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charvi_not_just_fiction's review
Dnf at page 125
I feel terrible that I'm abandoning this book but it's a complete it's me not you situation. I don't generally read historical fiction, especially ones that focus on politics so much. I keep putting this book down and gravitating towards other books. I might pick it up again sometime in the future but I certainly am not in the mood to read it right now.
I feel terrible that I'm abandoning this book but it's a complete it's me not you situation. I don't generally read historical fiction, especially ones that focus on politics so much. I keep putting this book down and gravitating towards other books. I might pick it up again sometime in the future but I certainly am not in the mood to read it right now.
strategos's review against another edition
4.0
The story revolves around the formation of the Aryavarta Empire. There are 2 factions, the Firstborn and the Firewrights. The Firstborn are scholars who have an immense knowledge of the scriptures while the Firewrights are inventors and scientists. You can read the rest of the review here -->
http://www.bookgeeks.in/entries/historical-fiction/aryavarta-chronicles-govinda-krishna-bookreview
http://www.bookgeeks.in/entries/historical-fiction/aryavarta-chronicles-govinda-krishna-bookreview
tbr_the_unconquered's review against another edition
2.0
When I first read the Mahabharata as a child, I wasn’t clear on why the story started at a place called Naimisha-Aranya (The forest of Naimisha). To my mind that craved only action movies, this was a minor diversion and one that needed to be quickly bypassed to reach that big daddy of all battle scenes. But slowly with every retelling and re-reading that I went through, the forest grew on me. It was only very recently that Ashok Banker gave it a befitting name – The forest of stories. You can draw out countless tales from this forest. Heroes, villains, gods and demons walk among these tales and it would make even the seasoned fantasy writers stare in wonderment at the seemingly endless treasure trove that stands before them. Needless to say, this seems to be the rage these days among young Indian writers too for everybody wants to try their hands at retelling mythology across varied genres from action to romance to family drama. Hunting between the stacks at my library on Saturday, I came across a new series where Krishna was an assassin sent to take revenge on the Asuras by the Devas(imagine Krishna as Liam Neeson : I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you ! some assassin he would make eh ? ). Krishna Udayasankar is another entrant to this field who chooses a retelling of the epic steeped in palace intrigues, conspiracies and machinations with a special focus on the rock star god of the Hindu pantheon : Krishna.
One thing is set straight right at the start itself : there are no gods in this tale. No one harnesses supernatural powers and nor are they the descendants of gods. They are Kings, Queens and Princes forever locked in the game of thrones. Merit should be awarded to the author for having stepped away from the ages old way of garishly painting Duryodhana as the baddie. In this tale, he is referred to by his actual name of Syyodhan and he is just another character and not the prince of darkness as most other authors would have us believe. This being the first installment I did not see nor hear much of Karna. If we go by the usual sentiments of authors, they romanticize this character to glorious heights of excessive magnanimity and valor. Here, Karna (or Vasusen) is a vassal King of Hastinapura and that is pretty much about him. No fanfare, no muses singing his praises with their lyres fully tuned etc. Then there is Krishna (or Govinda Shauri in this incarnation), the one who holds all the strings and plans out the ascent of his cousin Dharma Yudhishtir to the Emperor’s throne. Lives are made and destroyed, hearts are broken and left by the wayside, men and women die in the hundreds and still the kingdoms vie for the ultimate prize (reminds you of GRRM, doesn’t it ?). The first installment closes after Govinda and Bhima dethrone the Emperor , Jarasandha of Magadha and hence clear the way for Yudhishtir’s meteoric rise. The author is in command of her language and has a good way with words. It is a well written book from the language perspective.
And now sadly for the other parts of the book ! The whole book is hinged on a clash of clans (two of them !) – The firewrights ( the ones who hold the key to weapons technology) and the firstborn (the ones who are the trusted counselors of royalty). The conflict between these two overshadows even the Kaurava – Pandava conflict and gives the story a whole new dimension. The author unspools thread after thread of conspiracies and counter-moves and somewhere post two-thirds of the book, I lost my bearings and kept confusing firewrights with firstborns. A typical conversation that I had with my mind went like this :
Me : Alright, so that is a firewright in action !
Mind : No, it is a firstborn you fool !
Me : But I thought the author said it is a firewright, didn’t she ?
Mind : That was three pages ago, what were you looking at ?
Me : Oh darn you, you misleading double-crosser you !
Mind : Don’t you blame me for your sloppiness…
And so on.
