and well-elaborated. All the characters were well-etched and the writing style was simple and neat. It was good to go through the instances of Mahabharata that the author has incorporated in the story.
However, I felt that the ending was quite abrupt. Eagerly waiting for the sequel to know what happens next. And also, I felt that the book could have been made a little less detailed because at times it slows down the reading pace.
All in all, 'Ashwatthama's Redemption: The Rise Of Dandak' was a good read for me. I would definitely recommend this book to the fans of mythological fiction.
To buy a copy of the book, click on the link here
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Gunjan Porwal, an engineer by day and writer by night, is fascinated by Indian mythology, especially the Mahabharata and Ramayana.
After graduating from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur in 2002, Gunjan worked in MNCs as an engineer while contemplating writing anything other than code.
Gunjan lives in Pune with his wife, children, and parents. 'Ashwatthama’s Redemption: The Rise of Dandak' is his debut novel.
*I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review*
For more bookish updates, follow me on Instagram
I would like to read this book as well ,you have done a great review.. Keep it up Abhi. Best wishes to you. 😊
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