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The Mahabharata Quest #1
The Mahabharata Secret
It is a thriller novel that revolves around mythology, science, religion and terrorism. The story-line takes the readers all the way back to ancient times in 244 B.C., where Emperor Ashoka the Great discovers a dark secret of the great Mahabharata. The secret is so dangerous that it could cause massive destruction to mankind if falls into wrong hands.
For 2300 years the secret remained hidden to save the world from untold horror. Hence, to save the secret, Ashoka forms a group of people called 'Nine’ and gave them oath to protect the secret even on price of their lives.
Suddenly the story comes to the present, where a retired nuclear scientist, Vikram Singh is murdered in a mysterious way. Before his strange death, Vikram has sent few e-mails with cryptic clues to his nephew, Vijay. These clues further lead Vijay and his friends to unlock the secret in his uncle’s message. Throughout the story, Vijay along with his friends is racing against time while solving the mystery behind his uncle’s death and the message Vikram left before his demise.
The readers will find out various fictional and mysterious things about epic Mahabharata while going through the series of adventures in the book. Combining past and present, the book will intrigue all fiction lovers who are also keen to read about ancient India.
For 2300 years the secret remained hidden to save the world from untold horror. Hence, to save the secret, Ashoka forms a group of people called 'Nine’ and gave them oath to protect the secret even on price of their lives.
Suddenly the story comes to the present, where a retired nuclear scientist, Vikram Singh is murdered in a mysterious way. Before his strange death, Vikram has sent few e-mails with cryptic clues to his nephew, Vijay. These clues further lead Vijay and his friends to unlock the secret in his uncle’s message. Throughout the story, Vijay along with his friends is racing against time while solving the mystery behind his uncle’s death and the message Vikram left before his demise.
The readers will find out various fictional and mysterious things about epic Mahabharata while going through the series of adventures in the book. Combining past and present, the book will intrigue all fiction lovers who are also keen to read about ancient India.
386 pages, Paperback
First published October 21, 2013
507 people are currently reading
5392 people want to read
About the author
Christopher C. Doyle
15 books423 followersChristopher C. Doyle pursued a career in the corporate world, graduating from St. Stephens College, Delhi with a degree in Economics and studying business management at IIM Calcutta. He now helps companies to grow profitably and sustainably.
He is also a musician and lives his passion for music through his band called Mid Life Crisis which plays classic rock.
He is also a musician and lives his passion for music through his band called Mid Life Crisis which plays classic rock.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 510 reviews
February 15, 2021
DNF at 29%
The title is a farce. You go in expecting something about the Mahabharata, what you get is a whole lot of info-dumping about the great Ashokan Empire. You also get an offering of the following never-seen-before elements:
1. Beautiful, cliched characters
2. Cliched plot
3. Entitled characters
4. Indian female love interest with black eyes, long lashes, thick hair, thin body, good job and most importantly she doesn't speak unless spoken to (except once when she offered an idea after everyone had offered theirs)
I've seen this in every book with an Indian protagonist. Most Indian girls are not like that, it is what old fashioned people expect of them. It's a stereotypical thought process that shouldn't be encouraged.
Especially not in books.
It's like an old aunty telling you, "Your skirt is too short, your shirt is too tight, you talk too much, you talk too much to too many boys and you need to loose weight."
5. Everything is offered to said characters on a silver platter.
6. Incompetent defence and govt. services.
7. Telling not showing
Now what does that seem to be? That seems to be a disaster in the making. A disaster I don't plan to be a part of, one that I most assuredly am ditching and never getting involved with again.
Reading Updates
27% Done
How can a rectangle and a parallelogram be compared when a rectangle is a type of parallelogram?!
12% Done
How can someone who is well versed Indian scriptures not know what the Bhagavad Geeta is, especially someone who is very familiar with the Mahabharata?!
9.4% Done
Add submachine guns to the equation and still no one reports anything to the police.
Please! How can anyone be expected to believe that?!
9% Done
High speed car chase takes place on a Delhi highway, the cars chasing are black and have tinted windows. Nobody reports this to the police.
Right! I totally believe that.🙄
The title is a farce. You go in expecting something about the Mahabharata, what you get is a whole lot of info-dumping about the great Ashokan Empire. You also get an offering of the following never-seen-before elements:
1. Beautiful, cliched characters
2. Cliched plot
3. Entitled characters
4. Indian female love interest with black eyes, long lashes, thick hair, thin body, good job and most importantly she doesn't speak unless spoken to (except once when she offered an idea after everyone had offered theirs)
I've seen this in every book with an Indian protagonist. Most Indian girls are not like that, it is what old fashioned people expect of them. It's a stereotypical thought process that shouldn't be encouraged.
Especially not in books.
It's like an old aunty telling you, "Your skirt is too short, your shirt is too tight, you talk too much, you talk too much to too many boys and you need to loose weight."
5. Everything is offered to said characters on a silver platter.
6. Incompetent defence and govt. services.
7. Telling not showing
Now what does that seem to be? That seems to be a disaster in the making. A disaster I don't plan to be a part of, one that I most assuredly am ditching and never getting involved with again.
Reading Updates
27% Done
How can a rectangle and a parallelogram be compared when a rectangle is a type of parallelogram?!
12% Done
How can someone who is well versed Indian scriptures not know what the Bhagavad Geeta is, especially someone who is very familiar with the Mahabharata?!
9.4% Done
Add submachine guns to the equation and still no one reports anything to the police.
Please! How can anyone be expected to believe that?!
9% Done
High speed car chase takes place on a Delhi highway, the cars chasing are black and have tinted windows. Nobody reports this to the police.
Right! I totally believe that.🙄
March 25, 2014
Clearly the "Mahabharata" part was just there to draw Indian readers but I fell for it anyway. I figured at least there would be some mystery and thrill mixed up with Hindu mythology....something along the line of Da Vinci Code. But it turned out to be very disappointing. The only reason I kept reading to the end was to find what the "terrible secret" was supposed to be that Ashoka had discovered. The "terrible secret" was very very disappointing, to say the least. Not recommended unless this is one of your very first books in the mystery/thrill/ancient-history/mythology genre. Maybe I'm just more familiar with Hindu mythology but this was just a waste of time for me.
Some of the many things that made this book completely unbearable were -
[SPOILERS START]
1) The big "terrible secret" was just a weapon actually quite commonplace in the war of Mahabharata. In fact, Arjuna, Ashwatthama and many others wielded weapons far superior and destructive than the big "terrible secret". Even "Ghatotkach", an Asura, was destructive enough to warrant Krishna's attention without this "terrible secret". This shows that the author didn't study Mahabharata is much details at all.
2) One of the things that I enjoy in such books is how they explain (or attempt to) the mythological stuff in scientific terms. Here, it was just silly, at best. The technology they used to explain the "terrible secret" is actually (at least in laboratory experiments) exists today....And it's not so infallible at all. There are so so many weapons used in Mahabharata ranging from the regular bow and arrow to mystical WMDs. There's so much to choose from!!! And even then, the scientific explanation part of it just suc**d!! I wish they went over and explained all scenarios (doesn't take too much physics) at least.
