Raavanputr Meghnad

by Kevin Missal

Raavanputr Meghnad

Genres: Mythology, Fantasy

304 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

About the author

Kevin Missal wrote his first book at the age of 14, and at 22, the St Stephens graduate was a bestselling author with the first two books in his Kalki series which were runaway successes. Kevin loves fantasy fiction and has always been a fan of mythology. His books have been featured in publications like the Sunday Guardian, The New Indian Express and Millennium Post. He lives in Gurugram and he can be contacted at Kevin.s.missal@gmail.com.

Reviews

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 2 out of 5]

*What I liked about this read:
The characters are well maintained even though it is a Ramayana retelling.
The writing is fast paced and easy to follow.
The plot is engaging. It is all about motives behind each of the character. It is all about revenge and love and war.
The ending is the best part of this book. It has a good closure to all the chaos that has been happening since the first page.

*To sum up this book: it's vicious and vengeful. (VE Schwab readers be yay!)

*What did not work:
Some characters really come out loud and overbearing at most parts while some characters seemed really weak even though they played a major part.
The characters seem to be extremely rude and yes, every character was exceptional in calling names.
There are a lot of sexist remarks as well as homophobic content which recur in every other chapter.
The romance parts seem really out of place as it seem really instant and not so genuine.
I just couldn't connect with the characters, I really wanted to.

The characters that stood out the most is Meenakshi, the sister of Raavan, and Kumbhkarna, the brother of Raavan. Sadly, the main character, Meghnad, did not have much of an impact as it should be.

I just wish some of the dialogues were not that cringy.

*Trigger warnings for obscene dialogues, homicides, adult content, homophobia, sexism, strong language

[Aishwary Mehta (The_Fugitive_Biker) · Rating 2 out of 5]

5th book of 2020 (129th book overall)

Quote from the Book I Liked - 'The enemies always ridicule with partial knowledge.' (Page no. 178)

Rating - 2 Stars

Plot Summary - This is the story of the greatest warrior in the Ramayana.
Meghnad was the perfect son of the tyrannical king — Raavan. Ever since his childhood, he was taught one thing: to be ruthless.
Honed by the greatest gurus, Meghnad grew up to be the conqueror of Amravati, the capital of the Devas.
He battled Lord Indra.
He defeated Lord Ram.
But then … he fell in love.
Her name was Prameela and she was a Naga princess. And she knew something that no one did: the truth behind Lady Sita’s abduction.
But this story is not about the Ramayana. This is about the greatest warrior of all time who learned the truth behind the war he was fighting …
And gave up.
The question is — what was that truth?

My Review - A disclaimer that this book is in no way related or even close to the original historic text. So read the book, keeping in mind that all the characters portrayed here are just the name with a bit of similar story but none near the original one.

The story is about the most favourite son of Raavan, Meghnad. He is portrayed here as the greatest warrior of Ramayana and the one who battled and later murdered Lord Indra. The story takes a drastic turn when he meets a Naga Princess and unintentionally and surprisingly feel in love with her. The background runs with the devious plans of revenge and makes the backbone of the book. What the book delivers is for the reader to get to know themselves.

Umm... keeping in mind disclaimer of the book and the author offered in the beginning, the book turns out to be a big disappointment after all the hype it created on Social media. And the book coming from Kevin Missal being a new popular mythological fiction writer who delivered Narasimha (which I read last year). The book felt as though written in haste and for the sake of just writing. I feel that writing a retelling/self-constructed mythological fiction of the most popular epic must have a sincerity of character which lacked completely. The characters sounded as if of the current era talking in slangs and as though acting in a comical drama. The utter negligence of the choice of words made me feel detached just after a quarter of the book. Yet, if we ignore all this, it can be termed as Fictional rather than mythological fiction and can be an okayish read for new readers. But still, I don't recommend this book as in the back of the mind one cannot negate the original text and even if so we did neglect the original text, the book seems to have made less to no sense. Although, the devious plans and the revenge storyline with a few different perspective glances tried to uplift the book yet in an overall situation the book was a letdown.

Conclusion - Too kiddish and tried to sound cool but came out in an insincere way.

Full Review on Blog.
Link to Blog - The Tales of Fugitive Biker

[Sumit · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the story of the greatest warrior in the Ramayana. Meghnad was the perfect son of the tyrannical king — Raavan. Ever since his childhood, he was taught one thing: to be ruthless. Honed by the greatest gurus, Meghnad grew up to be the conqueror of Amravati, the capital of the Devas.

He battled Lord Indra. He defeated Lord Ram. But then … he fell in love. Her name was Prameela and she was a Naga princess. And she knew something that no one did: the truth behind Lady Sita’s abduction.

But this story is not about the Ramayana. This is about the greatest warrior of all time who learned the truth behind the war he was fighting … And gave up. The question is — what was that truth?


Review:

👿The cover is breathtakingly beautiful & absolutely justify Meghnad's legendary warrior image, while the title perfectly suits since Meghnad prefer to call himself Raavanputr, not Indrajit

👿Like the other books of Kevin, this was also narrated through multiple POV -- Meghnad, Prameela, Sparnika & Laxman -- which shows a different perspective of the same story.

👿The blend of science & Mythology to create the weapons, tonics, atomic bombs, etc was innovative indeed, but the use of jargon scientific terms to explain them seems weird & break the smooth flow of the storytelling.

👿Meghnad's character arc is well developed. In the beginning, he was complete badass but as the story progress, he gradually transformed into a likable person. But other characters' development is ignored.

