'The Krishna Key' by Ashwin Sanghi.

Title : "The Krishna Key"

Author : Ashwin Sanghi

Genre : Mythology, Indian Fiction, Thriller.

Price : Rs.250 (Westland Book Publications, Paperback)

Back Cover

"Five thousand years ago, there came to earth a magical being called Krishna, who brought about innumerable miracles for the good of mankind. Humanity despaired of its fate if the Blue God were to die but reassured that he would return in a fresh avatar when needed in the eventual Dark Age - the Kaliyug. In modern times, a poor little rich boy grows up believing that he is that final avatar. Only, he is a serial killer."

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For someone who hasn’t read a lot about and of Indian mythology, this book was not only a really interesting read but also an eye opener!

The extremely beautiful way the author Ashwin Sanghi has merged the past with the present, the way he has woven the whole story around something that had happened, at least on paper, is just enthralling! I particularly liked the starting paragraphs of each new chapter. The writing is simple, lucid, to the point and even though there is a lot of drama, it is interesting, not over the top.

This book sucks you in, it pulls you. You don’t want to put it down, or take breaks. You want to just sit in a chair and finish it RIGHT NOW! I loved loved LOVED the sharp twist it took. I hated it, but loved it at the same time.

“Priya had the habit of playing the devil’s advocate in order to analyse a point, even if she was in agreement with the hypothesis”  (Pages 11&12)

This is me. :D I do this a lot at times. Not because I want to trouble somebody or like it’s said, don’t believe or agree with the hypothesis, but I like to take the side which is, well not being taken up by someone else to put it simply!

The whole land reclamation concept that has been explained through pages 67 to 70, left me fascinated. Whether you believe it or choose not to, it still is amazing. Undeniably.

“The word omniscience means infinite knowledge. It starts with the sound of Om or Aum. The word omnipotent which means a person who has infinite powers also starts with Om.  The word “omnivorous” which implies the ability to absorb everything also has Om as the starting point. The word “omen” implying a predictive sign of a future event, also has Om in it. A trusted intermediary between parties, with the authority to award a verdict, is called an “ombudsman” – once again we have Om. Om is an expression of divinity and authority and that’s the reason why Aum is to be found even in the Christian Amen and the Islamic Amin.” (pages 161&162)

I knew Amen/Amin are similar but I never thought about it from the omnipotent/omnivorous angle. So I enjoyed reading this paragraph in particular!

The only mistake I found was the spelling error on page 95, of Mahatma Gandhi.

I met this aged uncle on the bus, who was about to get off but saw me reading this book and started talking about how fascinating it was! I was pleasantly surprised, half the bus was staring at the two of us. :P
Till the time we reached his stop, we were gushing about the twist and the facts and everything! 

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Final Verdict : 3.7/5

The book is an excellent, engrossing read. The author has done tons, and that I literally mean tons, of research, there are 11 pages of just research acknowledgements. But why I loved this book is it does not tell you history, or just throw facts in your face, it is a story.  I am so tempted to leak out some things, I'm barely containing myself! And it's only 3.7 because in my opinion, maybe since I am not used to reading such books, I found the start a little dull and slow.
On the whole, it was really engaging, thoroughly and well researched and made me sigh when it ended.
But in my opinion, the build up was far more intense than the actual climax.

The Krishna Key - Ashwin Sanghi

Title : The Krishna Key

Author : Ashwin Sanghi

Publisher - Westland Books

Genre : Fiction

ISBN : 978-93-81626-68-9

Pages : 464

As I always say, if a murder happens in the first few pages of the book. I already like it. And a huge shout out for Ashwin Sanghi for coming up with another masterpiece that I absolutely loved reading. "The Krishna Key" was one of the most anticipated books of the year. After delivering two best sellers in a row, namely, The Rozabal Line and Chanakya's Chant (Both have been reviewed here on this blog), I am sure it won't take much time for "The Krishna Key" to hit the bestsellers list and I hope it does.

I was so looking forward to lay my hands on this book and when I finally got it, I was reading The Rozabal Line, author's first book. The book had me gripped from the very first page and things I loved about the book are as follows 

• The narration. The way Krishna's story has been infused with the plot of the book. That brought back many childhood memories when we used to wait for "Jai Shri Krishna" & "Mahabharata" to be aired on TV every Sunday morning. 
• The Vedic mathematics and the constant use of the facts. I absolutely love the books where facts and fiction are weaved logically and a final conclusion in drawn. The symbols, the facts behind them. The book is filled with lots of graphics and anagrams. 
• The turning point of the book, right in the middle of the story, leaving you aghast and say WTF has just happened.  It actually blew me off and when I tweeted about the same, the author responded a few moments later 

I would not like to discuss the plot of the book here. Absolutely not. But if you like fast paced stories, this one should surely be on your list. The characters are well defined and the best part is, there aren't too many of them. Also, I would strictly advise you to not to go through the book by flipping its pages. It would spoil the whole thing for you. As soon as you get the book, just start reading it. There are too many symbols and other interesting stuff in there, if you look at them beforehand, then you are ruining the book for yourself. 

And I must not forget the research that has been put into the book by Ashwin Sanghi. It is truly commendable and shows how dedicated and focussed he is while writing his stuff. At the end of the book, he gives a long list of references used for it and trust me there are some extremely interesting things in there. Just go for this one. 

(Review asked by Westland Books)