3) Ashoka discovers the "terrible secret" and then creates clues around his empire (Southern Asia mainly) describing how to find it!!! If the secret was so terrible, why didn't he just bury it or sink it in the ocean or something? Why create clues for finding it and a group of people with the knowledge of those clues? This serves no purpose other than to help someone find the "terrible secret" (that he went so much trouble to hide") if they happen to find the clues. Wth!
4) The protagonists get kidnapped, everyone knows that a group of murderers is on the lose, and yet they just can't keep themselves from getting into harms way. They get kidnapped, barely escape with their lives...and then go out again unescorted, and again barely escape with their lives...and they go out unescorted yet again, to barely escape with their lives again...I mean, wth is going on!! Is this normal behavior? I kept asking myself why are they doing this!!! Wouldn't it be simpler to get a police escort? No amount of suspension of disbelief could help here.
[SPOILERS END]
There's just so much that didn't make a whit of sense in there and then after going through all that I found there was no "terrible secret" after all! The Hindu mythology part is practically non-existent and forced, it is possible to apply the same formula to pretty much any mythological war out there.
Some of the many things that made this book completely unbearable were -
[SPOILERS START]
1) The big "terrible secret" was just a weapon actually quite commonplace in the war of Mahabharata. In fact, Arjuna, Ashwatthama and many others wielded weapons far superior and destructive than the big "terrible secret". Even "Ghatotkach", an Asura, was destructive enough to warrant Krishna's attention without this "terrible secret". This shows that the author didn't study Mahabharata is much details at all.
2) One of the things that I enjoy in such books is how they explain (or attempt to) the mythological stuff in scientific terms. Here, it was just silly, at best. The technology they used to explain the "terrible secret" is actually (at least in laboratory experiments) exists today....And it's not so infallible at all. There are so so many weapons used in Mahabharata ranging from the regular bow and arrow to mystical WMDs. There's so much to choose from!!! And even then, the scientific explanation part of it just suc**d!! I wish they went over and explained all scenarios (doesn't take too much physics) at least.
3) Ashoka discovers the "terrible secret" and then creates clues around his empire (Southern Asia mainly) describing how to find it!!! If the secret was so terrible, why didn't he just bury it or sink it in the ocean or something? Why create clues for finding it and a group of people with the knowledge of those clues? This serves no purpose other than to help someone find the "terrible secret" (that he went so much trouble to hide") if they happen to find the clues. Wth!
4) The protagonists get kidnapped, everyone knows that a group of murderers is on the lose, and yet they just can't keep themselves from getting into harms way. They get kidnapped, barely escape with their lives...and then go out again unescorted, and again barely escape with their lives...and they go out unescorted yet again, to barely escape with their lives again...I mean, wth is going on!! Is this normal behavior? I kept asking myself why are they doing this!!! Wouldn't it be simpler to get a police escort? No amount of suspension of disbelief could help here.
[SPOILERS END]
There's just so much that didn't make a whit of sense in there and then after going through all that I found there was no "terrible secret" after all! The Hindu mythology part is practically non-existent and forced, it is possible to apply the same formula to pretty much any mythological war out there.
April 28, 2014
This was utter disappointment! I may have given this one a TWO or THREE, but with the huge expectation that I kept on this fell short, and I am now going with ONE.
The novel feels mediocre to me, even when I try to give it a fair chance and see it as a debut one. The characters are not given enough space or time to build up. The English used is okay, but even after a really-great beginning, the story-line is very weak. The author emphasizes more on clues and how to find them, laying stress on the edicts and pillars Ashoka built throughout his empire. The surprise that was to shock you, never came for me (and it would never come for any conspiracy-thriller-book-bugs), as it was really easy to guess who's who.! The ending though was okay, and I felt a warm smile lighting up my face at last. There are many loopholes and irregularities too in this novel. I am mentioning some of them to let you a glimpse of the blunder the author resulted in:
1. The Vimana Parva de-coding really irritated me.! There may be such a chapter, but that is likely to contain not only ONE-INFORMATION of the pact between the Kauravas and the King of Magadha to led them win over the Pandavas, in the battle of Kurukshetra. It would contain much more information, apart from that. It was illogical to erase the whole chapter only for that. There were much more disastrous weapon in the great epic. If the use of such weapons were to restricted to the ordinary public, then perhaps all the Kurukshetra episode would have been deleted. From the current Mahabharata, we come to know the name of various weapons, yet their usage and technology are not known to us and one only hear rumors about them. These weapons, mentioned in the novel, that are THE SECRET, could have been kept so.
2. Also if Ashoka came by such weapon, he is likely to destroy that, and not preserve them with utmost care, and left them in the secrecy of the guardians, because he himself destroyed many of his dangerous torture chambers and hugely damageable weapons that he thought may be used by the future generations, when he turned from "Ashoka, The Terrible" to "Ashoka, The Great".
3. And what is the major COMEDY/IRONY to be noted here is, Jayadratha was the main king of Magadha, in the Mahabharata. After his death, the pandavas released the 99 other kings of Magadha region and crowned his son Sahadeva the king, who then fought with the rest of other freed kings from the side of the Pandavas, not Kauravas.!!
Though there were a few royalties who fought from Kaurava's side, they weren't the KING OF MAGADHA!
4. The protagonists were sometimes acting like buffoons. They were being kidnapped and attacked again and again and even after they came upon important knowledge about the danger they are in, they are never act as if they are bothered about their own safety, or even the security of the knowledge. PURE BOLLYWOOD STANCE!
On the whole, If you are not that much into Mahabharata and is used to the unfathomably illogical Bollywood-tactics by the protagonists, and don't have any other book at your hand. it can be an okay-leisure read for you!
The author have researched enough and it is really a great loss to see that go in the drain. If only he had given more stress to build the base of the myth around THE NINE UNKNOWN MEN and use his research about the Mahabharata and Ashoka's reign and deeds to create a more convincing legend, then this could have been a masterpiece. The author though promising, was unable to sew the different threads altogether to boost this good-enough potential story into a great read. Hope, he comes with more-analysed works in his future novels.
I would recommend this only to people who are not familiar with the genre of conspiracy thriller or thriller based on religious or mythology. People familiar with works of Dan Brown, Ashwin Sanghi etc. . . . please find out another novel to go through, as this will do nothing but disappoint you!
The novel feels mediocre to me, even when I try to give it a fair chance and see it as a debut one. The characters are not given enough space or time to build up. The English used is okay, but even after a really-great beginning, the story-line is very weak. The author emphasizes more on clues and how to find them, laying stress on the edicts and pillars Ashoka built throughout his empire. The surprise that was to shock you, never came for me (and it would never come for any conspiracy-thriller-book-bugs), as it was really easy to guess who's who.! The ending though was okay, and I felt a warm smile lighting up my face at last. There are many loopholes and irregularities too in this novel. I am mentioning some of them to let you a glimpse of the blunder the author resulted in:
1. The Vimana Parva de-coding really irritated me.! There may be such a chapter, but that is likely to contain not only ONE-INFORMATION of the pact between the Kauravas and the King of Magadha to led them win over the Pandavas, in the battle of Kurukshetra. It would contain much more information, apart from that. It was illogical to erase the whole chapter only for that. There were much more disastrous weapon in the great epic. If the use of such weapons were to restricted to the ordinary public, then perhaps all the Kurukshetra episode would have been deleted. From the current Mahabharata, we come to know the name of various weapons, yet their usage and technology are not known to us and one only hear rumors about them. These weapons, mentioned in the novel, that are THE SECRET, could have been kept so.
