Book Review: The Temple of Avinasi

Synopsis: 

“From the ashes of Epic Wars shall the great Lord of Dark rise,So terrible his wrath, every protestor shall demise…

           Ripped apart would be the Shield and the protecting forces,
        A whole world shall fall, mortal or otherwise…”

“A heroic tale timed in modern age -- a battle of existence between evil and the good, bred on the ashes of the four thousand year old legendary Epic Wars. The ‘Immortal Protectors’ of the Temple are finding it hard to maintain control over a new rising evil power, far greater in magnitude than the previous war.

The Shield that protects Earth from external attacks had stopped the invading Dark Seekers, also called Nishachars -- a fled group from some distant dying planet -- for long. Until four thousand years ago … when the shield was ruptured, and the entire mortal world turned on the edge of demolition. It was then the immortal protectors, the Light Seekers, more commonly known as Devs, along with the remaining army of mortals fought and drove back the combined army of Nishachars and Asurs, and restored the shield -- but at a great price. The Nishachars retreated, and since then they have grown and redoubled their army several times, waiting for their prophesied Dark Lord to rise. The Devs, on the other hand, knowing that they won’t be able to stop the Great Dark Lord, if risen -- formed a secret brotherhood named ‘The Temple of Avinasi’ and scattered themselves throughout the world. Their only feeble hope lies in an ancient legend named ‘Kalki’, the last prophesied Avatar of Vishnu… And unaware of all this, two fourteen year old boys are presently spending their time merrily together in the mortal world, innocently oblivious to the fact, that how much changed their destinies are from what it seems, and how much the world’s fate is dependent on them…”

The author- Ayush Pathak’s narration of the story is simple and lucid. He is, I must say, very imaginative. The events and incidents that he has included are quite interesting and creative. I liked the prologue, the Light seekers searching a dangerous weapon hidden inside the Asura Palace, to protect the humans from demise. I liked the part where Angel learns the truth about his real self, his father and the potential of his powers. I liked the escaping part, and the whole of the magical training that he received along with four others. Read this book to take part in the adventure.

All the characters are rightly placed and have their purpose in the story. But I feel the names of the characters, especially the protagonists, could have been better. I also think the cover page could have been better, as people do judge a book mostly by its cover at first. As the genre is Epic fantasy, or mythological fiction, the novel is replete with gods, demigods, humans, immortals, devils and aliens. It is full of magic and the supernatural. Anyone who likes mythology and epic tales and paranormal genres, would find this book a treat. Had I come across this book 4 to 5 years ago, I would have enjoyed it more. Having read, actually devoured Ashwin Sanghi's works of the similar genre, this book was a little too plain at times.

Middle grade students would love this book; that is kids in their preteen and early teenage years. If their reading diet consists of fairy tales, adventure fantasies and Artemis fowl, then this story can interest them no less. This novel reminded me of ‘Son Pari’ and ‘Shakalaka Boom Boom’- the serials for kids and childlike adults, which was telecast in Star Plus a couple of years back. This book is the first part of the six book long series, and if it could be adapted to such a TV series with all the animations and graphics, it would be such a delight to watch.

While I was reading some of the reviews of the book, before applying for the Reviewer’s Copy, I came across the word ‘Sleeper Hit’. Indeed the book is a sleeper hit, perhaps due to lack of awareness among the potential readers or lack of proper promotion. Hope the book reaches the heights of best sellers in India, in the coming months. The book was received as part of Reviewers Programme on The Tales Pensieve.