Another point of disagreement with the author was on describing battle scenes. The Mahabharata is chock full of them and it is any fantasy writer’s best bet to lavish attention on them. This is exactly a point where I found the author to not reach up to her mark as a writer of fantasy. A tremendous battle is hinted at and as soon as you snap your fingers, it is over. The author just skims over the whole battle with a little glance at it all. If this keeps up, I might be in for a soggy ending during the Kurukshetra scenes. Towards the end, the book starts meandering and some of the principal characters go off on adventures which make no sense while looked at from the main story. A few scenes featuring Govinda also tend to get to being nothing more than rambling and long, long discourses which are not very enlightening.
By the look of things, I get a feel that the story has bitten off more than what it could chew. There are so many loose ends here that I surely hope the author ties them all up before the trilogy is done with.
Remember what the wise man said : If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there.
One thing is set straight right at the start itself : there are no gods in this tale. No one harnesses supernatural powers and nor are they the descendants of gods. They are Kings, Queens and Princes forever locked in the game of thrones. Merit should be awarded to the author for having stepped away from the ages old way of garishly painting Duryodhana as the baddie. In this tale, he is referred to by his actual name of Syyodhan and he is just another character and not the prince of darkness as most other authors would have us believe. This being the first installment I did not see nor hear much of Karna. If we go by the usual sentiments of authors, they romanticize this character to glorious heights of excessive magnanimity and valor. Here, Karna (or Vasusen) is a vassal King of Hastinapura and that is pretty much about him. No fanfare, no muses singing his praises with their lyres fully tuned etc. Then there is Krishna (or Govinda Shauri in this incarnation), the one who holds all the strings and plans out the ascent of his cousin Dharma Yudhishtir to the Emperor’s throne. Lives are made and destroyed, hearts are broken and left by the wayside, men and women die in the hundreds and still the kingdoms vie for the ultimate prize (reminds you of GRRM, doesn’t it ?). The first installment closes after Govinda and Bhima dethrone the Emperor , Jarasandha of Magadha and hence clear the way for Yudhishtir’s meteoric rise. The author is in command of her language and has a good way with words. It is a well written book from the language perspective.
And now sadly for the other parts of the book ! The whole book is hinged on a clash of clans (two of them !) – The firewrights ( the ones who hold the key to weapons technology) and the firstborn (the ones who are the trusted counselors of royalty). The conflict between these two overshadows even the Kaurava – Pandava conflict and gives the story a whole new dimension. The author unspools thread after thread of conspiracies and counter-moves and somewhere post two-thirds of the book, I lost my bearings and kept confusing firewrights with firstborns. A typical conversation that I had with my mind went like this :
Me : Alright, so that is a firewright in action !
Mind : No, it is a firstborn you fool !
Me : But I thought the author said it is a firewright, didn’t she ?
Mind : That was three pages ago, what were you looking at ?
Me : Oh darn you, you misleading double-crosser you !
Mind : Don’t you blame me for your sloppiness…
And so on.
Another point of disagreement with the author was on describing battle scenes. The Mahabharata is chock full of them and it is any fantasy writer’s best bet to lavish attention on them. This is exactly a point where I found the author to not reach up to her mark as a writer of fantasy. A tremendous battle is hinted at and as soon as you snap your fingers, it is over. The author just skims over the whole battle with a little glance at it all. If this keeps up, I might be in for a soggy ending during the Kurukshetra scenes. Towards the end, the book starts meandering and some of the principal characters go off on adventures which make no sense while looked at from the main story. A few scenes featuring Govinda also tend to get to being nothing more than rambling and long, long discourses which are not very enlightening.
By the look of things, I get a feel that the story has bitten off more than what it could chew. There are so many loose ends here that I surely hope the author ties them all up before the trilogy is done with.
Remember what the wise man said : If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there.
strategos's review
4.0
The story revolves around the formation of the Aryavarta Empire. There are 2 factions, the Firstborn and the Firewrights. The Firstborn are scholars who have an immense knowledge of the scriptures while the Firewrights are inventors and scientists. You can read the rest of the review here -->
http://www.bookgeeks.in/entries/historical-fiction/aryavarta-chronicles-govinda-krishna-bookreview
http://www.bookgeeks.in/entries/historical-fiction/aryavarta-chronicles-govinda-krishna-bookreview
crazygoangirl's review
3.0
The Mahabharata retold – reinterpreted & reworked – yet again!
This Epic has always fascinated me, as indeed it has millions of Indians who have grown up listening to its stories at Granny's feet and from reading the Amar Chitra Katha series (a staple diet for all budding readers when I was growing up). It's just that - an Epic - a tale spanning generations, choc-a-bloc with fascinating, complexly-layered narrative & characters (gods, demons, humans and everything in between!). Vast in scope (The 'Bhagwad Gita' is just one part of this rambling parable!), and yet still relevant in today's milieu – it makes for an utterly engrossing read – a veritable treatise on human emotions and relationships.
