Is everything fair in Love and War?
Does the end justify the means?
Seen from an individuals perspective, I personally believe there's no real right or wrong. Everything is relative and defined by what one believes or what circumstances one goes through. War ravages families. Even the side that wins a war, loses a lot in battle. Does war really serve its purpose?
The Palace of Assassins is a book that promises a lot in terms of intrigue and insights into a great warrior on the aftermath of the greatest battle. Very little is ever written about the losing side in a war. Its always about the winner, the purported good guy (bad guys rarely win).
In the context of the Mahabarath were the Pandavas really the good guys? Did they really fight fair? Did they deserve the kingdom when it was their father who willingly relinquished the throne?
Aditya Iyengar deals with a very interesting aspect of the Mahabarath. The Palace of Assassins follows the Life of Ashwattama (albeit it as a work of fiction) and how he fairs after the end of the great battle, having been cursed with Immortality and Leprosy by Lord Krishna.
In this fast paced and well written book which is definitely a page turner, we delve deep into the psyche of Ashwattama and live through the pain of the curse that's been bestowed on him.
A notable portion of the book is dedicated to father-son relationship that Ashwattama shared with Dronacharya and how he was trained and treated by his father so as to become 1 of the greatest warriors of the era and is a delightful read.
The story essentially revolves around his recovery or part thereof after the war is over with the help of the Woman who saves and him and who he subsequently falls in love with, then goes on to meet a group of Kaurava supporters who are willing to go to any lengths to kill the Pandavas and their remaining lineage so that the war ends in their favor and they exact revenge. (Needless to say he was not successful for else history would be different).
So what climax can we expect? Aditya has attempted weave some suspense and mystery at the conclusion of the book but I personally couldn't help feel that there was a Bollywood meets Harry Potter angle to the who thing. (Am suggesting Horcrux references - for this you will need to read the book. Although I think one of the better aspects of the book was the Horcrux angle and I hope there was more focus on that in this, or perhaps in the subsequent books to follow.)
While I wouldn't call it a cliched ending, one wouldn't be left in awe at the climax of the story. That doesn't in any way take away from the story and I still think its a fascinating subject that surely has tremendous scope.
Revenge, guts, deceit, will power, patience, cunning, intelligence, sheer willingness to go through hell to achieve what you want and more, are various characteristics that we come across in the various characters of the book.
The unfortunate part is that these qualities are not all necessarily ones we see in Ashwattama but in the others in the story.
For somebody who was considered one of the greatest warriors of his era, Ashwattama is not portrayed with the same power, intensity or intelligence that one would expect which is a bit of a let down to me personally.
In conclusion, I would still definitely recommend this book as a must read and hope that the remaining books only get better from here.
The journey and perspective of Ashwattama is one that should surely be written and learnt by us all.
Does the end justify the means?
Seen from an individuals perspective, I personally believe there's no real right or wrong. Everything is relative and defined by what one believes or what circumstances one goes through. War ravages families. Even the side that wins a war, loses a lot in battle. Does war really serve its purpose?
The Palace of Assassins is a book that promises a lot in terms of intrigue and insights into a great warrior on the aftermath of the greatest battle. Very little is ever written about the losing side in a war. Its always about the winner, the purported good guy (bad guys rarely win).
In the context of the Mahabarath were the Pandavas really the good guys? Did they really fight fair? Did they deserve the kingdom when it was their father who willingly relinquished the throne?
Aditya Iyengar deals with a very interesting aspect of the Mahabarath. The Palace of Assassins follows the Life of Ashwattama (albeit it as a work of fiction) and how he fairs after the end of the great battle, having been cursed with Immortality and Leprosy by Lord Krishna.
In this fast paced and well written book which is definitely a page turner, we delve deep into the psyche of Ashwattama and live through the pain of the curse that's been bestowed on him.
A notable portion of the book is dedicated to father-son relationship that Ashwattama shared with Dronacharya and how he was trained and treated by his father so as to become 1 of the greatest warriors of the era and is a delightful read.
The story essentially revolves around his recovery or part thereof after the war is over with the help of the Woman who saves and him and who he subsequently falls in love with, then goes on to meet a group of Kaurava supporters who are willing to go to any lengths to kill the Pandavas and their remaining lineage so that the war ends in their favor and they exact revenge. (Needless to say he was not successful for else history would be different).
So what climax can we expect? Aditya has attempted weave some suspense and mystery at the conclusion of the book but I personally couldn't help feel that there was a Bollywood meets Harry Potter angle to the who thing. (Am suggesting Horcrux references - for this you will need to read the book. Although I think one of the better aspects of the book was the Horcrux angle and I hope there was more focus on that in this, or perhaps in the subsequent books to follow.)
While I wouldn't call it a cliched ending, one wouldn't be left in awe at the climax of the story. That doesn't in any way take away from the story and I still think its a fascinating subject that surely has tremendous scope.
Revenge, guts, deceit, will power, patience, cunning, intelligence, sheer willingness to go through hell to achieve what you want and more, are various characteristics that we come across in the various characters of the book.
The unfortunate part is that these qualities are not all necessarily ones we see in Ashwattama but in the others in the story.
For somebody who was considered one of the greatest warriors of his era, Ashwattama is not portrayed with the same power, intensity or intelligence that one would expect which is a bit of a let down to me personally.
In conclusion, I would still definitely recommend this book as a must read and hope that the remaining books only get better from here.
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| Image courtesy Flipkart |
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