The Temple of Avinasi by Ayush Pathak (Book Review- 3.75*/5)!!!

     

      Today, I am going to talk about two things in spite of one, unlike the way I start writing my review by talking only about one i.e. Publisher. :-) Let's talk about it first. Leadstart Publication or say, Frog Books are one of those publishers who deliver sleeping hits. Yes! I have read many novels by then and almost 90% of them satisfied me with their content. The other 10% that I didn't like is because of my taste. :-) Their publishing quality, promotional strategies and range of books that they publish shows that they are one publication house that we should keep an eye on. Well, the second thing that I was going to talk about is- The genre- Epic Fantasy. Since Amish Tripathi came up with his Trilogy and the kind of success it saw, I am seeing many young writers attempting the same trilogy-thing and telling a story based in the times of Ramayana or Mahabharata. All the writers claim that they were working on their stories before the trilogy but its hard to believe, at least for me. After Chetan Bhagat's success, we saw many chick-lit and rom-com novels in market. The same is happening now after Amish's success. The problem with this genre is that it interests you only in the first 100 pages after that, all the book turns out to be the same. A variety in these story is needed. Right now, I am just done reading a novel- The Temple of Avinasi which has the tagline of "The Legend of the Kalki". It's written by another debutante- Ayush Pathak.

 SYNOPSIS:- 

From the ashes of Epic Wars shall the great Lord of Dark rise,

So terrible his wrath, every protestor shall demise…

Ripped apart would be the Shield and the protecting forces,

A whole world shall fall, mortal or otherwise…

A heroic tale timed in modern age -- a battle of existence between evil and the good, bred on the ashes of the four thousand year old legendary Epic Wars. The ‘Immortal Protectors’ of the Temple are finding it hard to maintain control over a new rising evil power, far greater in magnitude than the previous war.

The Shield that protects Earth from external attacks had stopped the invading Dark Seekers, also called Nishachars -- a fled group from some distant dying planet -- for long. Until four thousand years ago … when the shield was ruptured, and the entire mortal world turned on the edge of demolition. It was then the immortal protectors, the Light Seekers, more commonly known as Devs, along with the remaining army of mortals fought and drove back the combined army of Nishachars and Asurs, and restored the shield -- but at a great price. The Nishachars retreated, and since then they have grown and redoubled their army several times, waiting for their prophesied Dark Lord to rise. The Devs, on the other hand, knowing that they won’t be able to stop the Great Dark Lord, if risen -- formed a secret brotherhood named ‘The Temple of Avinasi’ and scattered themselves throughout the world. Their only feeble hope lies in an ancient legend named ‘Kalki’, the last prophesied Avatar of Vishnu… And unaware of all this, two fourteen year old boys are presently spending their time merrily together in the mortal world, innocently oblivious to the fact, that how much changed their destinies are from what it seems, and how much the world’s fate is dependent on them…

About The Author:-

Ayush Pathak is an engineer-cum-writer with the gift of writing genes handed down as a family tradition from his poet grandfather to his writer father and then to him. Penning down his first creative work in the form of a poem at an innocent age of five, he starts writing seriously at the age of fourteen. He is presently a final year Electrical Engineering student at B.I.E.T., Jhansi and is currently working on his dream project of the Indian mythology-based fantasy novel series titled, ‘The Temple of Avinasi’. His theory about life is: A life which begins with a dream ends with success...

           Coming to the writing style of Ayush Pathak, I can say that if you want to read Epic fantasy or mythology fiction, then start with Ayush Pathak's The Temple of Avinasi as its written in a very simple manner unlike other books of the same genre. After reading Amish Tripathi, Ashwin Sanghi, Aroon Raman etc, I found Ayush Pathak's narration and language the easiest and most comfortable. He hasn't confused the timeline of the story by speaking about some factors in the initial pages itself to make us remember it till the end of the book and if we don't, then the climax is out of the hands. He hasn't used great vocabulary to show that only with great vocabulary can the great story be told. Being young and writing such kind of a story is in itself a great challenge which he has surpassed easily. He says that this is his 1st book in the series of 6 i.e. It's Trilogy multiply by 2. I will only suggest the author to keep the story limited till the 3rd book as a series as long as Harry Potter won't excite the Indian readers. :|

     

    Coming to the story, I liked how it started with Shri and eventually, making us realize that it's about Angel's greatness than Shri's. I liked how Yeti is been introduced and the initial conversations between him and Angel was a great phase in the book. The initial frictions between Ana and Angel is also delighting to read. The way Shri takes Angel through a painting into a different world excited me to know what's ahead. When Angel is been told about him being an Avatar and his importance in the Dev world, the proceedings that takes place after that reminded me of The Immortals of Meluha when Shiva is been told about him being a God. :-) I also loved the moment where Angel comes on the special horse with Sudarshan Chakra and the fight between the two army stops. The training that he gets along with Sam and Alisha is a wonderful read. I loved the parts whenever he is been told about the history of Devs, Nasachars and Nishachars. After a while, when he starts behaving like a real Avatar, I loved his confidence and the dialogue that he used to make. Finally, the scenes at the Dark Fort are the most exciting one. I also loved the moment when he comes to know the reality about his mother's death and Brihaspati's hidden secret. The role of Agni, the way tubes take them to a place, how the truth is unfolded in front of Angel etc. gives the book a perfect climax. Even the last chapter where the author has just given a synopsis on the 2nd book is wonderfully done that it does not look like an incomplete story but a complete book. 

           Coming to some drawbacks now- I wanted more of Ana and Angel's love story. It was quite incomplete, I would say. Philosophy and messages in every incident is what makes an epic fantasy special. In this book, I found author only concentrating on the story without adding any philosophy or great messages through it. He did quote Lord Krishna's sayings for 2 to 3 times but that's not enough. It's good that author has kept the story sound realistic but still, I was expecting a great action scene where Angel would have been an ultimate hero. Also, the conflict between Shri and Indra haven't been given the kind of plot it needed. I would have been wonderful to read the clashes between their decisions regarding Angel but there's no such scene. In all, books is a wonderful attempt and I must say, I am waiting for its sequels. I give it 3.75/5. 

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 Thanks a lot.

 ABHILASH RUHELA- VEERU!!!