👿Meghnad's relation with other characters is not deeply fleshed out. Some characters of his life - Mandodari, Vibhishana, Devantak, Narantak, Kumbha & Nikumbha are completely ignored in this book.

👿Since Prameela was Meghnad's life partner, so I was expecting their love story to be more intense & bigger. But the way their chemistry & romantic equation is portrayed, it feels completely out of place, instant & not so genuine.

👿Although the story is not so exciting to read, the writing is fast-paced & easy to follow & its climax at the end compensate for the dull feeling which you experienced during reading the book.

👿Kevin had given his own unique touch into this retelling, but still, it feels bland & dull as compared to his other books to me. I don't think I am going to miss the story & its characters, as they didn't have any impact on me.

Overall this book was Ok Ok for me. If you are a fan of Kevin's writing style, or you are a beginner reader who wants to read a retelling on the epic Ramayan, then you can go for this book, otherwise, just ignore this book

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️

[Ankita Khataniar · Rating 4 out of 5]

#📖bookreview📚
𝑵𝒂𝒎𝒆: Raavanputr Meghnad, Prince of Lanka
𝑨𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓: Kevin Missal @kevin_9695
𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆: Mythological Fiction
𝑷𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒓: @simonandschusterin
𝑷𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔: 290
𝑴𝒚 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈: 4.5/5
𝑺𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒑𝒔𝒊𝒔: This is the story of Meghnad, who is known as Indrajit. A great warrior with special interest in science, Meghnad had captured Amravati, the capital abode of Devas and when the war of Ramayana took place, he had even successfully defeated Lord Raghav. But when with the help of his love of life, Prameela, he learns the truth behind Sita's abduction and the war he was forced to fight, he is forced to embark on a difficult task. What is this truth that ravages the greatest warrior of the Rakshasa?
𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘: I have read the story of Ramayana and I didn't place any importance on Indrajit as a person, as I was more interested in how he will be defeated. But to read this books with a new and fictional perspective of Meghnad's life and actions, has really peaked my curiosity. The author has taken the essence of the original epic and tweaked the circumstances just a bit so that the end results remain the same as the original Ramayana, but the motives are now more complex.
It has been speculated that though Raavan had abducted Sita, he had never laid a hand on Sita's honor. The author has given a plausible explanation for this fact. Surpanakha is shown as a strong and intelligent woman and she has her own motive in the war. I was reminded of Kansha while reading her story.
There is an interesting explanation about several things that we had taken for curses or ailments in the original Ramayana. The one that appealed to me was the reason behind the six month slumber of Kumbhakarna, who has been depicted as a brilliant scientist.
It was a bit disconcerting to find the story has ended in just about 300 pages when the whole of Ramayana was, well, an epic. Of course, the story focuses on Meghnad and the story of his life and death. But I had hoped to read about more of his exploits. From the time, Prameela came into his life, to his last breath seemed very short and rushed. It is just me of course, I want elaborated stories.
Anyway coming to the basics, the narrative is smooth and the language is easy to read. The whole structure of the story is beautifully made and I couldn't find any loopholes nor any questions remained for me. Recommended 👍

[Tanvi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is interesting that tweaks the original narrative of the Indian Epic Ramayan.
However, I thought the story was too fast paced. There were many scenes which I found were clipped and lacked the required description. Sometimes, even the right emotions were clipped in a particular scene which needed attention, in my view.

The language was simple.
This book is recommended to anyone who is a beginner in reading Mythology fiction.

[Sonali Dabade]

DNF - 28%

The writing and the plotline just weren't my cup of tea. Not rating it because I don't think it's fair to rate this book without reading the whole thing.

[Kavita · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fictionalised fantasy version of a part of Ramayan portraying the story with Meghnad as the centre.

I liked the concept.

The cover is beautiful. The blurb pretty much tells you the premise of the story.

The broad story line is the background of Ramayan but it talks about the fictional kingdom of Illavarti. This is a fantasy retelling with not much indication of the time it is set it.

The story is narrated in a third person point of view and every chapter progresses the story by talking about view points of various characters. The story also goes between past and present but the narration goes seamlessly well without any confusion.

The character of Meghnad is a fierce warrior, ruthless in his ways and uses science in creating his weapons. In the conventional Ramayana story Meghnad's characteristics are similar but in this story the author has tried to show him as a grey character who has goodness in him which is brought out by his true love Pramila, the naga princess. Pramila's character is also done well but I felt she was a bit confused.

Suparnikha, aka Meenakshi is the aunt who plays a key role in the story. Other characters in the story could have been fleshed out better.

The story is engaging with no dull moment but it was not a pacy read.

If you like to read fantasy fictional retelling of a well known mythological story with the perspective of an important but lesser known character then please pick this book to read.

[Ms.Lizzie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another author who misleads us with the blurb of the book. Wait! Was he misleading or it is me who expected a lot from the author and his book?



So, what did I expect from the book:
1) A very strong lead
2) Romance that is epic enough to change a man
3) Conflicts between what is right and what is expected of a prince
4) A secret that can bind the story strongly

I would have given the book a 3 star even if I had got one of the above in the book.



If you are planning to read the book, then take my advice. Read till page 17 and you have the whole story figured. You will not be getting anything new in the next 200+ pages.




