Title: The Guardians Of The Halahala
Author: Shatrujeet Nath
Publisher: Jaico Publishing House
Review:
In the first installment of a proposed trilogy, Shatrujeet
Nath weaves a fabulous tapestry of myth and legend by bringing together two of
the oft told stories relating to Lord Shiva and king Vikramaditya. The two
stories that I’m referring to include the legend of how Lord Shiva came to be
the Neelkanth and king Vikramaditya’s association with the pichasa, Vetaal. As
children we all got to hear these two stories.
So what makes Nath’s story stand out? How does he connect
two very different stories to make one? ‘The Guardians of the Halahala’ links two
legends wherein Lord Shiva hands over a dagger containing a minute portion of
the deadly poison Halahala to Vikramaditya for safekeeping. Halahala, as we already
know, was churned out of the White Ocean by devas and asuras in the wake of
finding the immortal elixir of life, Amrita. It was a potent poison with the
capacity to annihilate even gods and demons. To save the universe from a
pathetic end, Lord Shiva drank the poison and held it in his throat. Thus far
the story is almost known to us. What we don’t know and which Nath fabricates
for furthering his plot is that a minute portion of the poison remains in the
custody of humans. Here is when Vikramaditya comes into the equation.
These storylines are not as separate as I am making them
sound—in fact, one of the most distinctive things about Nath’s yarn is
how it fuses these independent stories as though they are feeding into and from
each other. Then there are a few subplots. Of Hunas and Shakas invading
the Indian soil. Of internal strife between kings and vassals. A lot happens
within the pages of this book. It is a page-turner indeed.
It has everything going for it—prose that beautifully
encapsulates both the fantastic and the historic; deft storytelling that folds
and combines myth, and legend into one; and a strong focus on relationships
between devas, asuras and humans. In addition: a thrilling plot that holds
the promise of delivering a wonderful series.
I can only imagine how far high Shatrujeet Nath will
inevitably fly within the mythology field in the coming years and I will most
definitely be there to follow it.
Buy Link:
About the Author:
Door-to-door salesman, copywriter, business journalist and
assistant editor at the Economic Times, Shatrujeet Nath was all this before he took
to writing fiction full-time. He debuted with the Karachi Deception in 2013,
followed by the Guardians of the Halahala and the Conspiracy at Meru, the first
two books in the Vikramaditya series. At present, he is writing volume three of
the series. Shatrujeet lives in Mumbai, but spends much of his time in the
fantasy worlds of his stories. He can also be found at facebook.com/Shatrujeet
Nath.
I'd like to thank the author for letting me review his book. I do hope you end up liking the book when you read it. Thank you so much for stopping by, and happy reading!
* I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
** Picture courtesy: Amazon.in
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