2. Also if Ashoka came by such weapon, he is likely to destroy that, and not preserve them with utmost care, and left them in the secrecy of the guardians, because he himself destroyed many of his dangerous torture chambers and hugely damageable weapons that he thought may be used by the future generations, when he turned from "Ashoka, The Terrible" to "Ashoka, The Great".
3. And what is the major COMEDY/IRONY to be noted here is, Jayadratha was the main king of Magadha, in the Mahabharata. After his death, the pandavas released the 99 other kings of Magadha region and crowned his son Sahadeva the king, who then fought with the rest of other freed kings from the side of the Pandavas, not Kauravas.!!
Though there were a few royalties who fought from Kaurava's side, they weren't the KING OF MAGADHA!
4. The protagonists were sometimes acting like buffoons. They were being kidnapped and attacked again and again and even after they came upon important knowledge about the danger they are in, they are never act as if they are bothered about their own safety, or even the security of the knowledge. PURE BOLLYWOOD STANCE!
On the whole, If you are not that much into Mahabharata and is used to the unfathomably illogical Bollywood-tactics by the protagonists, and don't have any other book at your hand. it can be an okay-leisure read for you!
The author have researched enough and it is really a great loss to see that go in the drain. If only he had given more stress to build the base of the myth around THE NINE UNKNOWN MEN and use his research about the Mahabharata and Ashoka's reign and deeds to create a more convincing legend, then this could have been a masterpiece. The author though promising, was unable to sew the different threads altogether to boost this good-enough potential story into a great read. Hope, he comes with more-analysed works in his future novels.
I would recommend this only to people who are not familiar with the genre of conspiracy thriller or thriller based on religious or mythology. People familiar with works of Dan Brown, Ashwin Sanghi etc. . . . please find out another novel to go through, as this will do nothing but disappoint you!
January 4, 2014
The book is definitely something which would make a Mahabharata fan really anxious to lay his hands on, but in hindsight not so much. It was in short a book filled with mindless riddles and not-so-thrilling adventure. The book has got nothing to do with Mahabharata but for the fictional segment of the epic called the "Vimana Parva".
The portrayal of the characters seemed like it was done in a hurry with no clear roles for each. The main character seems to be in a competition with his friend for witty one-liners and both fail to impress us. The female lead, does nothing to the story but to just stick along. The character of Shukla appears to translate ancient language with much ease, which appears to be far fetched. There isn't even a moment lost in making a different interpretation of the riddle and the team lands on the solution like it was a posted in Google. Further, the way the characters go through the maze and traps built in 500BC with relative ease is just mocking us and reminds us of the tamil movie "Guru Sishyan"! Come on, they should not insult our intelligence this way.
The most hilarious part was the character of Bheem Singh who does nothing. Ya, actually he does nothing and ends up being killed. By an ancient weapon. Come on, the author could have atleast made it not look like Tarak Vakil! The action by the Intelligent Bureau was more than an adventure and I don't understand why the author had thanked his friend for his help in Optics and Technology.
One advice, if you love the epic, don't take this book. Not worth it.
The portrayal of the characters seemed like it was done in a hurry with no clear roles for each. The main character seems to be in a competition with his friend for witty one-liners and both fail to impress us. The female lead, does nothing to the story but to just stick along. The character of Shukla appears to translate ancient language with much ease, which appears to be far fetched. There isn't even a moment lost in making a different interpretation of the riddle and the team lands on the solution like it was a posted in Google. Further, the way the characters go through the maze and traps built in 500BC with relative ease is just mocking us and reminds us of the tamil movie "Guru Sishyan"! Come on, they should not insult our intelligence this way.
The most hilarious part was the character of Bheem Singh who does nothing. Ya, actually he does nothing and ends up being killed. By an ancient weapon. Come on, the author could have atleast made it not look like Tarak Vakil! The action by the Intelligent Bureau was more than an adventure and I don't understand why the author had thanked his friend for his help in Optics and Technology.
One advice, if you love the epic, don't take this book. Not worth it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 11, 2019
ওয়েল, মোটামুটি ছিলো বইটা। মূল বই এবং অনুবাদের ব্যাপারে আমার আলাদা আলাদা মন্তব্য আছে।
প্রথমেই আসি মূল বইয়ে। ক্রিস্টোফার সি ডয়েলের লেখায় খানিকটা অপরিপক্কতা আছে বলে আমার ধারণা। তবে প্রথম বইয়ে সেটা থাকাটাই স্বাভাবিক। প্লটটা দারুণ। গ্রীক মিথ, নর্স মিথ কিংবা ড্যান ব্রাউনের হলি গ্রেইল, ফৃম্যাসন নিয়ে খানিকটা ধারণা থাকলেও হিন্দু মিথোলজি নিয়ে আমার ধারণা নেই বললেই চলে। আর হিন্দু মিথোলজি নিয়ে তার উপস্থাপনাটা বেশ ভালোই লেগেছে।
এবারে আসি অনুবাদে। জেসি মেরি কুইয়া বা মাসুম আহমেদ আদির কোন অনুবাদ আমি এর আগে পড়িনি, এমনকি ওনারা যে টাইপের অনুবাদ করেন সেটাও এর আগে কোথাও চোখে পড়েনি। যেমনঃ কোন একটা জায়গায় লেখা 'এয়ারক্রাফট' কে ওনারা ব্র্যাকেটে 'বিমান' লিখে পাঠককে অর্থ বোঝাতে চেয়েছেন। এ কাজটা ওনারা স্রেফ একটা জায়গায়ই করেন নি, পুরো বইটাতেই করেছেন। যেমনঃ 'টপ ফ্লোর (উঁচু তলা)', 'সার্চ (অনুসন্ধান)', 'এলিভেটর (লিফট)' [এলিভেটরের বাংলা যে লিফট এটা আমার জানা ছিলো না]। এমনকি ওনারা কয়েক জায়গায় 'রীমলেস' এর বাংলা লিখেছেন 'রং হীন' যেটা কিনা সম্পূর্ণ ভুল। এই যুগে এসে কোন থ্রিলার পাঠক সার্চ বা টপ ফ্লোর��র অর্থ বুঝবে না এটা আমি বিশ্বাস করি না। আর যদি অনুবাদকদের মনেই হয়ে থাকে কারো বুঝতে সমস্যা হতে পারে সেক্ষেত্রে অনুবাদকদের উচিৎ ছিলো সার্চ বাদ দিয়ে অনুসন্ধান শব্দটাই ডিরেক্ট ব্যবহার করা। আমার ধারণা পাঠককে এতটা গন্ডমূর্খ না ভাবলেও চলতো।
এই ব্যাপারটা স্রেফ বিরক্তির উদ্রেক করেছে। আমার ধারণা এই বইয়ের এডিটিং এ ঘাটতি ছিলো। আশা করি গোয়িং ফরোয়ার্ড অনুবাদকগণ এ সমস্যা উতরে যাবেন।
প্রথমেই আসি মূল বইয়ে। ক্রিস্টোফার সি ডয়েলের লেখায় খানিকটা অপরিপক্কতা আছে বলে আমার ধারণা। তবে প্রথম বইয়ে সেটা থাকাটাই স্বাভাবিক। প্লটটা দারুণ। গ্রীক মিথ, নর্স মিথ কিংবা ড্যান ব্রাউনের হলি গ্রেইল, ফৃম্যাসন নিয়ে খানিকটা ধারণা থাকলেও হিন্দু মিথোলজি নিয়ে আমার ধারণা নেই বললেই চলে। আর হিন্দু মিথোলজি নিয়ে তার উপস্থাপনাটা বেশ ভালোই লেগেছে।
