The Rozabal Line

The Rozabal Line is Ashwin Singhi's first novel, which he published under a pseudonym (Shawn Haigins) with Lulu Press, a self publishing firm. It was later published by Westland.The Rozabal Line, an Indian version of Da Vinci Code, starts very well, and binds the reader for the first couple of chapters. It then takes a very large number of incidents spread across space and time, and knits them into a good storyline to set up a climax that could do Ludlum or Dan Brown proud. The plot is intricate and unpredictable, though not entirely new. Dan Brown's influence is evident, as is the author's interest in world history.The plot is good and expansive, the characters are good and so is the setting. It is only the writing style that detracts from an otherwise excellent novel. The entire book is a series of extra-short scenes and snippets, some that are only a short paragraph. The constant flitting from place to place and across time makes reading tiresome and the flow jerky after a few chapters. The author's penchant for darting all over the place is also evident in his second novel, Chanakya's Chant, but to a lesser degree.Despite the annoying style, I liked The Rozabal Line more than Chanakya's Chant. The incidents in this book are more credible that in Chanakya's Chant. I was pleased to find it available as an eBook on Amazon for Rs 58, when the physical book was priced at Rs 176 in Flipkart. I grabbed it.A recommended read, particularly for Indian readers who will perhaps relate more to it than to Da Vinci Code. There is more exposition than is usually tolerated by western readers. As an Indian reader, I found the treatment of karma and rebirth a little bizarre.Overall, one of the better popular fiction book coming out of India.Overall Rating: 3 / 5Sub-ratings: Setting (4); Story (4); Characters (4); Writing (2)

I'll likely finish this book, just to see how it all comes together. Unfortunately, the author adds far too much information in insignificant areas, thereby obscuring his plot details and further complicating an overly complex plot. I'm a fan of the Jesus-in-India hypothesis, but it irks me when (even in fiction) authors use spurious works like the Bhavishya Purana to "strengthen" their credibility; that text, though old, simply retrofitted "back-stories" into history to "prove" that Hinduism is the font of all religion. There's something to be said for the argument, but not for this particular "proof."Anyway, my main beef is that the author tries to emulate Ian Fleming in providing an impressive amount of detail, but lacks Fleming's ability to restrict the detail to those areas where it counts. Giving manufacturers' specs for transatlantic aircraft and having Asian characters speak in Kanji is just a bit over the top: "Rozabal Line" thus comes across as a bit of an egoic attempt to show how much the author knows, whereas I'm sure the intent was much different. It would be fun to see a revised version sometime when the writer has more maturity. The plot is worthy, and a slimmed down version would likely be a great read.

some of his books I enjoy .... this one I couldn't get in to . donated it to local Molly Mutt store.

This book sounded like something I would really like, Dan Brown-like conspiracies, Indiana Jones action. The book starts off that way, and managed to keep me interested so that I wanted to know its resolution. Howeever, the ending seemed contrived, as is the author didn't know how to bring it to an end neatly and ended up mangling the story. Disappointed with the ending.

Average work by the author of Chanakya 's chant and Krishna Key......Takes us through a time travel and fills us with too much data....I almost had an informational diaorrea....I guess since this preceeds Mr Sanghi later works, it lacked the suspense and thrilling buildup that he usually maintains right from his early chapters....Good for those who want to understand Jesus , Islam and the Hindu connect between all their stories....

I read this book after reading all Ashwin sanghi's other books - chanakya chants, krishna key and the most latest private india. While the CC and KK are amazing works, I was little unhappy at poor and hasty works in the private india novel. Insatiable, I bought this book immly after finishing the private india. To my surprise, this book is simply outstanding. It gives a feel of reading a dan brown novel. Amazing work. No wonder, he is such a researcher that he waves so called fiction seamlessly with numerous references in real life and history back and forth some umpteenth times. Must read.

I wanted so much to like this book. I am a fan of this genre and I agree with other reviewers. It started with so much promise, and then strayed into a list of data supporting the premise. I felt like I was reading a thesis paper.

It was a really well researched book. Makes me want to go read the references that he has quoted. Very scholarly. Enjoyed it. Although surprisingly he had a few things off on Hinduism. For instance the star of David is used as a symbol in Hinduism (as Sudharshana chakra). The author was only quoting a modified opened out version of the start of David (the Swasthik). Sorry ... just being picky because it is well written. A must read.

This book is a load of rubbish. It relies heavily on other published materials but there is basically no story and the characters are at best one dimensional. It is entirely superficial and once again the Da Vinci Code it ain't. I am fed up with books that trade on the back of that one. The only good point is that it does have a religious message and might encourage people to look at some of their beliefs. I am interested to know more about the idea of Christ having been to India although i am far from convinced he survived the resurrection.Only bother with this if you are monumentally bored and the price is low. Otherwise Google Jesus in India and you will find plenty of articles about the basis of this novel.

I was not able to read more than 29% due to a simple question repeating in my mind- what the hell is going on?It seemed like a collection of stories of 100 different characters. Super complex and super confusing.The author should seriously consider reducing number of characters or writing in a better way so as to ensure the novel doesn't feel like collecting of stories.It felt like a torture as there was no connection with the characters and thus the 'let's see what happens to the characters ' meter was at zero.

Started really slow. I have a stack of books on the Kindle and read them in the order I "buy" them.Although this book is pure fiction, it's brimming with actual facts about religion down the ages and it made me book mark parts to read up about online. If this was a paperbook this would be a page turner. I sat and read and read and read and was left lost when I finished it. I love conspiracy books and this is one of the best I've read in an age.Well worth a read and well worth the searches online after I'd finished it.I would highly recommend this to anyone who has an interest in what the Catholic Church may or may not have withheld from its followers down the ages.

As SF/Fantasy books go, this is the first I've read which appeared to be an attempt to include all the current starting ideas for a multitude of conspiracy ideas . By this I mean that for each point of interest within the plot line, the reader is taken completely off theme into another thread, which feels just like reading a wikipedia excerpt. The moment an idea or topic is mentioned, off we go again. As other reviews note, it jumps around, touching on all the aforementioned, esoteric ideas currently in vogue.While the basic idea was good, reaching any sort of consistent theme through the book was difficult and very frustrating. Others may enjoy this type of writing, but for the dyed-in-the-wool reader - "caveat emptor".

Leaps about all over the place. Travels through time trying to tie up many of the outlandish theories of re-incarnation, Mary Magdelen and Jesus marrying and having children, terrorism and the 'evil' Roman Catholic Church. The Illuminatti and the Priory of Sion along with Opus Dei also show up. You get the feeling that the writer just throws everything in the pot and hope they will hit enough buttons to seel a few copies.The result is a story that is laboured and one I wouldn't reccomend to a friend.