So, what went wrong with the book :
1) Very poorly framed lead character. Meghnad is the lead. The book itself is named after him, but we get to see him as nothing but one of the characters in the book. No, character arc in spite of his character having so much potential. In fact none of the characters were structured well.
2) Whatever I read isn’t romance, neither between Meghnad and Prameela nor between Suparnika and Vidyuth. Do you expect me to believe the former changed a man’s perspective while the later provoked a woman to start a raging war? Hello!! Please!!
3) The story does have potential, however the book wasn’t structured properly. After 17 pages, I know what the secret could be, what the climax will be, somewhat even able to predict how the climax will be reached. So, why should I even read the book? Could have at least built the secret up till mid. Could have followed sequence of Ramayana with teaser about secrets in between, maybe even anonymously, then building up confusion and eventually making all puzzle pieces fit. Could have worked more on the structure of book and its plot. Book seemed like the easiest way to present the story which isn’t expected from a famous author.
4) With or without Prameela, Meghnad would have reacted the same way to the truth, because from the start he has been shown as someone who could be rational when he wants to be. So, her character is so irrelevant. This area at least I can say that blurb was misleading when it implied when love had something to do with his change.
5) Where is the emotional conflict? Meghnad learns a truth about war that is killing thousands every day. He has to go against everything he believed all his life, against every person he believed to be his, even his own ideologies, so where is the beautiful, heart touching predicaments of his heart and emotional conflict? That kind of storyline would have made this one a masterpiece.
6) Suparnika, the so portrayed mastermind is anything but that. What did she expect? Ravan, the king of such a huge army, will go to fight with Ram who has no one for support but his brother and lose? What was she even expecting the outcome of their first time meeting to be? Loopholes , friend. There are many loopholes that I have to write another 500 words to talk about all that. Also, she wasn’t even shown to be as angry at Meghnad as she was about Ravan, except with a line or two. That’s a surprise considering, at least in her mind, Meghnad was also a betrayer.

[iamprabaltandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book review: Raavanputr Meghnad. ( The prince of Lanka ) 🌻 Every one in india knows the story of Ramayana . Raavanputr Meghnad is also connected to the part of the great Mythological story of Ramayana . 🌻🌻 Meghnad was the son of tyrannical king raavan.
🌻🌻🌻 Title of the story is very interesting and unique. Publisher : @simonandschusterin
Publication date : 23 Dec 2019
Author : Kevin missal @kevin_9695 ( Authors introduction )
Kevin missal is a graduate of st.stephen's college , New Delhi
His first book of Kalki Trilogy dharmayoddha .📚📚
Kevin missal loves reading , watching and building Stories in mind.👍👍 (Storyline)
Raavanputr Meghnad is the retelling story of the life of Meghnad the eldest son of raavan, starting from the time he defeats The king of indralok and he get his new name Indrajit
🌻Hence hailed as indrajit to his encounter with Raghav and laxman .
🌻 Meghnad trace back his father , meeting his lady love prameela in naga lok . Meenakshi and her involvement changing Meghnad's destiny. (Characters)
All characters are well described .but no one else developed.
Meghnad is like Jamie from got whom you might hate in first season but love by the last episode rolls.
Prameela and meenakshi on the other hand were brilliant coloured. (Best part)
🌻👍The best is the motive behind the war.
The book is full of Romance, thriller, action, emotions etc.
I like the explaining style of author. you will surely love this book if you love Mythological books 📚📚 👍One good thing about this book is you finish it in go

Highly recommended to any one looking for Mythological fiction or just something different to read.

My rating 4.5/5🌟💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚 #raavanenemyofaryavarta
#lanka #india #raavanputrmeghnad #reading #books #review

[Chaitra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was so fast paced and okay to read. To be honest, I expected a lot from this book but I found the characters very meek, especially Ram and Laxman.

I expected a different version of Meghnad and Prameela love story and it seemed more like a usual thing of alliance that used to happen in the ancient times.

Shurpanakha's cunning plans go well as per her expectations but when the hidden truth hits her you feel as 'uh oh! She simply dragged Sita into this for nothing!'

First of all the book is fictionalised and I had trouble liking Meghnad in the beginning. But there is a great character development and you do realise that Meghnad shows that one can make a right move even when everything is almost hopeless. I loved his love Prameela and found her the only headstrong person who could help Meghnad dig deeper into himself and realise an undiscovered side.

I don't know why I really liked the book's end. He didn't want to be recognised with any titles his victories had won for him but just by his name 'Meghnad'. By the end he does realise that the war he was battling in was of no meaning but against an innocent woman. When he learns that the father he used to look up to with great fear and respect is driven by nothing but greed Meghnad finds himself having second thoughts. He figures out he could do better than what he had been doing all these years.

As I said before this book wasn't anything like I had expected and all the characters seemed too weak to be challenging to Meghnad. I wish there were more character building and background to the story. I didn't enjoy it much but it was a good experience to read something on Meghnad, a very interesting person/character from Ramayana.

[Belle · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I came to know that the story "Raavanputr Meghnad" is about Raavan's son, it really piqued my interest. To me Indrajit is Raavan's son but now I know how Meghnad has got "Indrajit" as his name. The author used "Ramayana" and told it from a different perspective and when the story ended, it'll make you second-guess everything.

Meghnad is one of the great warriors and also a brilliant person who loves science and experimenting things. Kumbarkarna being portrayed as a great scientist instead of someone who has a big appetite and sleeps for 6 months. The relationship between Meghnad and his uncle was pictured beautifully. I liked this book's version of Surpanakha. She is crucial to the story and she's great influence on everything that's happening. It really gave a different touch to the original story. Prameela's character was nicely done.

The story is told in multiple PoVs and it helps us understand the story better. I like how the author has given explanations about the asthras used and the science behind it. The writing flow was nice with simple language.

