The Ascendance of Evil

The Kalki Chronicles #3

by Abhinav

If I am here, in the flesh, then I am not here to forgive. I am here to conclude.

Anirudh, the Kalki avatar, has been slain by the enemy.

His allies swiftly regroup, not having the luxury to mourn the fallen hero. Bewildered at their loss, they look towards Avyay, who wields the mantle of the avatar now.

Taking over the reins of the battle, the group faces the inevitable challenge as Ashwatthama fulfils his mission: resurrecting Kali, the Lord of Evil. Will the forces of Kalki be able to save the earth or will everything perish?

With unforeseen surprises and events stretching across realms known and unknown, and across yugas present and past, this third installment concludes the Kalki Chronicles with an ending that you never saw coming

336 pages, Paperback

Published November 22, 2021

About the author

Abhinav based out of the Mumbai suburbs, works as a software developer.
An avid reader since his pre-teens, his journey in the world of stories began with reading comics, then he moved on to short stories and then eventually picked up full-length novels. Thrillers, comedy, historical fiction and mythology are his preferred genres when it comes to choosing a book to read.
His earliest sources of stories from the Indian mythology were his grandfather and mom. Amar Chitra Katha Comics, some articles he read about, and of course, some famous television series that aired during the time, added to it as he grew older.
His debut novel, 'The Sage's Secret', is based on Indian Mythology and is the first book in the series titled The Kalki Chronicles. The second installment in the series is 'Kali's Retribution'.

Reviews

[Venya · Rating 1 out of 5]

Anirudh is dead. Avyay must now take up the mantle of Kalki and take control over EOK and the Chiranjeevi or the Immortals. Although everyone is overwhelmed with the young avatar’s death, they have bigger tasks to prepare for, greater responsibilities. Kali is alive. There will be war and there will be carnage and evil will rise to unimaginable heights, if Kalki can’t stop it.

The Review:

NOTE! There are spoilers ahead

I had been looking to read this book for quite a long time now and had been waiting for it to release. My expectations were quite high as is justified by the amazing cliffhanger in Kali’s Retribution. The start was quite promising with new revelations about Anirudh’s master plan and Krishna and Bhoomidevi’s conversation with him in the astral realm. But sadly, the good part of the book ends there. I was hoping to see how well would Avyay handle Kalki because of the fact that she already has so many connections in place, she is far more experienced than Anirudh and also because she was trained under the Chiranjeevi. But I was disappointed to see that Abhinav completely shrugged off the fact that Avyay can do a better job and again put her in the sidelines. Honestly most of the ‘secrets’ that were revealed in the book weren’t so appealing either. But what bothered me the most was Kali, the harbinger of evil in fact the very embodiment of evil wasn’t shown as a strong character. How can he be defeated so easily was something that bugged me. Kali was supposed to be shown as a rival and not a feeble person who can be converted by a simple conversation, according to Abhinav’s earlier descriptions of his character. Most of the book revolved around Anirudh, how he became Purush and his complete detachment from the world. The book isn’t about Kalki or about the ascendance of evil so the title of the book and the title to the series itself is absolutely inaccurate with minimal references to the Bhagwat Gita or the Kalki Purans as shown in the previous books. For the most part I had to force myself to read the book. The end is stretched so much it nearly made me want to quit. The last good thing I can say is that the final part of the epilogue was beautifully written. Had it not been for the epilogue I would have given this a 1 out of 5.

Final Comments:
I feel that I wasted my time on this book, but this is my personal opinion. Reading this and then looking at the quality of work on the other two books it feels as if this has been written by a complete stranger. Disappointed.

[Deepthi Sarikonda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am disappointed would be an understatement.

The first 2 parts were one of my best reads. But, I don’t know what happened to this. It was so hard to even read

3 pages and the author is talking about one statement and that happened like n times.
We get it the world is screwed.
There was no point to make a third book with so little content.
If there must be a third book , there was no need to drag and stretch it so much. Could have completed it in half the pages.