এবারে আসি অনুবাদে। জেসি মেরি কুইয়া বা মাসুম আহমেদ আদির কোন অনুবাদ আমি এর আগে পড়িনি, এমনকি ওনারা যে টাইপের অনুবাদ করেন সেটাও এর আগে কোথাও চোখে পড়েনি। যেমনঃ কোন একটা জায়গায় লেখা 'এয়ারক্রাফট' কে ওনারা ব্র্যাকেটে 'বিমান' লিখে পাঠককে অর্থ বোঝাতে চেয়েছেন। এ কাজটা ওনারা স্রেফ একটা জায়গায়ই করেন নি, পুরো বইটাতেই করেছেন। যেমনঃ 'টপ ফ্লোর (উঁচু তলা)', 'সার্চ (অনুসন্ধান)', 'এলিভেটর (লিফট)' [এলিভেটরের বাংলা যে লিফট এটা আমার জানা ছিলো না]। এমনকি ওনারা কয়েক জায়গায় 'রীমলেস' এর বাংলা লিখেছেন 'রং হীন' যেটা কিনা সম্পূর্ণ ভুল। এই যুগে এসে কোন থ্রিলার পাঠক সার্চ বা টপ ফ্লোর��র অর্থ বুঝবে না এটা আমি বিশ্বাস করি না। আর যদি অনুবাদকদের মনেই হয়ে থাকে কারো বুঝতে সমস্যা হতে পারে সেক্ষেত্রে অনুবাদকদের উচিৎ ছিলো সার্চ বাদ দিয়ে অনুসন্ধান শব্দটাই ডিরেক্ট ব্যবহার করা। আমার ধারণা পাঠককে এতটা গন্ডমূর্খ না ভাবলেও চলতো।
এই ব্যাপারটা স্রেফ বিরক্তির উদ্রেক করেছে। আমার ধারণা এই বইয়ের এডিটিং এ ঘাটতি ছিলো। আশা করি গোয়িং ফরোয়ার্ড অনুবাদকগণ এ সমস্যা উতরে যাবেন।
June 1, 2020
A tightly bound story line with page turner thrill & interest. There is a reason Christopher is called india Dan Brown.
A story based on clues left behind in unsung parva of Mahabharata and Hidden by 9 unknowns of Ashoka. A terrorist organisation behind the deadly secret of these treasure.
A must read for treasure hunt kind of thriller.
A story based on clues left behind in unsung parva of Mahabharata and Hidden by 9 unknowns of Ashoka. A terrorist organisation behind the deadly secret of these treasure.
A must read for treasure hunt kind of thriller.
August 6, 2019
Christopher is new breed of Indian authors who come with a background of engineering and management. This is reflected in their writings and Christopher is no exception. The first in the trilogy the plot is based on ancient legend of club of nine men first established by Ashoka and tasked with preserving ancient secret. It is fascinating to read the way Christopher uses symbols and existing locales to build a fast paced plot. Mahabharata texts have been used in a completely refreshing context. Highly recommended.
February 24, 2015
Every time I read a book written by James Rollins, I think: if Europe, with all its bloody history can provide raw materials for such superlative techno-thrillers, why can't India? Hence, when this book fell into my hand, I had seriously wanted to like it, just to ensure that other readers get interested in the book, and in the process, the trend of basing thrillers on Indian history, receive a boost. Alas, the book, despite being quite a speedy read, was bogged down by two basic flaws: -
1. The premises, i.e. at the time of the Mahabharata, the kingdom of Magadha possessed knowledge & technology that's way ahead of our times, is not only incredible, but also laughable.
2. The villains (for such a Bollywood-type book, words like "antagonists" don't apply) keep babbling about their plans not only to their associates, but even to our heroes, at every opportunity that they could find.
Eventually, I think it's plain weak writing, without any humour or suspense, that made up my mind, and resulted in the book getting 2 stars.
1. The premises, i.e. at the time of the Mahabharata, the kingdom of Magadha possessed knowledge & technology that's way ahead of our times, is not only incredible, but also laughable.
2. The villains (for such a Bollywood-type book, words like "antagonists" don't apply) keep babbling about their plans not only to their associates, but even to our heroes, at every opportunity that they could find.
Eventually, I think it's plain weak writing, without any humour or suspense, that made up my mind, and resulted in the book getting 2 stars.
March 25, 2016
Ok first things first. Book has decent action which took me till completion. Apart from that everything else is pretty downhill. Story was okay but the secret was something lame. It would not have been bad to actually explain in detail what it does our how it works but author conveniently forgets about all that. Also with the amount of hype that was built around it, I was terribly disappointed with the ten second weapons part to read.
Or main Mr. Antagonist goes Gung ho all guns blazing everywhere he goes and not to mention he is an ex pak nuke scientist currently with Let. And our IB team had no clue till the end. Many things in the book really take things too far. Though it is not an utter waste of time, it is really a waste of money. Overall you can read it once occasionally jumping pages. I feel bad I stayed late to complete this.
Or main Mr. Antagonist goes Gung ho all guns blazing everywhere he goes and not to mention he is an ex pak nuke scientist currently with Let. And our IB team had no clue till the end. Many things in the book really take things too far. Though it is not an utter waste of time, it is really a waste of money. Overall you can read it once occasionally jumping pages. I feel bad I stayed late to complete this.
March 30, 2014
Frankly, my judgement here may be a clouded. I am literally tired with the Dan Brown genre, which forces a reader to browse innumerable articles and graphic details of the written about pages to frame an idea about the setting which form the core of the entire story in novels like these.
Even otherwise the book wasn't able to keep me enthralled. Quite a few many times I had to skim through the pages to proceed further onto the story.
However, this is not to say, that Christopher Doyle was disappointing. His research into Ashoka and his relics around India was fairly remarkable and it effuses itself in the thriller. The story begins with the murder of a retired nuclear scientist of India who leaves behind clues for his nephew, so that the latter may be able to reach a mysterious and potentially dangerous secret and protect the same from a LeT terrorist group. How Vijay, the nephew, and his colleagues follow the trails despite repeated attacks on them by the terrorists, and a parallel trail being led by the security agencies of India form the rest of the story.
The setting was really difficult to imagine and that literally put me away. The end of the trail didn't justify the entire storyline preceding it. Its quite an abrupt ending and difficult to comprehend. Also, the writer tries to add a philosophical turn to the events at the end by giving an additional end which according to me was completely unnecessary and seemed forced. And then there were the abrupt, sudden turn of events almost at every corner, which honestly didn't do a good job of keeping me hooked.
However, all said, I really applaud the writing considering that this is the first composition of Christopher. The research is clearly remarkable and the writer does not seem to get lost in the plot. The book shifts timelines and places to reveal different points in the thriller and he does a pretty good job at it, though not impeccable. Personally I would vouch for a storyline which is straight or avoids too many time jumps.