Some of the main characters in the Ramayana I know, played weak roles here in this book. I understand that the story is about Meghnad and it has to concentrate more about his life but I feel the author could have utilized him better.
I thought it'd take time for Meghnad and Prameela to fall for each other. It started slow but they started falling hard for each other in like two chapters. It felt rushed.

With Meghnad's strong and brilliant portrayal, Surpanakha's revenge, a peak to Raavan's life and with all love, lust, betrayal, this book became an enjoyable read.

[Sulagna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kevin Missal's standalone novel Ravaanputr Meghnad is a very unique take on the great Epic of Ramayana that we all grew up knowing.

After conquering Indralok, the Kingdom of God's, and rescuing his father, Meghnad comes back to Lanka but soon he is sent to the land of the Nagas to form an marriage alliance by marrying Prameela - the Princess of the Nagas. Meanwhile, Suparnika has tricked her brother Raavan to kidnap Lady Sita.

Soon Ram and Lakshman formed an alliance with Sugreev's vanar sena to fight Raavan's army. But they don't know the truth behind Sita's abduction. Only Prameela and Meghnad knows it. And this truth can bring grave circumstances to Meghnad's life.

This book really surprised me with its plot and narrative. Meghnad is a majorly underrated character in the Ramayana and author Kevin Missal has brilliantly brought forward some of the underrated characters into limelight. We have always know Kumbhakarna as the pot-bellied brother of Raavan who does nothing but sleep, but here in this book Kumbhakarna is the master scientist in Raavan's kingdom - a great advisor to Meghnad and his closest uncle. Even Suparnika makes a not-so-humble appearance in the great epic, but here, Suparnika is a strong and level-headed woman who has her own agenda for Sita's abduction.

Each of these characters stand out from the rest and when these striking characters are put into a concoction of an equally striking plot that is filled with surprises, it can be said that the book has definitely outdid a lot of other mythological fictions.
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Read rest of the review on https://www.diaryofabookgirl.in/2020/...

[Mamata | _booksandtealife · Rating 3 out of 5]

Raavanputr Meghnaad is Kevin Missals standalone book based on the Ramayana but with a different or rather unique take on the tale, and from the perspective of Meghnaad.
The original tale tells us how Meghnaad got his name as Indrajit, and this book starts from there. He is shown as someone who loves science and experimenting with things. Even Kumbhakaran, whom we all know as the giant who sleeps for 6 months straight is shown as a completely different person. To make an alliance, Raavan sends Meghnaad to the land of the Nagas in order to marry the Princess ‘Prameela’. But instead they fall in love.
On the other hand, Supernakha, the sister of Raavan tricks him and makes him abduct Lady Sita. This infuriates Ram and Lakshman. They, with the help of Supernakha, then form an alliance with Sugreev by helping him overthrow Vali. It is then that Ram, Lakshman and the entire vanar sena declares war against Raavan and the Lanka.
Though I do not enjoy mythology as such, but this was a different thing altogether. The entire plot was quite interesting. There was not a dull moment. The different POVs in which it is narrated made the flow even smoother. I loved how some of the underrated/unknown characters were brought to life in this book by the author. The important characters from Ramayana had to take a backseat here.
I felt the beginning was great but the ending was somehow rushed or rather something I had not wanted given the flow of the story. I would have loved if the ending had been different.
Nevertheless, it was a good read for me compared to some of the other mythological genre books that I have read. And that cover, it is just awesome!

[Prarinthepustakaaley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mythology has been a huge part of my life ever since I was a kid and my favourite was Ramayana, because I understood it the most. I always appreciate and love to read more work about the epic and Kevin Missal never disappoints! If I look at the book as an individual piece of work, it is good, well written but it did not have my attention at all times, it got a little boring but I genuinely did ot find it that interesting. If I compare it to other books by Kevin Missal, then it was not that great, it had everything that Kevin does right but it didn’t have his charm. This book did evoke an interest in me to read more about Meghnad, so I am definitely going to do that. I loved the characters, especially Meghnad’s because his character arc is amazing. Absolutely love the cover.

[Anustha Upreti · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t think Meghnad was a redeemable character. The overall book was so slow and honestly so cringe worthy. I despised first third quarter of the book. The last quarter tries to redeem itself but really doesn’t do a good job. The romance was painful to read. This whole woman will change a man trope has been done too many times and I hate it. I simply hate it. I preferred Kalki series than this atrociousness

[Sampriti Patel · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be on a journey with another person and to see him change make the most powerful stories.
I hope Ramayana Actually has a back story like this .
P.S why do all his stories end in sunset scenes (not complaining)

[Beta_Critic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many cooks spoil the broth, too many goddamn twists spoiled the ending of book which began fantastically. The ending just fizzled out

[_silkreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

RAAVANPUTR MEGHNAD : Prince of Lanka
Author: Kevin Missal
Genre: Mythology
₹250
Pages: 290.

BLURB

This is a Story with Multiple Important Characters and their Part in it. Why i was Titillate towards reading this was because of Title show itself: Prince of Lanka.

The main Protagonist is Meghnad was the perfect Son Tyrannical king_ Raavan.Meghnad as Indrajit who also known by his name.
His Scheme to battled Lord Indra to rescue his Father and Getting radioactive Chintamani Stone. He Defeated Lord Ram after then Meghnad fell in love Her name was Prameela she was a Naga Princess.
But then..........
Why he killed his Father? Prologue kept Suspence till end. Each Story flows so smoothly and merged with another Story that you barely felt ridge.

PLOT

Wonderful Characterization, Clear Process
Easy to follow language. I have never read anything about mythology before, so when I got chance to review this i grabbed it instantly and honestly i was not Disappointed at all. A pack with an action mystery so what else would you need from the book.

Overall, the best Historical fictional novel you will ever find from the author Kevin missal.
Highly recommend it.

[Parijat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary:Well, this is a retelling of our epic Ramayana, with focusing on the character Meghnad aka Indrajit and his lady love Prameela. I won't go into the plot because we all know the story. I will directly dive into the review.

My Take: We all have seen Meghnad from a very different prospective. He is cruel, ruthless, has no respect for women. But once you get to know the story from his point of view, you will certainly realize that he was not the villain here. I am a bengali and there is a beautiful writing piece of Michael Madhusudan Dutt on Indrajit that we had in our syllabus. Author has depicted that version of Indrajit here.
The whole point of retelling of the story lies in the fact that it's not always right to judge a person from the known stories only. I really got to know so much about Prameela, Meghnad's love from the book. The transformation that has shown in Meghnad after he meets Prameela is so beautiful that I couldn't hold my tears when the climax came.
The characters were well built. Each character has shared their space in a justified way. I really loved the way Laxman's character gets more focus here than Raghav and Sita. Kumbhkaran, Bajrang, Meenakshee and the dreaded Dashanan all have played their role in the best manner.
I loved the character of Meghnad and I cried while finishing the book. The last chapter made me very emotional .
I felt the starting of the book was a little bit slow. Other than that I will definitely recommended this book to everyone who loves mythology.

[Rathnavel Ponnuswami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kevin's Raavanputr Meghnad is a racy narrative of the Ramayana from the viewpoint of Indrajith aka Meghnad. Having seen Ramayana through the lenses of Sita, Mandodari, Ravana, Vaali and through that of Rajaji, Amish Tripathi & Anand Neelakantan, I thought I had seen it all. But Kevin's presentation is fresh and very applaudable. The bonding between Kumbhakarna & Meghanad and the love between Meghanad & Prameela will surely go well with any reader. The turnaround of Meghanad and the conspiracy of Meenakshi are well presented. A very honest, clever and short disclaimer from the author warms you up. Kevin has just 3 narrators and he brilliantly juxtaposes all the stories we know and gives them all a logical backing. The book is hard to put down because of its gripping narrative and the organisation into short and sweet chapters. The young Kevin Missal doesn't try to get philosophical and presents a very believable tale from Meghanas's point of view. A Wonderful Read for everyone and especially those smitten by our myths.

[Jinesh Jain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book :- Ravanputr Meghnad- Prince of Lanka
Author :- Kevin Missal

This book is a mythological fiction based on the life of Meghnad, prince of Lanka, from the Indian epic 'Ramayana'.

The story starts with Meghnad and narration about how he won the title "INDRAJIT" and his plans of getting to the Chintamani Stone to be used in the war.

Moreover in this book the meghnad is protrayed as a hero and the most influential character of era, regardless of his warrior character he also was a great lover. He fell in love with Prameela.

Review:-
⚜️The characters of the book are very interesting.
⚜️Title of the Story is Very Strong and Attractive.
⚜️Perfect blend of sci fi, mythology, thrill, action and romance.
⚜️Language used in this book is simple and lucid.
⚜️Kevin has added Twists and Modern Touch to the story.

It is a Good book for getting interest in Mythological Fiction.

[Ananthakrishnan L · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are all familiar with the story of the Ramayana: the story of Rama, Sita and Ravana. The triumph of good over evil; the triumph of the great Lord Rama over Ravana. But was there a side we did not know of?

Kevin Missal has created a beautiful novel, potraying the Ramayana from a different perspective: the perspective of Meghnad(considered to be a villain)!

The book tells us that even the so-called 'evil' character may have his version of the story.

The book is engaging. It makes us sit with for a long time. The plot has never bored me. The start of the story with the end partially gives away the plot. It should be mentioned that the plot has very less unpredictability.

I loved the book!

[That Ardent Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raavanputr Meghnad is a retelling of the classic tale Ramayana. The story has been narrated from the perspective of 4 characters – Meghnad, Prameela, Laxman, and Suparnika. Although the name of the characters is the same, the author has done some great improvisations in their characteristics, which eliminates the need to have prior knowledge of the Ramayana.

Meghnad
Meghnad, the eldest son of Raavan - the 10 headed demon, is the handsome prince of Lanka, who is always surrounded by apsaras. He has grown up worshiping his father and considering him a role model. After defeating Lord Indralok, the king of Illavarti, he gains the title of Indrajit.
Like his uncle Kumbhkaran, Meghnad loves science and creates various atomic weapons through the use of astras, the radioactive stones.
Having lived under the shadow of his father, Meghnad had never learned to respect women. To him, women had no real purpose. But his perspective and views about women change after he sent by his father to Naglok to form a marriage alliance by marrying the Princess of Nagas – Prameela.
Will Meghnad accept the proposal? Will Meghnad truly fall in love with Prameela or flee away after attaining the astras? Will he be able to protect his father from the uprising danger?

Prameela
Prameela, the Princess of Naglok, is a kind-hearted woman, who believes in charity and helping the underprivileged. Upon being informed about her marriage with Meghnad, Prameela is confused as to why her father had chosen an evil rakshasa as her life partner. Kaliya, a confidante to Ananth (the king of Naglok), discloses that the real reason behind the alliance is to deceive Meghnad and learn about the creation of astras after which, Meghnad will be assassinated.
Can Prameela trust Kaliya? Will she go behind the back of her beloved father and deceive Meghnad? Will she succeed in her mission? Or will she end up getting married to Meghnad?