🥲. I am sed.

[Dhiraj Sindhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ascendance of Evil by Abhinav is the third and concluding part of the Kalki Chronicles series. You can find the review of the first part, Sage’s Secret that I uploaded earlier on the blog. The second part is Kali’s Retribution, which I had skipped deliberately, seeking relatively more entertainment and suspense than what a normal reading would allow. And sure enough, I found it so. The character list had broadened, the writing style improved, the pace had drastically increased, and the plot became much more exciting with plenty of new elements, complexities and secrets.

The Ascendance of Evil focuses on the battle between Kali, the lord of evil and the Kalki avatar, which is to decide the future course of the planet and the universe. Kalki is accompanied by EOK (Espionage of Kalki, if I’m not wrong) soldiers and the Immortals. Whereas, Kali has an army of sorcerers and other dead Rakshasas. The great war of Kurukshetra—Mahabharata is the ultimate reference point, the Bhagwad Gita and other events serve as a guide. The book begins with the death of Kalki and the resurrection of Kali. This is just one of the several twists and total 180° shifts the book introduces.


I cannot stress enough how relevant the book is for this year in particular. I will tell you why. It smoothly carries out all the broad principles pertaining to spirit, purpose, nature, religions and so on. Some subjects like spirit, nature and the universe are discussed in depth with high morale. Whereas, others are merely abstract and superficial ideas but that is obvious since these are some most complex issues, or should I say, we have made them too complex to fix them. I commend how the author chose to deal with warfare, which is exactly what I found ground-breaking in this very specific genre.

Read the full review on my blog - https://bit.ly/38hXSAK

[Enakshi J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here comes the final book in the Kalki Chronicles that concludes the battle between good and evil, leaving the readers more hopeful and enlightened. Anirudh’s mysterious death and his revival help in the progression of the story. In this book, Anirudh’s character is explored with greater intent and that brings life to this avatar of Lord Vishnu. With satire in place and personification of Prakriti playing the right role, the author meticulously crafts the details that conclude the long lost battle. Deriving the protagonist’s learning from Bhagwad Gita, the story touches upon the spiritual aspect as well. It blends seamlessly.

Read the complete review here: https://www.aliveshadow.com/category-...

[Sanket Gupte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kalki Avtar is dead. Kali has been resurrected. The Allies of Kalki regroup to revise there stratagem. Will the the Allies of Kalki – along with the immortals – be able to stop Kali from destroying the world? Or will evil transcend and destroy the earth?
Book 3 of the Kalki chronicles series answers all the questions posed above. The intriguing plot twists, concise character development and a clear morale form the basis of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that the book is based and incorporates the teachings of Bhagavad Gita. It explores the possibility of what the world could be if the humans stray from the teachings of Gita.

[Kavita Jhala · Rating 4 out of 5]

What makes #mythofiction stories more relatable is that the #yareaders love the fantasy elements incorporated and it becomes more easy for authors to add the believable into unbelievable..a subtle blend. This third installment of the Kalki Chronicles trilogy also adds in the spiritual concepts into the conversations leveling up dialogic communication and yet making it easy to read.

I think the #youngadult readers will like the easy flow of the story even if the philosophical aspects are included. It is an engaging story blending Krishna's philosophies with humanity, mankind and evolution. A good read!

[Sugam Katiyar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the concluding book of the Kalki chronicles. After reading the first two, it was awaited and, thank god, it did justice to my expectations. The story starts from where it left in the last book and continues with more twists and turns. Finally, revealing all the suspense. The story also mentions the pace of humankind at which they ruining the earth for their ambition and comfort. Well, that surely compels you to give serious thought about it and some introspection. 


Overall, my journey through this trilogy was amazing and a page-turner. You can also try it, if you are a mythology lover like me.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't like the end but it was a nice effort though.