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Karna: A Collection of Tales
On the eve of the greatest battle of his life, a warrior is not allowed to fight. For ten days, he has to watch from the sidelines, fighting the secret of his true lineage . . .
After the defeat of their greatest enemy, they discover he is their brother . . .
Having committed the sin of fratricide, he has no way of making amends till the fates bring his brother’s child to him – a child who only wants to avenge his father’s death . . .
What if they found out the truth? What if the war never happened?
Karna has fascinated people everywhere. His courage, his spirit, his generosity, and the tragedy of his life have been the subject of innumerable books. This collection is yet another addition to the plethora of stories that have been inspired by the magnificent character that is Karna.
After the defeat of their greatest enemy, they discover he is their brother . . .
Having committed the sin of fratricide, he has no way of making amends till the fates bring his brother’s child to him – a child who only wants to avenge his father’s death . . .
What if they found out the truth? What if the war never happened?
Karna has fascinated people everywhere. His courage, his spirit, his generosity, and the tragedy of his life have been the subject of innumerable books. This collection is yet another addition to the plethora of stories that have been inspired by the magnificent character that is Karna.
312 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 31, 2016
4 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
Geetha Krishnan
63 books53 followersThey write fantasy and Sci fi books under the pen name of Niranjan, fantasy books based on Hindu Mythology under the name of Geetha Krishnan and poetry as well as books in other genres under the pen name of Rari Rajesh.
An author and editor, Niranjan’s biggest ambition is to have a character named Garth in every book they write. Niranjan writes books rooted in mythical worlds, and their stories are often a combination of magic and futuristic technology.
When they are not writing or editing, Niranjan can be found cooking or just lying on their couch watching or rewatching C Dramas and writing fanfiction.
Geetha Krishnan writes books derived from the rich and vast spectrum of Indian mythology. A practising Hindu, their books show their deep knowledge of the religion and customs of ancient India. Their books have won many accolades and have been universally praised for the twists they bring to their retellings.
Their books Ayana and Pradyutita have made it to the semi finals of SPFBO 2019 and 2020 respectively, and their short story, The Forgotten Son has won an Honourable Mention in The Writers of the Future Contest.
Rari Rajesh writes mysteries and thrillers with the odd mix of literary fiction thrown in. They enjoy reading and reviewing books, but spends more time on Netflix than in being productive. The themes of their poetry are universal and relatable, while the characters in their books are memorable, reflecting their own desire for a world where people are not judged for what they are.
An author and editor, Niranjan’s biggest ambition is to have a character named Garth in every book they write. Niranjan writes books rooted in mythical worlds, and their stories are often a combination of magic and futuristic technology.
When they are not writing or editing, Niranjan can be found cooking or just lying on their couch watching or rewatching C Dramas and writing fanfiction.
Geetha Krishnan writes books derived from the rich and vast spectrum of Indian mythology. A practising Hindu, their books show their deep knowledge of the religion and customs of ancient India. Their books have won many accolades and have been universally praised for the twists they bring to their retellings.
Their books Ayana and Pradyutita have made it to the semi finals of SPFBO 2019 and 2020 respectively, and their short story, The Forgotten Son has won an Honourable Mention in The Writers of the Future Contest.
Rari Rajesh writes mysteries and thrillers with the odd mix of literary fiction thrown in. They enjoy reading and reviewing books, but spends more time on Netflix than in being productive. The themes of their poetry are universal and relatable, while the characters in their books are memorable, reflecting their own desire for a world where people are not judged for what they are.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 24, 2016
I read this ebook with great interest, Karna being one of my fascinations. I liked the way the author has portrayed Karna’s character. An excellent style of monologues by Karna to Karna, his questions to himself and his honest justifications of his actions, I enjoyed this take by the writer. She has systematically dealt with the predicament of Karna after he gets to know his lineage. Nobody had dealt with Karna’s mind during the first 10 days of the war, when he did not participate, but sat brooding his destiny. That must have brought a great impact on his mindset and outlook towards the war and his inevitable role in it. I appreciate the author’s skillful handling of those ten days when Karna sat out.