@Christopher Doyle, its not that the book is not good, but just that I didn't enjoy it ! However, I am sure you will come up with something intriguing the next time.
http://freakychakra.wordpress.com/201...
Even otherwise the book wasn't able to keep me enthralled. Quite a few many times I had to skim through the pages to proceed further onto the story.
However, this is not to say, that Christopher Doyle was disappointing. His research into Ashoka and his relics around India was fairly remarkable and it effuses itself in the thriller. The story begins with the murder of a retired nuclear scientist of India who leaves behind clues for his nephew, so that the latter may be able to reach a mysterious and potentially dangerous secret and protect the same from a LeT terrorist group. How Vijay, the nephew, and his colleagues follow the trails despite repeated attacks on them by the terrorists, and a parallel trail being led by the security agencies of India form the rest of the story.
The setting was really difficult to imagine and that literally put me away. The end of the trail didn't justify the entire storyline preceding it. Its quite an abrupt ending and difficult to comprehend. Also, the writer tries to add a philosophical turn to the events at the end by giving an additional end which according to me was completely unnecessary and seemed forced. And then there were the abrupt, sudden turn of events almost at every corner, which honestly didn't do a good job of keeping me hooked.
However, all said, I really applaud the writing considering that this is the first composition of Christopher. The research is clearly remarkable and the writer does not seem to get lost in the plot. The book shifts timelines and places to reveal different points in the thriller and he does a pretty good job at it, though not impeccable. Personally I would vouch for a storyline which is straight or avoids too many time jumps.
@Christopher Doyle, its not that the book is not good, but just that I didn't enjoy it ! However, I am sure you will come up with something intriguing the next time.
http://freakychakra.wordpress.com/201...
March 26, 2022
এই বইটা অনেক আগের থেকেই পড়ার ইচ্ছা ছিল। মার্ক করে রাখা সত্ত্বেও অনেকদিন পরেই ধরলাম। মহাভারত নিয়ে আমার দুর্নিবার আকর্ষণ আছে অনেক আগের থেকেই। এ কারণে এই সংক্রান্ত বই পেলেই পড়ে ফেলতে ইচ্ছা হয়। সে হিসেবে বইয়ের নাম আরো ঝাক্কাস, মহাভারত সিক্রেট। সে সিক্রেট উদঘাটন করতেই নামলাম এবার।
গল্পের শুরুতেই আমরা ভারতবর্ষের মহান সম্রাট অশোককে পাই। মহাভারতে প্রাপ্ত ভয়ংকর অস্ত্রগুলাকে লুকানোর বন্দোবস্ত করতেই ব্যাস্ত এ মহান সম্রাট। এ রহস্য যাতে আবার চিরকালের জন্য হারিয়ে না যায় সে জন্য প্রতিষ্ঠা করে যান এক গোপন সংঘের। যার নাম কমবেশী ইদানীংকালে আমরা সবাই শুনে থাকি, দ্য নাইন আননোন ম্যান। হিসাবমতে ইতিহাসের সবচে পুরান এ সংঘের দ্বায়িত্বই হল এই গোপনীয়তাকে রক্ষা করা। কিন্তু বর্তমানের এক ভয়ংকর সন্ত্রাসীদল লেগে যায় এর পেছনে। যাদের উদ্দেশ্যেই হল এই ভয়ংকর অস্ত্রের মাধ্যমে পুরো পৃথিবীর উপরে নিয়ন্ত্রণ আনা। এখন কথা হল কি সেই গোপন অস্ত্রভান্ডার আর কিভাবে সংঘ এদের রক্ষা করবে?
এবার আসি প্লটে। যতটা আশা নিয়ে শুরু করেছিলাম তেমন ভাল প্লট নাহ। কিন্তু সময়ের বিচার করলে বলা যায় বেশ আকর্ষণীয়। গল্পের চরিত্রায়ন আমার ভাল মনে হল। কিন্তু ধাধার ব্যাপারগুলা তেমন জমেনি। কেমন জানি মনে হচ্ছিল যাই চাচ্ছে হয়ে যাচ্ছে। শেষের অর্ধেকতো একশ্যানে ভরা। ওই মানে মারামারি আর গ্যাঞ্জাম। আর আমার ভিলেনকে বেশ ভোদাই মনে হল। এত রিসোর্স নিয়েও খালি ফেল মেরে যাচ্ছিল। ব্যর্থতা সে হিসেবে পুরাই ভিলেনের। তাইলে কথা হইল ড্যান ব্রাউন আর জেমস বন্ড মিলায় লেখক বেশ ভাল একটা ককটেল উপহার দিয়েছেন। খালি হুইস্কিটা কম হওয়াতে লেখাটা কড়া হইল না।
আফসোস!!!
গল্পের শুরুতেই আমরা ভারতবর্ষের মহান সম্রাট অশোককে পাই। মহাভারতে প্রাপ্ত ভয়ংকর অস্ত্রগুলাকে লুকানোর বন্দোবস্ত করতেই ব্যাস্ত এ মহান সম্রাট। এ রহস্য যাতে আবার চিরকালের জন্য হারিয়ে না যায় সে জন্য প্রতিষ্ঠা করে যান এক গোপন সংঘের। যার নাম কমবেশী ইদানীংকালে আমরা সবাই শুনে থাকি, দ্য নাইন আননোন ম্যান। হিসাবমতে ইতিহাসের সবচে পুরান এ সংঘের দ্বায়িত্বই হল এই গোপনীয়তাকে রক্ষা করা। কিন্তু বর্তমানের এক ভয়ংকর সন্ত্রাসীদল লেগে যায় এর পেছনে। যাদের উদ্দেশ্যেই হল এই ভয়ংকর অস্ত্রের মাধ্যমে পুরো পৃথিবীর উপরে নিয়ন্ত্রণ আনা। এখন কথা হল কি সেই গোপন অস্ত্রভান্ডার আর কিভাবে সংঘ এদের রক্ষা করবে?
এবার আসি প্লটে। যতটা আশা নিয়ে শুরু করেছিলাম তেমন ভাল প্লট নাহ। কিন্তু সময়ের বিচার করলে বলা যায় বেশ আকর্ষণীয়। গল্পের চরিত্রায়ন আমার ভাল মনে হল। কিন্তু ধাধার ব্যাপারগুলা তেমন জমেনি। কেমন জানি মনে হচ্ছিল যাই চাচ্ছে হয়ে যাচ্ছে। শেষের অর্ধেকতো একশ্যানে ভরা। ওই মানে মারামারি আর গ্যাঞ্জাম। আর আমার ভিলেনকে বেশ ভোদাই মনে হল। এত রিসোর্স নিয়েও খালি ফেল মেরে যাচ্ছিল। ব্যর্থতা সে হিসেবে পুরাই ভিলেনের। তাইলে কথা হইল ড্যান ব্রাউন আর জেমস বন্ড মিলায় লেখক বেশ ভাল একটা ককটেল উপহার দিয়েছেন। খালি হুইস্কিটা কম হওয়াতে লেখাটা কড়া হইল না।
আফসোস!!!
September 11, 2014
‘The Mahabharat Secret’ is the first work of Christopher C. Doyle. This book is a wonderful combination of fantasy-fiction, thriller and mythology and mastered with the imagination and observation of the author.