Many authors have attempted their own interpretations and re-tellings and this is yet another version from yet another author. I'm a huge fan of the original and I think it's always risky to tamper with a well-loved, well-known story, especially one that is an inseparable part of our collective Indian psyche – but I must confess – Krishna Udayshankar doesn't let me down. There are no Gods here nor demons – just humans – in all their frailty, grace and courage – and that instantly offers a refreshing if challenging perspective. Challenging in that, often ‘divinity’ is explanation enough (even for sceptics like me, in the fictional context), but humanity beggars logic and rational justification. So, although I may accept a particular behaviour in the God Krishna, will I accept a similar behaviour in his purely-human avatar ‘Govinda Shauri’? Will I accept that their motivations are similar – ‘The Greater Good’ that the Gods bandy about as an excuse and explanation for everything? That’s the question isn't it? And that's what I particularly enjoyed about this version - the way the author challenged my beliefs and status quo, forcing me to at least allow for a new perspective, if not accept it. No mean feat that.
I also enjoyed that she took some of the lesser known characters from the original and turned them into game-changers in her version, while down-playing some of the major players! It made for refreshing reading. So Vyasa – who is author of the original, is a king-maker in this version – a calculating, powerful man of hidden intent and cunning, a master manipulator. Sanjaya – King Dhritarashtra’s faithful servant in the original – has a much larger presence and role in this version – as an important counsellor to the king and right-hand man to Vyasa. In contrast Shakuni, Vidur, Duryodhan, Partha/Arjun and even Bhishma are surprisingly downplayed – a fact that I enjoyed, especially in case of Partha – whom I’ve never liked much ;) And Shikhandi! How can I not say how much I enjoyed the fact that he and not Partha is Govinda’s confidante in this version? Shikhandi is a fascinating if low-key character in the original, believed to be the reincarnation of the Princess Amba, who committed suicide rather than marry a man she didn’t love. She is reborn to revenge herself on Bhishma – the man she holds responsible for her tragedy. Here, Shikhandi is a peace-loving man and consummate warrior, at home with Nature, Govinda’s friend and confidante, loving brother to Panchali and Dhristhadyuma and at odds with his father King Drupad. I hope he continues to play an important role in the forthcoming books or I will be very disappointed indeed!
Another major and welcome change for me personally is that Panchali is a central, pivotal character and narrator along with Govinda. In a satisfactory change – her marriage here is to Dharma (the eldest Pandava brother), and not to all the five, a fact that disturbed me endlessly in the original. Although she is no less pivotal in the original, here, she is refreshingly center-stage while her husband Dharma takes a definite back-seat. Dharma – an epitome of honesty in the original, is similar here, but the author puts her own spin on his character – allowing us a glimpse into the psyche of one who is not as comfortable with his chosen path as one assumes. An indecisive man, easily influenced and full of his own self-importance, desiring to be right and true at all times while unwilling to do the work that makes it so – relying instead on Vyasa’s machinations, the prowess of his brothers and Govinda’s intellect – justifying their actions on his behalf as divine intervention. Fascinating! And so we come to the man who graces the title – the lynch pin – Govinda Shauri – without whom there would be epic. He is as enigmatic and charismatic as his namesake Krishna in the original. He may not be divine here, but his influence, principles, and readiness to sacrifice all for the ‘Greater Good’ are identical. What particularly intrigued me was his intimate relationship with Panchali. Whereas in the original, it came across as a brother-sister bond, here, it is anything but! The tensions between the two friends and almost-lovers are palpable and make for some very interesting, taut scenes that will translate excellently on film! I wonder whether she’s sold film rights?
I loved that she used lesser known names of the characters – so it’s Dwaipayana instead of Vyasa, Panchali instead of the more common Draupadi, Balabadra instead of Balaram, Partha and Dharma instead of Arjun and Yudhisthir – refreshes my memory and adds novelty. She also introduces a new concept – The Firewrights – a race of brilliant innovators & inventors (akin to magicians), that work with the First-Born (the Vyasas) and the Kings – but that have fallen into disrepute and are being hunted down by both. Her writing is spot-on – she manages to weave an undercurrent of mystery & suspense even when dealing with a story we all think we know by heart; her concept is interesting and her perspective refreshing. Except for the font-size which is too small, I have no major cribs! I will definitely read her next in this series – Kaurava, probably on Kindle to rest my poor eyes :)
This Epic has always fascinated me, as indeed it has millions of Indians who have grown up listening to its stories at Granny's feet and from reading the Amar Chitra Katha series (a staple diet for all budding readers when I was growing up). It's just that - an Epic - a tale spanning generations, choc-a-bloc with fascinating, complexly-layered narrative & characters (gods, demons, humans and everything in between!). Vast in scope (The 'Bhagwad Gita' is just one part of this rambling parable!), and yet still relevant in today's milieu – it makes for an utterly engrossing read – a veritable treatise on human emotions and relationships.