Again she dealt with the mindset of the Pandavas, post war, when they learnt that Karna was their brother, with considerable clarity. But here I must say, she has overdone the Pandavas’ thoughts – too many repetitive dialogues and monologues by the Pandavas.
Before I go to the points that I did not like, I must say that overall style and narrative are good. What I write below in no way diminishes the strength of the story, but I have just written down the points as my observations because there is always some scope for making the story better.
At every point after Karna entered the war, his thinking process was belying his actions, to the point that he appeared to be acting treacherous to his King. In reality that was never the case. According to me (and according to his talks with Krishna and Draupadi) Karna was so strong a character, he exactly knew what he was doing and that fate was already against him. He never held back his fighting ability because of his newfound knowledge. His regrets were never so much as the author has portrayed. He always knew the outcome and had accepted his fate. In any case everywhere it was kinsmen against kinsmen.
There are a few errors, minor though, they should be looked into. Towards the end chapters the slips become more frequent. This being an ebook, correcting them should not be difficult.
Again she dealt with the mindset of the Pandavas, post war, when they learnt that Karna was their brother, with considerable clarity. But here I must say, she has overdone the Pandavas’ thoughts – too many repetitive dialogues and monologues by the Pandavas.
Before I go to the points that I did not like, I must say that overall style and narrative are good. What I write below in no way diminishes the strength of the story, but I have just written down the points as my observations because there is always some scope for making the story better.
At every point after Karna entered the war, his thinking process was belying his actions, to the point that he appeared to be acting treacherous to his King. In reality that was never the case. According to me (and according to his talks with Krishna and Draupadi) Karna was so strong a character, he exactly knew what he was doing and that fate was already against him. He never held back his fighting ability because of his newfound knowledge. His regrets were never so much as the author has portrayed. He always knew the outcome and had accepted his fate. In any case everywhere it was kinsmen against kinsmen.
There are a few errors, minor though, they should be looked into. Towards the end chapters the slips become more frequent. This being an ebook, correcting them should not be difficult.
January 5, 2018
The story is based on mahabaratha. well we have so many stories based on mahabaratha and what's new in this ? you may ask . yes it is ! The plot the author had chosen is an untouched one or rarely touched one but in a detailed way. First a thumb's up for choosing this plot.
the story starts with the night , when karna knew his lineage and ends with the first day of the war . the story travels in the point of view of karna and his agonies .
Few things i really liked much about the author :
1. unnecessary dragging , explanations, matophor are not used here . but what was written is perfect and it definitely create an impact among the readers.
2. next, reshaping or molding a mythological character to her own wish had never happened in this book . extra whitening or darkening or overglorifying is not here . but the true color of the charecters are well written infact beautifully written .
3. you can never see an unnecessary scene or dialogue in the whole book . Though , the plot travels towards the war, over reacting or chaos or cries were not in the story and it was an additional plus to the story .
some scenes were really very nice and characterization was too good. especially padmavathy and banumathy .
banumathy and karna's friendship .
rare one and very soothing to read .
This is definitely a feast for karna lovers as well as Mahabaratha lovers.
enjoy reading the book . expecting more form the author .
Thank you With One Swift Stroke
April 29, 2018
Karna, the enigmatic warrior has had his tale told in countless books. This book is an imaginary reflection of his feelings, starting from Kurukshetra war upto his death. What's unique, is how his brother's feel after his death, one by one, and how they try to atone his killing.
The book is brilliant because it is exploring the emotional state of Karna and the Pandavas. Author has kept them concise, making it a good read as length would have made the talk boring. Scoring it high for telling the tale with brevity.
The book is brilliant because it is exploring the emotional state of Karna and the Pandavas. Author has kept them concise, making it a good read as length would have made the talk boring. Scoring it high for telling the tale with brevity.
January 6, 2020
Nicely written book
Nice flow. About unsung hero. With some mistakes. Whether karna provocated suyodhana in dice. Some say it has not happened in real version
Nice flow. About unsung hero. With some mistakes. Whether karna provocated suyodhana in dice. Some say it has not happened in real version
February 3, 2025
Beautiful
I loved every word of this book. I loved this alternative in which that bloody thirsty war was not fought.
I loved every word of this book. I loved this alternative in which that bloody thirsty war was not fought.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews