My Rating - 3 out of 5 stars
Publisher - WestlandGenre - Mythological Fiction
Publishing year - 2012
Language - English
ISBN - 978-938-16266-89
Pages - 472
Book Review -
The Krishna Key has been in my tbr since 2020, and I finally read it. It is a part of the Bharat series written by Ashwin Sanghi. However, even being a part of the series, one can read the books in any way, as they are not connected.
The story starts with the murder of an archaeologist, Anil Varshney, and his findings related to Krishna. Before his untimely demise, he shared his discoveries with his four friends, who are also interested in Indian epic and renowned individuals in their respective domains.
The main suspect in Anil's death was one of his best friends, Ravi Saini, a history professor. Saini runs away from police custody with the help of his student Priya to solve the mystery of Anil's death, save the rest of the three friends, and find out about the enigma seals Anil found.
The rest of the story sums up this: Saini was betrayed, a psychopath killer who is a classic example of brainwashing, police officers who are good for nothing, and the characters are monotonous. It starts with whether Krishna was an actual figure or a myth but ends with the philosopher's stone arc, which is very disappointing and cringe.
Mythological fiction is one of my favourite genres, and I appreciate Ashwin Sanghi's efforts to write this book for two reasons. First, it will give you a short version of Mahabharata, as the author shares quick anecdotes before each chapter.
However, I know the Mahabharata story, so reading the accounts proved to be a waste of time. But, if you don't know anything about it, you are in for significant knowledge. Second, the story has numerous theories related to religions, myths, and today's realities, a part that I enjoyed the most.
However...the story lost its essence in the middle; there is no solid storyline, it lacks plot twists, and the character of Radhika showed potential in the starting, but after a point, she behaved like a dumb person...
SPOILERS Ahead, but it will help you to understand my points better -
1. Radhika is a police officer, and after a certain point, she asks Saini to stop the investigation as he had a near-death experience. Now, being an officer, she needs to find the murderers and do her duty, but she is behaving like a love-sick puppy who didn't even carry a gun because, at times, she could use one, but she has none.
2. Tarak Vakil, our brainwashed killer who thinks he is the Kalki avatar, was tutored about everything related to various religions, history, and fighting styles. At one point, he asked what a Garbhagriha (Sanctum Sanctorum) is. Ridiculous!
There were many things like the above that I didn't like, but not sharing all in case you decide to read this book. However, it is a fast-paced book filled with ancient hypotheses, and if that is something you enjoy, then you can pick it. For me, it was a one-time read.
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