Many authors have attempted their own interpretations and re-tellings and this is yet another version from yet another author. I'm a huge fan of the original and I think it's always risky to tamper with a well-loved, well-known story, especially one that is an inseparable part of our collective Indian psyche – but I must confess – Krishna Udayshankar doesn't let me down. There are no Gods here nor demons – just humans – in all their frailty, grace and courage – and that instantly offers a refreshing if challenging perspective. Challenging in that, often ‘divinity’ is explanation enough (even for sceptics like me, in the fictional context), but humanity beggars logic and rational justification. So, although I may accept a particular behaviour in the God Krishna, will I accept a similar behaviour in his purely-human avatar ‘Govinda Shauri’? Will I accept that their motivations are similar – ‘The Greater Good’ that the Gods bandy about as an excuse and explanation for everything? That’s the question isn't it? And that's what I particularly enjoyed about this version - the way the author challenged my beliefs and status quo, forcing me to at least allow for a new perspective, if not accept it. No mean feat that.
I also enjoyed that she took some of the lesser known characters from the original and turned them into game-changers in her version, while down-playing some of the major players! It made for refreshing reading. So Vyasa – who is author of the original, is a king-maker in this version – a calculating, powerful man of hidden intent and cunning, a master manipulator. Sanjaya – King Dhritarashtra’s faithful servant in the original – has a much larger presence and role in this version – as an important counsellor to the king and right-hand man to Vyasa. In contrast Shakuni, Vidur, Duryodhan, Partha/Arjun and even Bhishma are surprisingly downplayed – a fact that I enjoyed, especially in case of Partha – whom I’ve never liked much ;) And Shikhandi! How can I not say how much I enjoyed the fact that he and not Partha is Govinda’s confidante in this version? Shikhandi is a fascinating if low-key character in the original, believed to be the reincarnation of the Princess Amba, who committed suicide rather than marry a man she didn’t love. She is reborn to revenge herself on Bhishma – the man she holds responsible for her tragedy. Here, Shikhandi is a peace-loving man and consummate warrior, at home with Nature, Govinda’s friend and confidante, loving brother to Panchali and Dhristhadyuma and at odds with his father King Drupad. I hope he continues to play an important role in the forthcoming books or I will be very disappointed indeed!
Another major and welcome change for me personally is that Panchali is a central, pivotal character and narrator along with Govinda. In a satisfactory change – her marriage here is to Dharma (the eldest Pandava brother), and not to all the five, a fact that disturbed me endlessly in the original. Although she is no less pivotal in the original, here, she is refreshingly center-stage while her husband Dharma takes a definite back-seat. Dharma – an epitome of honesty in the original, is similar here, but the author puts her own spin on his character – allowing us a glimpse into the psyche of one who is not as comfortable with his chosen path as one assumes. An indecisive man, easily influenced and full of his own self-importance, desiring to be right and true at all times while unwilling to do the work that makes it so – relying instead on Vyasa’s machinations, the prowess of his brothers and Govinda’s intellect – justifying their actions on his behalf as divine intervention. Fascinating! And so we come to the man who graces the title – the lynch pin – Govinda Shauri – without whom there would be epic. He is as enigmatic and charismatic as his namesake Krishna in the original. He may not be divine here, but his influence, principles, and readiness to sacrifice all for the ‘Greater Good’ are identical. What particularly intrigued me was his intimate relationship with Panchali. Whereas in the original, it came across as a brother-sister bond, here, it is anything but! The tensions between the two friends and almost-lovers are palpable and make for some very interesting, taut scenes that will translate excellently on film! I wonder whether she’s sold film rights?
I loved that she used lesser known names of the characters – so it’s Dwaipayana instead of Vyasa, Panchali instead of the more common Draupadi, Balabadra instead of Balaram, Partha and Dharma instead of Arjun and Yudhisthir – refreshes my memory and adds novelty. She also introduces a new concept – The Firewrights – a race of brilliant innovators & inventors (akin to magicians), that work with the First-Born (the Vyasas) and the Kings – but that have fallen into disrepute and are being hunted down by both. Her writing is spot-on – she manages to weave an undercurrent of mystery & suspense even when dealing with a story we all think we know by heart; her concept is interesting and her perspective refreshing. Except for the font-size which is too small, I have no major cribs! I will definitely read her next in this series – Kaurava, probably on Kindle to rest my poor eyes :)