Title:
The Curse of Surya
Author:
Dev Prasad
Genre:
Crime Thriller
Publisher:
Random House India
Pages:
306
Ratings:
5/5
Generally
I avoid books of this genre (thriller or crime fiction) except Sidney Sheldon and
Jeffrey Archer. I know most people can’t handle violence, guns and suspense. But
I won’t hesitate a bit if I have to say “The Curse of Surya by Dev Prasad”
totally changed my perspective towards Indian crime thrillers. Every sentence of
this book is well researched, although it is a pure fiction blending with
mythological element still while reading this book, you feel like a true
incident and that’s where impressive narration of an author worked, he weaved
story so intelligently that engaged you till the end. Fast paced and
page turner are the two basic qualities we seek when we explore thrillers. ‘The
Curse of Surya’ has succeeded to fulfill these requirements. It will
hardly take two days and you would have left with a satisfaction that you read something
worthy.
I don’t
believe in spoiling stories while writing reviews, still want to give you some
hint about the basic theme.
As title
reflects ‘The Curse of Surya’ is mainly based on a mythological incident in which
The Sun God offered Satyajit, his devotee a boon and when Satyajit asked
for a glistening jewel that adorned on sun god’s arms, he was told about the
conclusion of that precious gem, Shyamantaka “it can result in
misunderstandings, fights, thefts and wars.”
Here,
a big applause for an author that he weaved a terrific fiction around this
plot only, Sangeeta Rao, a mesmerizing beauty more of that a braveheart
reporter, at Singapore was being ordered to cover an event in India where she met
with a stranger, Alan Davies, a mystery character from Welshman.
‘The
past few hours had been the toughest period of her life. First, the bomb blast.
Next, being accused of terrorism, followed by the narrow escape from the
clutches of the up police. Throughout the eventful night, Alan Davies had stood
behind her, as solid as the rock of Gibraltar, and now the rock had collapsed.’
After
some twists and turns, how they were forced to involve in a treasure hunt?
How they recovered the stone after decoding a series of cryptographs in Sanskrit?
And how they lost the same gem in waves of Tsunami?
‘Sadly, that’s the way our brain works Sangeeta.
We listen to partial information and draw our own conclusions. It happens to
the best of us.’
To
know more, you have to explore the novel. If I’m not wrong it is a kind of travelogue
too, as I never got a chance to visit Mathura and Dwarka so it was like
a treat for me to enjoy the divine places from Author’s view.
‘He
narrates about how he struck upon the idea for The Curse of Surya, “There were
various interesting details I noticed during these trips. For instance, the
presence of a corridor connecting the Krishna Janmasthan Temple (Mathura) to
the mosque nearby was baffling. I thought of weaving a plot around these
elements, including the stories of Lord Krishna’s life.” He has seamlessly
blended authentic information about the places with slight fictional twists,
ensuring a great reading experience.’ — The Hindu
At the
end, story matters… So highly recommended!
About The Author:
Dev Prasad is a senior IT
professional currently working in Bangalore. His debut book Krishna - A Journey
through the Lands and Legends of Krishna was longlisted for the Vodafone
Crossword Award in 2010. His second book Pitch It! was shortlisted for the Tata
Literature Live! Business Book of the Year Award in 2014.
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