Book name: Harappa- Curse of the blood river
Author: Vineet Bajpai
Genre: Indian Mythological thriller
Standalone/Series: Standalone
Publishing Date: June 4, 2017
My ratings:
Goodreads blurb:
The story oscillates from history to mythology, from occult to religion, from exorcism to gunfights, from taantrics to warriors, from love to ambition. It knits 3,700 years, powerful ancient and modern-day characters and a nail-biting conspiracy - all in one literary thriller. Harappa is the first among a series of four books.2017, Delhi – Vidyut’s dying ancestor summons him to Banaras. The old Brahmin chieftain of the Dev-Raakshasa Matth, or the God-Demon Clan, bears a chilling secret. Their bloodline carries an ancient curse that will plague mankind - towards its own violent extinction.
1700 BCE, Harappa – Harappa is a magnificent city on the banks of the mighty Saraswati river. The darkness of treachery, taantric exorcism and bloodshed unleashes itself on the last devta, paving the way for his devastating revenge…and the horrifying truth behind the fall of the glorious civilisation.
2017, Paris – The world’s most powerful religious institution is rattled. Europe’s dreaded crime lord meets a mysterious man in Paris. A lethal assassin boards a train, as Rome fears the worst. The prophesied devta has returned.
connects Banaras, Harappa and Rome? What was the ancient curse and who was the last devta? What is the terrible secret behind the fall of the colossal Indus Valley? Read on as you travel through a saga of violence and deceit, gods and demons, love and ambition.
MY REVIEW
I am half human, half GodAn amazing Indian mythological thriller which connects 1700 bce Harappa civilization to 2017 delhi with connections to Rome, paris and the whole world basically.
It was a page turner and kept me hooked till the end! It just kept on getting better and better and I loved how skillfully the connections were made. The story unfolds steadily and perfectly. All the characters were bought to life effortlessly and beautifully.
Plot
A curse given to this world during 1700bce which vanquished the first ever metropolis of the world Harappa is finally unfolding amd vidyut shastri, a modern man is actually a demigod, the last devta, from the bloodline of the mighty vivasan pujari. Through treachery and greed harappa mixed with ruble. What is now known to us as the Indus valley civilization is describes to be the sarasvati civilization. The story unfolds giving reasons that led to the curse and information about the curse itself.
Charachters of 2017
Vidyut Shastri, the main charachter from 2017, is a successful IT engineer to the rest of the world, but actually he is a demigod- Half Human, Half God, and the bearer of the ancient curse haunting mankind from centuries. I personally loved Vidyut! He is really sweet and noble and the perfect person to be a devta or God.
Another one of my favourite charachter was Damini, Vidyut's girlfriend. She is a journalist amd her curious nature is just lovable!
The side charachters are also very prominentky described in the book and I really loved Sonu, Naina and balwanta. They are not jusT present but also have a say in things and play a great role.
Another important charachter is Romi. The opinion I had about him from his initial description was really changed as the story progressed!
Charachters of 1700bce
Vivasan pujari, or the great mighty devta, is the most noble person I have ever read about but then again, he is actually a God. I really liked his charachter and his devotion to his 'home' which was harappa and its people.
Sanjana (vivasan pujari's wife) and Manu's (his son) charachters developed a lot by the end.
Priyamvada is the devil queen of this whole story and I didn't like her at all! Her nature amd some of her actions really disgusted me!
Pundit chandradhar's charachter I felt was not defined upto the mark and his actions could've been a bit diverse which would've added to the action ans drama.
My thoughts
The stories, speculations and element of fiction in history feels so real that I badly wanted to believe it but then its only fiction, who actually knows though :)
Throughout the book we go from 1700bce in one chapter to 2017 in the next chapter but you can barely feel the time lapse and the way the story evolves and ooscillates between the two huge time zones just adds to the interest of the reader and is an amazing example of the wicked and polished writing of the author.
Another thing I loved about this book was revealing the truths of hinduism. It is said by its own followers that hinduism is polluted, but this book removed many such illusions from my mind regarding hinduism by telling actual facts and not made up things.
Women empowerment was highly encouraged throughout the book and this book proved that women can do whatever they think of, buT I could also grasp the fact that women, or anyome in general, should not be respected because of their gender, there are bad ladies who have changed the course of mankind by their ill deeds and poisoned thinking and ought to be punished just like a man would've been, for doing the same. That's equality.
In the end it just felt a bit like the whole book was kind of an introduction to the upcoming sequel- Pralay-the great deluge'. I think the book could've been better if more happened during the whole story in the modern time rather than just recapitulating the incidents of the past but then again while reading it everything fit perfectly when it came and I really enjoyed it, though the sudden ending could've been improved. The ending is the only reason this book got 4 stars from me instead of a total 5. More Happenings of 2017 going to take place in the next book, and I hope they are just as captivating, and I can't wait fir it.
This book was a complete mixture of suspense, thrill, action, mythology, history and what not and I just loved it! If you love reading mythological thrillers and are looking for an Indian one to be specific then I'd highly recommend it.
This review is a part of the reader cosmos review program.
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