Book Review: The Vengeance of Indra by Shatrujeet Nath

Book : The Vengeance of Indra
Author : Shatrujeet Nath
Pages :376
Publishers : Jaico
Formats available: Paperback / Kindle

The Vengeance of Indra forms Book Three of the 'Guardians of the Halahala' series by author Shatrujeet Nath. In my opinion, this series is one of the best by an Indian author in terms of blending historical fiction, mythology and pure adrenaline-packed action together.

Recap:

The deadly Halahala weapon - created from the same poison that Lord Shiva had swallowed during the churning of the Ocean of Milk - would result in a war between the guardians of the weapon, the human/legendary king Vikramaditya on one side and no less than Indra (the King of the Gods) and Shukracharya (the High priest of the Asuras) on the other side.

Where the first two books showed us the action sequences that broke the characters on both sides physically, author Shatrujeet Nath takes a different route herein The Vengeance of Indra, plunging the knife into our characters friendships and alliances and thus, breaking them apart from within.

Vikramaditya may be the Guardian of the Halahala but there are doubts aplenty in the eyes of the people he rules over in the kingdom now. Kalidasa's actions (and Vikaramaditya's choices regarding that) raise many a question in their eyes and it does not help that friends like Ghatakapara have their own troubles to deal with.

But have no doubt, there is more at work here than meets the eye. Book Three once more finds the Devas and the Asuras forming an unholy alliance as they seek a new way to defeat Vikramaditya and his Council from within in their quest to gain the Halahala. Where they had lost earlier in the battlefield, Indra and Shukracharya turn out to be far more devastating this time around with their scheming ways.

As it has been with all his books from the first Indo-Pak spy thriller, The Karachi Deception, Shatrujeet Nath's prose is crisp and error-free, engaging you and taking you deeper into the world he builds without letting go. These are worlds that definitely deserve a movie trilogy of their own though I doubt Bollywood is equipped for it even today. 

Characters are well-fleshed out and you can feel the angst within you as you turn the page, wondering how those you care about will deal with what has happened as well as the aftermath of some dubious choices they made.

Ratings:

I have no hesitation in giving The Vengeance of Indra by Shatrujeet Nath a high 9 out of 10 Appletinis.

The creativity of the author from the first two books remains but I love how he offers something new with this book and sets up a thrilling last act to follow. As far as world building and thrilling action sequences go, I still feel Shatrujeet Nath is the most underrated of Indian authors. Right from his first book, he stood apart from so many others who have joined the Indian literary field since.

Like everyone else who read this book, I too eagerly await the conclusion to this epic storyline in 'The Wrath of the Hellfires' (How cool a name is that, eh ?!)

I have grown old reading these books! I read the first book in 2015 and even today in 2018, I am still eagerly looking forward to the next one.

You can buy the book here.