Laxman
Raghav and Sita are in exile and are living in the manav kingdom. Being extremely close to Raghav and Sita maa, Laxman accompanies them, leaving behind the kingdom and his wife. Raghav is calm and composed, and unlike him, Laxman is known to be hot-headed. After the appearance of a mysterious woman, Meenakshi, the trio is attacked by a bunch of rakshasas, followed by the abduction of Sita Maa by Raavan. Laxman grows suspicious of Meenakshi’s involvement in the abduction but agrees to remain silent upon the insistence of his brother. With the help of Meenakshi, they gain an alliance with Sugreev’s vanar sena. The army then proceeds to Lanka to attack Raavan and get back Sita.
Is Laxman’s suspicion about Meenakshi right? Is Meenakshi the root cause of all the chaos caused in their lives? Will Laxman succeed in protecting Raghav, finding Sita and revealing Meenakshi’s vicious plan?

Suparnika
Meenakshi, popularly known as Suparnika because of her long nails, is the younger sister of Raavan, the king of Lanka. Meenakshi had fallen in love with a Danav, Vidhyut, and planned on spending the rest of her life with him. Meenakshi’s happiness on realizing she’s pregnant remains short-lived, for she realizes that Vidhyut had been executed by Raavan and Meghnad. Meenakshi feels betrayed and sets out on a mission to wipe out the entire existence of her brother’s empire. Upon finding out that the only person who holds the power to kill Raavan is the avatar of Vishnu, she begins the search and comes across Raghav. After making sure that he indeed is the avatar, she then devices a plan to gain the support of Raghav, in order to take her revenge.
Will Suparnika succeed in her mission and kill Raavan? Or will Laxman disclose her true intentions? Has she really been betrayed by her family? Or is this all based upon a misunderstanding?

Language and writing style:
This is the second mythological book I have read, that too by Kevin Missal. He never fails to amaze me with his powers to transform a classic tale as such into a modern age masterpiece. As someone who has never read the Ramayana and holds very little interest in historical tales, I am surprised by how much I enjoyed this adventurous journey. The inclusion of science in matters that were believed to be magic held my interest. It was fascinating to see Kumbhkaran, who was said to be asleep for 6 months, actually engrossed in scientific experiments in his very own laboratory. The author has provided a meaningful background to all the main characters, enough to hold the reader’s interest and keep us engaged. The constant change in narrative gives a steady pace to the book, the writing style was smooth and the language was easy to comprehend.

Title and book cover:
The title and the cover of the book aptly concern the main protagonist of the story – Meghnad. The graphics of the book cover looks bewitching, perfectly illustrating the strength of the Prince of Lanka.

Recommend?
Kevin Missal has always been fantastic with mythologies. Believe in him and give it a read!

[Moumita Dutta · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I turned the last leaf, I realized that it was the epilogue that I liked most. Laxman’s réalisation, and Meghnad’s last wish, succeeded in creating an impact. When I saw the title, I thought it’ll be just another story based on the epic, but I was in for a real surprise. The book is a fantastic work of fiction where the author presented a very different perspective on the world of Devas and Rakhshas; from Sita’s abduction to Raavan’s yearning to gain more power.
Each character, be it Meghnad or Laxman, the author etched them thoughtfully and with a touch of contemporary writing style and colloquial vocabulary, the story was a whole new experience. It had strong characters and characters whom I wasn’t familiar with, like Prameela, the naga princess, with whom Meghnad fell in love. The story starts with Meghnad’s victory over Lord Indra. Though his actions were portraying the characteristics of his clan clearly, the author was careful enough to wait till the end to present him as a hero.
The game of power; the truth behind Sita’s abduction was an interesting angle expressed by the author. The narration was intriguing and kept me hooked till the end. The idea of Meghnad looking for chintamani stones to create atomic weapons gave the story a futuristic touch though the premise was of a different era. Somehow I liked the infusion of technology into a story full of mythological characters. Thoughtfully written dialogues and brilliant narration transported me to the location and made me visualize the scenes. I think the story will make a good series if ever the author wishes to make one.
It wasn’t too hard to connect the chapters as they were dedicated to each character. The author composed and well planned the content of each chapter though some portions, and descriptions were a bit elaborated. It was easy for me to connect with the vocabulary and delivery. In this book, the author has stated the use of chemical compounds and nuclear weapons which again, gave the story a realistic touch. For a modern day reader, it was the answer to those fiery flashes which otherwise seemed to be magical. Hats off to the author's imaginative prowess.
Well, it wasn’t an easy read though. Engaging but lengthy and with so many characters around, at times I did lose track. The presence of several sub-plots did consume time, for me to comprehend and connect to the main plot. The cover design is interesting and is bound to attract readers. Kudos to the author Kevin Missal for thinking of a plot as such and for giving us a chance to know Meghnad, Prince of Lanka in a better way.