Most of us have grown up listening to the story of Mahabharat and as we are unaware of the fact that there is any secret behind the Mahabharat, makes the name more interesting. The readers will grab the book just to find out what secret can the Mahabharat hide. I liked the cover and the key on the cover is very much significant to the story. Overall the first impression of the book was good.
The author’s narrating style has a smooth flow which will force the readers to complete the whole book is one go. The words chosen by the author is a treat to the reader’s eyes and matches the atmosphere quite perfectly. I prefer chapters with names rather than only numbers and the author has somehow managed to do the both. He has named a few scenes and numbered all chapters and the name of the place in the top right corner of the book, where the incident is unfolding is very helpful to the readers.
The characterization is good and each and every character has their own role to play which is one of the good points of the story. The readers can never ignore any of the character because each and every one was needed to unlock the secret. The author was able to surprise the readers with his sudden introduction of important characters. I loved those parts.
The story line was good, gripping and interesting. But compared to the other books in the market in this genre, I can say that the plot is not fresh. The journey of finding the secret while solving the riddles is not so uncommon but the presentation was different and the speed of the story will make it a hit among the readers. I loved the ending and appreciate the author’s imagination power of jotting down such an intriguing scene.
The name, the cover and the blurb everything indicated that this book will have a deep connection with mythology or will have a heavy mythological touch but after the first half there was none. In the beginning there were few chapters, talking about Ashoka, The Nine and Suryasen but as the story moves on the author has focused more on the journey and shifted the limelight from the mythology part. I would have called this book perfect if there were some more mythological touches to justify the name and the blurb.
Final Words: This book is full with surprise elements and will keep the readers hooked till the end and will make them gasp for the secret to reveal. The readers will witness this journey at the edge of their seat.
For more reviews click on: www.timidfingers.blogspot.in
Most of us have grown up listening to the story of Mahabharat and as we are unaware of the fact that there is any secret behind the Mahabharat, makes the name more interesting. The readers will grab the book just to find out what secret can the Mahabharat hide. I liked the cover and the key on the cover is very much significant to the story. Overall the first impression of the book was good.
The author’s narrating style has a smooth flow which will force the readers to complete the whole book is one go. The words chosen by the author is a treat to the reader’s eyes and matches the atmosphere quite perfectly. I prefer chapters with names rather than only numbers and the author has somehow managed to do the both. He has named a few scenes and numbered all chapters and the name of the place in the top right corner of the book, where the incident is unfolding is very helpful to the readers.
The characterization is good and each and every character has their own role to play which is one of the good points of the story. The readers can never ignore any of the character because each and every one was needed to unlock the secret. The author was able to surprise the readers with his sudden introduction of important characters. I loved those parts.
The story line was good, gripping and interesting. But compared to the other books in the market in this genre, I can say that the plot is not fresh. The journey of finding the secret while solving the riddles is not so uncommon but the presentation was different and the speed of the story will make it a hit among the readers. I loved the ending and appreciate the author’s imagination power of jotting down such an intriguing scene.
The name, the cover and the blurb everything indicated that this book will have a deep connection with mythology or will have a heavy mythological touch but after the first half there was none. In the beginning there were few chapters, talking about Ashoka, The Nine and Suryasen but as the story moves on the author has focused more on the journey and shifted the limelight from the mythology part. I would have called this book perfect if there were some more mythological touches to justify the name and the blurb.
Final Words: This book is full with surprise elements and will keep the readers hooked till the end and will make them gasp for the secret to reveal. The readers will witness this journey at the edge of their seat.
For more reviews click on: www.timidfingers.blogspot.in
July 31, 2016
Imagine this:
About 25% into the book:
1) The lead character's uncle has been murdered. Protagonist and friend have been kidnapped off a highway after a chase. Their car was attacked while they were escaping. They somehow make it to a safehouse of a friend. Now, as soon as they sit down, the lead character throws a pen 'jokingly' at his friend and they exchange some friendly banter.
Later on...:
2) When they are stuck underground in some remote place, 'friend' show mock indignation at some dig directed at them, 'friend' asks protagonist to accept his intellectual superiority etc..
3) When the protagonist and a female friend are kidnapped and are held hostage, they think of romance! (full 2 chapters dedicated to it)
4) The feelings of 'rage' can be seen by the lady, in the protagonist, when they are brought to the villan while they are held captive. (just couldn't imagine this one. how? how? how can someone think of anyhing else except escape?)
After reading such things, I was like
W.T.F???
Totally out of place scenes like this are abound in this book. The main story has very little to stand for itself. There are so many 'fillers' in the book. Things, like feelings of people, described in detail where they should not have been.
I was reminded of Enid Blyton's writing in Famous Five where such scenes were present(This https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... review suggests the same!). But the lead characters there are kids and its not difficult to imaging them indulging in such behaviour.
Here I found such writing getting on my nerves as I progressed through the book.
This looks like a Dan Brown historical fiction/thriller wannabe with too many details of surroundings and places. Book has a slow pace mainly because of the unnecessary fillers.
I had to simply skip through a few chapters to get along(the ones where Radha keeps wondering whether she is in love with Vijay and whether he has the same feelings or not and the ones with totally out of place scenes)
There is very little character build up.
The 'Secret' in itself is not very interesting. The solving of the the riddles could have had some more details. Most of them are solved very quickly, either with online help or in some chance manner like when going through a travel itenary at some unknown shop!
The ending is quite disappointing and reminded me of the ending of some end-of-the-world movie where the protagonist escapes a big explosion in a car while the road is opening up into a big crack.
All in all, a very disappointing read. There are 2 more books in the series. Will not take it up for a long long time.
About 25% into the book:
1) The lead character's uncle has been murdered. Protagonist and friend have been kidnapped off a highway after a chase. Their car was attacked while they were escaping. They somehow make it to a safehouse of a friend. Now, as soon as they sit down, the lead character throws a pen 'jokingly' at his friend and they exchange some friendly banter.
Later on...:
2) When they are stuck underground in some remote place, 'friend' show mock indignation at some dig directed at them, 'friend' asks protagonist to accept his intellectual superiority etc..
3) When the protagonist and a female friend are kidnapped and are held hostage, they think of romance! (full 2 chapters dedicated to it)
4) The feelings of 'rage' can be seen by the lady, in the protagonist, when they are brought to the villan while they are held captive. (just couldn't imagine this one. how? how? how can someone think of anyhing else except escape?)
After reading such things, I was like
W.T.F???
Totally out of place scenes like this are abound in this book. The main story has very little to stand for itself. There are so many 'fillers' in the book. Things, like feelings of people, described in detail where they should not have been.
I was reminded of Enid Blyton's writing in Famous Five where such scenes were present(This https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... review suggests the same!). But the lead characters there are kids and its not difficult to imaging them indulging in such behaviour.
Here I found such writing getting on my nerves as I progressed through the book.
This looks like a Dan Brown historical fiction/thriller wannabe with too many details of surroundings and places. Book has a slow pace mainly because of the unnecessary fillers.
I had to simply skip through a few chapters to get along(the ones where Radha keeps wondering whether she is in love with Vijay and whether he has the same feelings or not and the ones with totally out of place scenes)
There is very little character build up.
The 'Secret' in itself is not very interesting. The solving of the the riddles could have had some more details. Most of them are solved very quickly, either with online help or in some chance manner like when going through a travel itenary at some unknown shop!
