The Mahabharata Secret Paperback – January 3, 2013

Author's narrative style is very catchy, with a good attention to detail. I started as a lazy weekend afternoon reading and then could not put it down till 3 am in the morning after finishing it. Its kind of similar to Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, in terms of geo locations, the concept of secret society, and quest towards discovering the secrets and locations, villains chasing; on the all contextualized to Indian subcontinent scenarios. I think the author has written it with an intention to be converted to a movie, and I am sure it will make a super-duper thriller. At least I will definitely watch it. The characters are believable, but I Vijay and Colin were a little lucky :-) .Suggest reading if you like thrillers like Dan Brown.

Well written and fast paced, one can read this book from cover to cover in a single sitting. The writing style is a little jumpy, where it seems that the focus is moved from scene A to scene B, then back to A, then to B, more like a TV serial. I found it a bit irritating. The book seems well researched. Enjoyed reading it. Have now started reading the book after this one.

It is a great reading experience. Author had a great plot and just amazing to see how he linked science to history. Brilliant riddles tied to history of India and great connection to science. I would recommend this to all. Superb thriller.

The plot is interesting for the most part, and the pace nice. But it lacks a depth of character. Mild spoilers.The protagonist looks like a fool who doesn’t think Uzi-waving men are any real threat. Who, along with his friends, thinks international terrorists are a joke and helps them voluntarily thinking they will let them go as a gesture of goodwill. In fact it’s ridiculous how every member of the ragtag team volunteers information they know will be used for causing massive destruction. A man of integrity would have happily sacrificed his own pathetic life so as not to help people who kill in thousands, but not these people. A man with sense would know that the terrorists would kill him and his friends anyway once they get what they want, but not these people. And in the end, the protagonist has no regrets for what he did and consoles himself with the fact that he did it to save his friends. Really? This last part is really hard to understand.All the characters are really caricatures carrying the story. It’s a plot driven book, and the plot is, though a bit far-fetched, not bad. Conspiracy theories are all the rage, thanks to Dan Brown. The characters are all a bit gullible and unidimensional, and hence uninteresting. It’s terribly convenient how all history buffs come together to form a team, that too from diverse backgrounds. Why an Indian nuclear scientist would trust a Pakistani nuclear scientist with a terrible secret is something that’s neither explained nor explicable. An amateur ancient script aficionado deciphers them on the fly like reading a book on nursery poems, and competes with himself in making it as fast and as easy for the waiting terrorists as possible. Poor chaps are pressed for time, after all.Overall the book isn’t bad, but the part where the sleuths fall over themselves in trying to help the terrorists, ostensibly because they will otherwise be killed, just leaves you with a bitter aftertaste.

Indian fiction engraved and embedded with Histroy was truly gripping and captivating. The book is a beautiful narrative fiction giving wonderful glimpses into the Ashoka period making one want to really go and visit the sites and make you wonder as what if there are some secrets still unravelled.Wonderfully researched and racy narration of the fiction. Liked reading it! The book however could not reach to the heights of purebred Histo-Fiction due to peppering it with a lot of terrorist and political scenarios. I thought the current period narration could have been avoided in such detail.Overall a thumbs up!

I am fond of history tangled fictions and bought this book as it featured both Ashoka and Mahabharata. The book started off well but then the plot starts losing grip with the reader and strays into unnecessary details and events. The big secret that the author tries to build momentum to, really fizzles out at the end. All in all this is a mere time killer read, nothing great.

The book was really gripping from start to finish. The plot moved quickly. With mythological thrillers, sometimes the authors go deep into the history and drag the story but this was to the point.

I picked up the book thinking that it will be a mix of mythology, fantasy and realty. However, the author has failed live up to any expectation to manage any is these elements.The book has a great start but fails to carry on the enthusiasm in the middle and then to the end.The kindle edition of the book is not Hooghly through well. The maps do not come in the kindle and the publishing house may do a better job.

I started this book and couldn’t put it down till I completed it. The author knows how to keep the suspense alive till the very end. A combination of history and modern day, the plot was well chosen and executed very efficiently. I would recommend this book to everyone.

lovely interesting, and well written. The book holds ones attention and has been written elegantly. I would recommend this book to anyone who has a interest in the history of India and the great Mahabharat epic.

Great ripping yarn, based on historical fact and well though out possibilities. Enjoyed every page.

I didn't read the book in one stretch, so my review might be biased. The storyline picks up pace gradually. The nonlinear timelines doesn't help much. The suspense is held up very well until the end. Overall a good one!

Using Indian mythology makes this novel different from the usual David Vinci type stories; a very good boys own adventure