[Shreela Sen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
I haven't read Kevin Missal earlier. There's a disappointing flaw, I mention at the end.
- I haven't read a serious, adult version of Raamaayan, only a Sankshipt raamaayan in Middle school, as it was in syllabus. A good point about the book is that it concentrates on its main characters, & does not try to fully represent the raamaayan in any way.
- The nuclear references were unnecessary. Nuclear energy cannot be handled in the hand. Sophisticated science & magic could have been depicted without that reference, it makes the novel somewhat non-serious & fan-fiction-like.
- Some of the other reviewers say that there is misogyny ... this is where I will defend this book... that's like saying there's totalitarianism in 1984 ... misogyny of Meghnad & 2 women convincing him off it is the whole point of this book
-I actually like complex plots. But this book is not complex, it's convoluted & confused. It's well written, tight & fast-flowing, yet, it's very futile.
There are many books where the characters feel that they are acting out of no sense or purpose, but in this book, this feeling spills out to the reader!
It's just yucky & mindless & headless violence, & ALL the characters (except the scrupulous Prameela) are just crazily vicious & malicious, the way there is in Greek mythology...
It can be said that the book mainly is about tribal & clan & creed clashes, & the futility of them, & the ugly atrocities of carnal societies/rulers where relationships & women are not respected.
But the novel has neither plot, not point.
AND, very disappointed with the state of copy-editing. Is it that books are so unpopular now, that publishers cannot afford copy- editors?
pg 117 "deferring ideologies"
pg 149 "it canvassed like a painting"
pg 224 " thin loin around his waist"
pg 250 "his horse trample & fall"
pg 251 "no qualm for hope"
pg 256 "her child. Our child."
& the worst ... pg 205 ...
Vidhyut offers knowledge about fish to Meenakshi...
salmon - live along the coasts of the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, migrate from freshwater where they lay eggs.
Cod - lives in the colder waters and deeper sea regions throughout the North Atlantic, both eastern and western regions of the northern Pacific.
Perch - in the central parts of the United States in freshwater ponds, lakes, streams, or rivers
Rainbow trout - is native to Pacific Ocean drainages from Mexico to Alaska and northeast Asia.
Seriously? Such complacency? How much time would it have taken the author to look up species of fish native to the Indian ocean? It's unforgivable in an author to take his readers to be fools. Disappointing.

[SRUTHI VIGNESHIKA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ravanputr Meghnad is a ferocious warrior who conquers Amaravati, the capital of Devs and won the title of Indrajit. He is the best warrior Ravan has and then he falls in love with the princess of Nagas, Prameela. Prameela knows the secret of Sitas abduction. What happens when a person like Meghnad who doesn’t even respect women falls in love? when Meghnad comes to know about the secret behind lady Sita abduction, what will be his reaction? For knowing that you should pick this book.
Ravanputr Meghnad is a standalone novel. Kevin Missal has written 2 series, kalki trilogy which is completed and maha avatar trilogy in which 2 books are released already.
This story has bunch of characters Meghnad, Prameela – a naga princess, Meenakshi who is also called as suparnika- Meghnad’s aunt, Meghnad’s two brothers and then the opposite side – lord Ram, avatar of Vishnu, lady sita and Laxman.
The book starts in the War where everyone is afraid of a warrior. Even Laxman says that if that one person doesn’t come today the victory will be theirs. Then that person enters the battle ground and yes, it is Meghnad. But to his surprise, Meghnad comes and surrenders himself to Laxman. Even though we know that Meghnad will die in 1st chapter it made me feel sad in the last chapter. That is how Kevin missal framed this character.
The book starts with 2 locations one is said by Meghnad and the other is said by Laxman. And both the stories meet at a point. Meghnad is a ruthless, strong and rigid warrior. He believes only in his dad’s motives and to get a good name from his dad he will do anything. He conquers Amaravati and eventually falls in love with the Naga princess – Prameela. In other side of the story, suparnika meets lord ram and lady sita is abducted by Ravan.
Kevin missal is always known for his amazing plots. He amazed me in this book too. He brought a new twist to the Ramayana. And my favorite part about his writing is he never describes a female character by their shapes, beauty etc. instead he always describes them by their knowledge, their attitude etc. All the characters in this book is justified. I just loved this book very much.
If you are mythological fiction lover, don’t forget to pick this book. If you are not a mythological fiction lover, then you should pick this book. This will make you fall in love with this genre.

[SHRADDHA MAHAPATRA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kevin Missal is undoubtedly the greatest mythological fiction storyteller this country has. People who have read the Kalki Triology and the first book from the Narasimha series would be excited to read the Kevin's 5th book - Raavnputr Meghnad.

Raavnputr Meghnad is a retelling of the epic tale RAMAYANA revolving around the abduction of Sita by Raavan, his intention behind it but focusing majorly on Meghnad's Character.

The story starts with Meghnad, how he won the title "INDRAJIT" and his plans of getting to the radioactive Chintamani Stone to be used in the war; however, it gets a little confusing when you try to relate the story to the title of the book as you go forward with the chapters because Meghnad's character slowly takes the back door. This would have been balanced if the story wouldn't have been narrated focusing on different characters with every chapter. Kevin has definitely tried a new perspective of narration but I felt it somehow didn't work out for the title of the story. Also, it troubled my reading process while connecting the role of all the characters in the plot. In some parts I felt the description of the scene was a little dragged and I lost the interest of reading here.

But all of this, could not really overpower the greatness of this book. The book is mostly interesting and gives you chills; especially during the action scenes- the war and the planning behind it. There is a sprinkle of romance between Meghnad and Prameela(The Naga Princess) for breaking the monotonous flow of the book. People who take interest in science will also love the book for the chemical reactions involved making of bombs in the plot. I would also like to appreciate Kevin for putting his efforts in researching about all the little details that made the story feel real. But as they say - all is well that ends well. The climax of the book is emotional ; will captivate the readers and put a lasting impression in their mind.

I feel this book was not as good as Kalki Triology and Narasimha (BOOK 1) may be because of the expectation I had from it but it is worth a read.