The ending is quite disappointing and reminded me of the ending of some end-of-the-world movie where the protagonist escapes a big explosion in a car while the road is opening up into a big crack.
All in all, a very disappointing read. There are 2 more books in the series. Will not take it up for a long long time.
December 14, 2015
Very few books are there whose plot you remember no matter when you have/had read the book.
This is one of the books in my collection that is specified as a must read.
I really liked this book and would like to give reasons for each star.
1st star - For me, reading on the topic of the Mahabharata is just another happiness or joy. Only the title and the cover page caught my attention first. I didn't know the writer before.
2nd star - The fast pacing story.
3rd star - The narrative skills and the portrayal of each and every character in a sophisticated manner.
4th star - Unexpected end with an intricate detail.
Now, why not the 5th star - The author has copied Dan Brown's style while writing the end of the story. Sometimes too many details lengthen then book that could have been avoided.
For more reviews follow
BookRature
This is one of the books in my collection that is specified as a must read.
I really liked this book and would like to give reasons for each star.
1st star - For me, reading on the topic of the Mahabharata is just another happiness or joy. Only the title and the cover page caught my attention first. I didn't know the writer before.
2nd star - The fast pacing story.
3rd star - The narrative skills and the portrayal of each and every character in a sophisticated manner.
4th star - Unexpected end with an intricate detail.
Now, why not the 5th star - The author has copied Dan Brown's style while writing the end of the story. Sometimes too many details lengthen then book that could have been avoided.
For more reviews follow
BookRature
October 20, 2020
The Mahabharat Secret by Christopher C Doyle- Novel- Thriller The Mahabharata Secret is a book that will take you on a journey to a secret found 2300 years ago! The book is about a mythological secret which is fantastically engraved in a work of fiction. The author wants to tell his audience about this secret through a fictional story which keeps the audience engaged and on the edge with every chapter passing by. The story has been narrated as follows. In 244 BC, Ashoka the Great sent one of courtiers Surasen to unearth a secret which belonged to the time of Mahabharata — a secret which could be a potential threat to the mankind. Judging the perils of keeping the secret open to public, Ashoka formed a group of nine anonymous members and named it ‘Brotherhood’. He also instructed them to keep the secret safe wherever it is and also ensure that none of the members gets access to it. The members of the brotherhood kept with them different parts of the clues that could lead to the ultimate secret hidden somewhere in the hills of Sitagarh. As time passed by, members of the brotherhood kept on changing as heirs were passed the baton but the number of members remained nine.In 2001, Taliban, former rulers of Afghanistan, caught hold of one of the clues to the secrets in one the caves hidden behind the Buddha carving. One of the Talibanis sold the clues including a metal disk, a key and inscriptions to one the new members of the brotherhood considering the clues useless but expensive. When the new member received the clues, he betrayed the brotherhood and murdered all of its members including the last member and fellow nuclear scientist Vikram Singh because as per the code of brotherhood, all the clues possessed by the deceased member passes on to the remaining members. He later joined LeT and came in contact with some big shots with whom he planned to destabilise the governments of member countries of G20 with the help of the secret! Before dying, Vikram Singh passed information about clues to his nephew Vijay Singh in the form of some emails with the objective of passing the baton of the brotherhood. As soon as Vijay Singh received the emails, he, along with his friends, ventured on to discover the secret only to realize that they were being followed by LeT terrorists with the same objective. Meanwhile, Intelligence Bureau came to know about the plans of LeT and big shots and interrupted their mission. In the later part of the story, the secret got destroyed during the cross firing between LeT militants and Indian army commandos. ijay Singh found another secret within his uncle’s home and realized that the emails were not an invitation to discover the secret but an invitation to join the brotherhood and safeguard the secret. If you want to explore the secret with Vijay Singh and his friends and get rolling on this action-packed adventure. It is a good read book.
May 17, 2015
When I picked up ‘The Mahabharata Secret’ the expectations were high as the plot, which had a connection with the ancient Indian history and its myths, seemed apt for a really absorbing mystery thriller. After going through the book, which by the way was easy to read and fast paced, I feel the author could have put in more effort in the form of convincing plots, more mature and well formed characters and more thrill and mystery. The research that is done by the author on the ancient history of India is laudable and the narrative about this element in the book is noteworthy. But being a Mystery Thriller the book needs more elements and this is certainly lacking.
The author certainly had a great germ of an idea with him, which was potentially a nice candidate for a historical thriller, but the book fails to connect with a fan of the mystery/ thriller genre with lack of suspense, conviction, thrill factor, powerful characters (especially a menacing or cunning antagonist) and in particular a potent secret element. The plot is weak and dull overall due to the fact that the mystery solving is done with too much ease from the part of the lead characters and in an ‘arm-chair’ manner. Whenever they are faced with a riddle or are in search for a clue the hints keep on coming very conveniently and in most case through online research which takes away much of the thrill from the plot.
The most frustrating part was the 'cookie-cutter' similarity between all the characters. Every single one of them seemed the same and spoke the same; and the dialogs they make gets under the skin at times. The Indian characters, the American characters, the terrorists from Afghanistan and the main villains all felt the same. It was like listening to the dialogs of a movie as it is rendered through a first-generation text-to-speech voice synthesizer, which took away all the emotions and personalities of the characters.
Altogether it was disappointing that the thriller - which could have been more connecting with the reader with better plot development and powerful characters – failed to make a good impact.
The author certainly had a great germ of an idea with him, which was potentially a nice candidate for a historical thriller, but the book fails to connect with a fan of the mystery/ thriller genre with lack of suspense, conviction, thrill factor, powerful characters (especially a menacing or cunning antagonist) and in particular a potent secret element. The plot is weak and dull overall due to the fact that the mystery solving is done with too much ease from the part of the lead characters and in an ‘arm-chair’ manner. Whenever they are faced with a riddle or are in search for a clue the hints keep on coming very conveniently and in most case through online research which takes away much of the thrill from the plot.
The most frustrating part was the 'cookie-cutter' similarity between all the characters. Every single one of them seemed the same and spoke the same; and the dialogs they make gets under the skin at times. The Indian characters, the American characters, the terrorists from Afghanistan and the main villains all felt the same. It was like listening to the dialogs of a movie as it is rendered through a first-generation text-to-speech voice synthesizer, which took away all the emotions and personalities of the characters.
Altogether it was disappointing that the thriller - which could have been more connecting with the reader with better plot development and powerful characters – failed to make a good impact.
March 26, 2018
I finished reading the Mahabharata Secret. Very fast read and gripping. While the excitement was building constantly, I didn’t find the plot as expected. From the beginning, could guess the surprises in advance, people who are wrong. A bit of a disappointment as I expected more from the book.
April 9, 2025
মহাভারতের সময়কার কিছু সূত্র ধরে পুরো ঘটনা এগিয়ে গেছে। কি এমন লুকায়িত করে রেখে গেছেন মহান সম্রাট অশোক, যা মানুষের হাতে পড়লে পুরো মানব সভ্যতা বিপর্যয়ে পড়বে??? বিজয় কি পারবে তার কাকার দেওয়া সূত্র গুলোর মাধ্যমে আসল সত্যি বের করতে? না সেগুলো বেহাত হয়ে কোন সন্ত্রাসী সংগঠন এর হাতে পড়বে??
