Palace of Assassins by Aditya Iyengar

As Ashwatthama, the lone survivor of the Kaurava camp, slowly regains consciousness, he realizes, to his horror, that he has been condemned to a life of immortality and leprosy by Krishna, the mastermind behind his opponents’ victory. Burning with hatred for the Pandavas for killing his friend Duryodhana, and stricken
with anger at his own fate, he vows to seek revenge.

When he hears of an infallible gemstone that promises to restore his mortality and cure his leprosy – and allows him to exact vengeance – he is determined to go to any length to acquire it. But he finds himself facing an impossible choice, for his quest could result in the death of the woman he loves.

I had read and reviews Aditya's first book The thirteenth day and I had mentioned that this guy has a knack of spinning very realistic accounts from the mythologies. He has done the same with Ashwatthama this time. The book starts from the day after the war has ended  , the curse placed has taken effect and Ashwatthama lies alone in the desert to deal with his immortality and leprosy. What begins from here is a purely fictional yet quite interesting story of his revenge , love and the a lot of realizations of the aftermath of choices. By all accounts this one is a fast , engaging read with almost no flaws. As a lover of thriller / adventure I relished this one and it was rarely that I felt  I am reading a mythology book. 

Aditya's writing is taut , the story has good pace and twists and the characters well sketched. There is no moment that the story feels dull. I quite enjoyed the monologues that go on in Ashwatthama's head about his past and present , with a certain voice of sarcasm and wit thrown in. It is the kind of story and writing i expected from Aditya based on his first book. 

But this is totally fictional tale that has some refernece from Mahabharata makes it a little hard to love. If one expects the real , researched tale of Ashwatthama, one might be disappointed. If you treat it as just another fictional book , then the lead character needs a bit more flesh. At the end of the book , I had more sympathies with Ashwatthama but could not fully cheer for his victory either.

My Rating : 3.5/5

Buy the book here

The Thirteenth Day by Aditya Iyenger - A story of the Kurukshetra War

I have probably read almost all books written about Mahabharata war or based on the epic in the last two years. Then It all became so similar that a break was much needed. While everyone has a different view about the events or uses a different character to revolve the story around , the element of mythology or the beyond reach kind of narration stayed in most books. As much one tried to imagine the characters as human without magical powers or means , it was never perfect for me till I read "The thirteenth Day".

This book is funny ,  feels real , interesting ( I mean it ! ) and well written account of the Kurukshetra war , starting from the night of tenth day , after Bhishma has fallen and now lies on a bed of arrows. When Karan visits him later that night , he asks him to take over the throne , he being the eldest Pandava and best friend of Suyodhana. While Karan who is referred as Radheya in the book , is in two minds about this offer , the war intensifies as new strategies are decided each night and the day passes in offense / defense from the battle formations , clash of warriors and the personal agendas of all involved.

I always admire war movies for the details of the planning and the execution of the strategy and the tales of each character involved. Aditya has written this book in almost similar fashion. The book is in voices of the main characters , capturing their feelings and unsaid thoughts. The conversations are easy to follow and often with a tinge of humor. The descriptions of the events and the weapons are realistic and rooted to the economical and practical feasibility in those times.

I absolutely liked reading Yudhishthira's accounts - the person he is , the person he is supposed to be and the clashes of the two personalities.

I returned to reading after a month's break and I could not have had a better one to return to. I am almot sad this ended so soon.

My Rating : 5/5