3.75/5

[Kiranmayi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review on my blog:
https://blog.medhaapps.com/2020/01/bo...

Raavanputr Meghnad is the retelling of the life and times of Meghnad the eldest son of Raavan, starting from the time he defeats the King of Indralok and hence hailed as Indrajit to his encounter with Raghav and Laxman in war. The story runs till pre-climax in parallel threads - one thread narrating Meghnad's life while the other revolving around the situations that lead to the abduction of Lady Sita by Dashanan, and her husband Raghav reaching Lanka in search of her. Meghnad's thread traces him defeating Lord of Indralok to bring back his father, meeting his ladylove Prameela in Nagalok, while the other thread is about his aunt Meenakshi and her involvement in indirectly changing Meghnad's destiny.

From the beginning of the story, the reader can gauge that this story is not the exact retelling of Ramayana that is popularly known, but the author’s own imagination of certain scenarios while retaining some known incidents. Hence, it is suggested for the reader to treat this as a new story and not confuse or compare unintentionally. The story starts with a bang introducing the ruthless side of Meghnad, his inclination towards science, his love for his family and younger brothers. The vulnerable side of Meghnad is brought out during his visit to Nagalok to meet Prameela.

The author succeeds in building a strong character sketch for Meghnad, a character not many would have read as part of the epic Ramayana. Instead of believing all that Rakshas did was magic, author weaves awesome imagination around the usage of science in building Vimanas and astras. The action sequences are so well narrated that the reader can visualize their grandeur. However, in trying to narrate the parallel story of Sita abduction, the narration moves towards Meenkashi and her past, to an extent that the second half doesn’t seem to do enough justice to Meghnad and Prameela. After a brilliant first half, the story kind of fizzles in the second part towards the end.

If mythology and fantasy intrigues you, pick this story of Meghnad, and not once did I feel he is an anti-hero and thoroughly enjoyed reading his story. However, keep your expectations low so as not to be disappointed.

[Ashvina · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A tale of valour can teach you so much and can very well challenge your existing definition of valor."

About the book
This is a story of a Villain's son. This book is going to challenge all the pre-notions that you have about Rakshasas. Being Ravana's favourite son, Meghnad, the prince of Lanka is not out of his father's word. He is a womanizer, he is cruel, he is ruthless. But it all shall change when love starts beating in this demon's heart. Prameela, a Naga princess, how much is she capable of molding Meghnad? Is her love genuine?

It's an valorous tale through the perspectives of Suparnika, Laxman, Meghnad and Prameela. Read how this twisting of events affects these four lives and many more.

Review
We all (most of us) are familiar with the tale of Ramaya. The great epic of India. But this book is a bit away from Lord Ram and Lady Sita's story. Or the demonly Raavan. It's about Meghnad. His son.

Rather it's through this book that I got to know about this unsung character. I would like to call him Kevin's Meghnad. This book is a journey about getting to know Meghnad through Kevin's lenses.

Throughout the book the story is being narrated by these four characters: Suparnika, Ravana's sister; Laxman, Raam's brother; Meghnad, Ravana's son; and Prameela, the Naga princess, Meghnad's bride.

The line that hooked me, the real reason I picked this one was this. "...she knew something that no one did: the truth behind lady Sita's abduction…"
And the curiosity paid off. I would comment that this book had packs of surprises. Being a mythological fiction reader, I was already aware about a few controversial theories of Ramayana, but for someone new this book has even bigger surprises. You would love it.

I focused more on the emotional aspects of the writing. Like feeling the book. These characters felt genuine. The interactions specially. Emotionally I was completely hooked with the characters. And confused who exactly is innocent.

Today after finishing this book, I was quite for a moment. Sipping in all the emotions. And I felt good. And the the joy of finishing a book after so long was great.

Give a shot to this tale of valor.

[Siddhant Agarwal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raavanputr Meghnad-Prince of Lanka is a book that is not completely based on the Ramayana. As Kevin mentions in the disclaimer before the book begins, it is a story from the POV of Meghnad and is not completely faithful to the original historical source. The plot of the book traces the character development of Meghnad in 450 days and how various incidents throughout the story change his life and his understanding of the world. The plot of the book is crisp and at no point does the narrative seem rushed or a lull is sensed. Alternating the POV between Meghnad, Prameela, Laxman and Meenakshi, Kevin keeps the spark of the story alive. Teasing the prime reason behind the entire plot throughout the story, he keeps the reader guessing till the very end as to what the motivation behind the happenings in Lanka and the lives of the characters was. The climax of the plot is interesting and unexpected. It has the capability to actually surprise the reader with the twist that the story takes. The underlying love story (-ies) are the true soul of the story.

Talking about the characters now, the book opens with a scene where Meghnad is in Swarglok on a nefarious mission and we see a ruthless fighter, who is a master of tricks as well as an expert in wielding weapons. As the story progresses, we see that different shades of Meghnad have come out. A serial womanizer and a hardcore patriarch, he looks down upon women and that is evident from his multiple references he makes to women across the narrative. How that changes once he falls in love is quite interesting and we see that a person has a very good chance of redeeming himself, if he has the right motivation. Moving on to the second important character, Meenakshi, Raavan’s sister and Meghnad’s Aunt, her character is quite essential to the plot and how she influences the lives of those around it. Her character arc has been crafted really nicely. The development of the secondary characters is interesting as well.

Overall, Raavanputr Meghnad-Prince of Lanka is a wonderful experience and should be given a definite read.