May 27, 2020
বইটা যতটা expectation নিয়ে শুরু করেছিলাম, ততটা ভালো লাগে নি।
বেশ কিছু প্লটহোল ছিলো। আর বিভিন্ন জায়গায় বর্ণনার প্রচুর ঘাটতি ছিলো। অনেক কষ্ট করে শেষ পর্যন্ত পড়ে যেতে হয়েছে।
Rating-
মূল বই: ৩.৫
অনুবাদ: ৩
বেশ কিছু প্লটহোল ছিলো। আর বিভিন্ন জায়গায় বর্ণনার প্রচুর ঘাটতি ছিলো। অনেক কষ্ট করে শেষ পর্যন্ত পড়ে যেতে হয়েছে।
Rating-
মূল বই: ৩.৫
অনুবাদ: ৩
January 22, 2017
i just bored!
November 21, 2025
Book Review: The Mahabharata Secret by Christopher C Doyle
Title: The Mahabharata Secret
Author: Christopher C Doyle
Length: 386 pages
Publisher: Om Books International
Genre: Historical, Thriller, Fiction
My rating: 3.5/5
Summary:
The story is set in current day with base of history dating back to the era of Mahabharata war and the era of King Asoka the Great. The book reveals the secret of Mahabharata that remained hidden and was protected by the secret society of 9 formed by King Asoka. The book is a thriller with topic of terrorism touched too.
My Take:
I have always been fond of Indian Historical stories even if it is at the backdrop of the theme of a book so me picking up this book isn’t a surprise. Lot of stories have been weaved around the era of Mahabharata but very few books cover any secret hidden from that time. This book promised to reveal a secret that if got in wrong hands could cause much destruction. The book also had elements of science in it.
Characterization is great with believable characters and their back stories. Story is undoubtedly fast paced book and i could complete the same in 5 days (after working hours). Story is written in a manner that it did arouse interest with a constant question ‘what next’. Imagination of the secret is truely commendable and creative. Information on many places in India is covered in detail and seemed like a well researched book.
The love story between the protagnists was hard to believe and even if it did not help in any development to the narrative. It could have been skipped completely without it imapcting the story.
Overall a decent read and can be picked up as a light reading.
Title: The Mahabharata Secret
Author: Christopher C Doyle
Length: 386 pages
Publisher: Om Books International
Genre: Historical, Thriller, Fiction
My rating: 3.5/5
Summary:
The story is set in current day with base of history dating back to the era of Mahabharata war and the era of King Asoka the Great. The book reveals the secret of Mahabharata that remained hidden and was protected by the secret society of 9 formed by King Asoka. The book is a thriller with topic of terrorism touched too.
My Take:
I have always been fond of Indian Historical stories even if it is at the backdrop of the theme of a book so me picking up this book isn’t a surprise. Lot of stories have been weaved around the era of Mahabharata but very few books cover any secret hidden from that time. This book promised to reveal a secret that if got in wrong hands could cause much destruction. The book also had elements of science in it.
Characterization is great with believable characters and their back stories. Story is undoubtedly fast paced book and i could complete the same in 5 days (after working hours). Story is written in a manner that it did arouse interest with a constant question ‘what next’. Imagination of the secret is truely commendable and creative. Information on many places in India is covered in detail and seemed like a well researched book.
The love story between the protagnists was hard to believe and even if it did not help in any development to the narrative. It could have been skipped completely without it imapcting the story.
Overall a decent read and can be picked up as a light reading.
March 22, 2022
This book gave me kind of mixed feelings. It was slow and interesting at the same time but after a while it stopped amusing me. Last chapters generated my curiosity again and at last climax came with a lesson I wasn't expecting. Overall it was upto my expectations. Captivating theories and characters made this book gripping. If you are fan Hindu mythology then you should check this out.
May 30, 2017
This was an ok ok book. Its much on the lines of Dan Brown (thats the first book of the type that I read) but located in India.
The only redeeming quality about the book was that it gave quite a lot of insights into locations and stories related to Mahabharata.
The only redeeming quality about the book was that it gave quite a lot of insights into locations and stories related to Mahabharata.
August 19, 2020
This is a great book to read if you feel somewhat fascinated with how those celestial weapons worked you will get to know something about them atleast what writer feels . There are spoilers ahead if you don't mind them please go ahead (on a serious note) the ending can be predicted to some extent apart from that it's all about edicts and the clues hidden in them to find what they call invisible aircraft . According to the book the vimana parva was removed by King ashoka from mahabharata and he formed a cult of nine men's to protect it and it is all abou getting hold of that arsenal by the evils but the good guys emerge winner at end but they sufferd some losses too like protagonist lost his uncle due to which all this started
June 12, 2022
After so long, finally i found an equal match to Dan brown and to Da Vinci code.
This is my kind of historical conspiracy crime book.
A great book and it is recommended to know atleast summary about Mahabharata to understand the characters.
This is my kind of historical conspiracy crime book.
A great book and it is recommended to know atleast summary about Mahabharata to understand the characters.
November 11, 2017
just ok.. seriously title misleads the readers.
October 9, 2018
Gripping story...
December 6, 2017
The Mahabharata Secret revolves around a Secret deadly weapon which was made during the Mahabharata Era, but somehow it was not used at the time of Mahabharata War. Now we have Samrat Ashok The Great Emperor who came to know about this weapon which was hidden since the Mahabharata Era simultaneously ending by finding the weapon. The weapon is so deadly that the emperor himself put it back and hide it from the common peoples and the world.
Now we have an old scientist, his nephew, some email strings about the supposed map of the hidden weapon, some bad peoples who wants the weapon for their evil activities and the never ending hunt for it.
Multiple twists and turns having some deadly attacks on our protagonist and his bravery, leads us to our Ancient hidden weapon which later we came to know that, it's nothing but an Ancient Atomic arsenal.
The narration of the book is good, the plot of the story is impressive but somehow at the end it looks like a script which is written for any Bollywood thriller movie. The reader could not involved with the protagonist on this hunt. It's not a book for those who are fans of Dan Brown's writings.
Now we have an old scientist, his nephew, some email strings about the supposed map of the hidden weapon, some bad peoples who wants the weapon for their evil activities and the never ending hunt for it.
Multiple twists and turns having some deadly attacks on our protagonist and his bravery, leads us to our Ancient hidden weapon which later we came to know that, it's nothing but an Ancient Atomic arsenal.
The narration of the book is good, the plot of the story is impressive but somehow at the end it looks like a script which is written for any Bollywood thriller movie. The reader could not involved with the protagonist on this hunt. It's not a book for those who are fans of Dan Brown's writings.
July 24, 2017
Too slow to be thriller.
The so called secret is overrated.
SPOILER!
Lucky escapes everytime make it too goody goody book.
The so called secret is overrated.
SPOILER!
Lucky escapes everytime make it too goody goody book.
October 3, 2016
Theme of the book was good however i felt that author has not played his card well during the course of writing the novel. The characters and their strength has not been completely introduced during the flow of the story. This was followed by Mahabharata plot as like Ashoka period this should also have been explained with zeal to create the suspense. Romantic feeling introduced in between the line was also not very thoughtful and seemed like dragging the story. The picturesque of ancient sites in bihar was not that good as i have visited many of them and could have been more authentic. Hope the author will overcome these in his next publish as he is promising.
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