Inane Murtaza

Title : Upon a Burning Throne - Part 1 Author : Ashok K Banker Genre : Mythological Fantasy Of the two major Indian Epics, Mahabharata has always fascinated me more. The epic consists of so many characters with different shades that one cannot rightly put them in black or white zones. The epic is so well written with characters etched deeply that one always looks for various narratives for the story and yet each narrative brings in more questions and surprises even more. So apparently, when I finally came across this retelling of Mahabharata, I had to get my hands on it and here is my take on the first book. The plot majorly revolves around Adri and Shvate who are in line to rule the vast Burnt Empire, yet on the day of their test for inheritance, they are challenged by another ruler whose daughter comes from the same bloodline and to everyone's surprise she passes the test too. When her claim to inheritance is denied by family elders Vrath and Jilana, the empire is thro...

Title : The Gifted The Talented and Me Author : William Sutcliffe Genre : YA A year or two back if I was asked my opinion on a Young Adult book, I wouldn't have had much to say since I had hardly read much of them. Now, I have read quite enough novels on YA to differentiate between a promising one and a book that will again take up the same old plot, try a bit of tinkering and serving it back. Honestly, quite a lot of YA fantasies have been treading this path and so I was pretty much surprised when I picked up this one which tries to explore the Young Adults in today's times.  Sam apparently had a pretty normal life with his days spent as a famous vlogger and chatting with friends but his life apparently turns outside down when his parents suddenly get rich and shift to North London. He is enrolled into North London Academy for the Gifted and Talented which is apparently a school where your talents on Drama and Art are explored more rather than sports. The plot explo...

Title : Beast Author : Krishna Udayasankar Genre : Fantasy I'm generally quite reluctant to pick up Indian authors since in recent times I have had experiences that were from bad to disastrous. Hence, when I finally decided to pick up this book, I kept my expectations at an pretty average but I did expect a good storyline as she has written a few books earlier which had pretty rave reviews. Read ahead to find out whether the book did meet my expectations or not. The plot revolves primarily around Enforcer Prithvi who has been assigned to find out about the gruesome murders that had taken place in the suburbs of Mumbai. ACP Aditi Kashyap, the investigating officer had been hearing weird theories about the murders which she ain't ready to believe but as the plot moves on, the circumstances does allow her a hint of doubt on the legend of Saimhas or as we call it Werelions. With deep buried secrets that would be unveiled, we are put on a roller coaster ride of twists that prom...