Title: The Krishna Key
Author: Ashwin Sanghi
Paperback: 475 pages
Publisher: Westland (August 24th 2012)
Genre: Historical Fiction/Thriller
Read: Paperback
Stars: ****/5
Buy On: Amazon | FlipKart
Summary: (Goodreads)
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 was 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.
In this heart-stopping tale, the arrival of a murderer who executes his gruesome and brilliantly thought-out schemes in the name of God is the first clue to a sinister conspiracy to expose an ancient secret—Krishna’s priceless legacy to mankind.
Historian Ravi Mohan Saini must breathlessly dash from the submerged remains of Dwarka and the mysterious lingam of Somnath to the icy heights of Mount Kailash, in a quest to discover the cryptic location of Krishna’s most prized possession. From the sand-washed ruins of Kalibangan to a Vrindavan temple destroyed by Aurangzeb, Saini must also delve into antiquity to prevent a gross miscarriage of justice.
My Review:
Cover: Eye-Catchy!
Paper and font: Ebony and Ivory that's Smell-Worthy!
Readability, language: An easy and fun read.
Why did I choose this book: After reading Chanakya's Chant that was good and The Rozabal Line that was BAD, I had to read The Krishna Key to see if he gets better. He does.
The story involves a historian Ravi Mohan Saini getting sucked into a web of intrigue when his close friend is killed and he is accused. Prof. Ravi evades the police and is on the run while the assassin who believes he is Vishu's 8th avatar is killing people and stealing valuable artefacts. The pieces being stolen are supposed to belong to Krishna's time and when put together unlock a valuable secret.
The title is appropriate and the book has a nice cover that shows a padlocked door that is slightly open so a sliver of light shows, though the embossed book title in gold print wears off as you read and by the end, the book title is unreadable. Almost as if the book wants to hide it self :D
Sanghi lays out a very intriguing plot through the story, constantly keeping me on my toes. It's clear he has researched really well (the citations confirm it) for the book as he weaves a web that all ties up in the end. Sometimes it was difficult to believe the same guy who wrote Rozabal Line wrote this book. The Krishna Key is as good as Rozabal Line is bad.
Sanghi starts each chapter with a snippet of Krishna's history from five thousand years ago and then comes back to today's day and age as Prof. Saini rushes from Dwaraka to Somnath then Mount Kailash and other places trying to solve the Krishna puzzle. Saini describes the places well so I found it easy to imagine it all and to help he also has a lot of illustrations through the book.
Saini has quite a few characters in the book but they are memorable. He has given them all personality and depth. There's Inspector Radhika Singh who makes you feel warm and proud even though she is quite a cold woman. Then there's Priya Ratnani who is the eager student who wants to learn for learning sake and Prof. Ravi Mohan Saini who is intelligent and wise and yet gets swayed by love when it comes to Priya. That's the first bone of contention I have with Sanghi. Did he really need to build in a love story to sell this book? Even without it the story is tight; the love mish-mash makes it wishy-washy.
The Krishna Key is a well written story in all aspects but one. The story is tight with a good pace, there are no lose ends, the characters are well sketched, the places well described with a good climax and anti-climax. My only complaint is the RSS propaganda. Just as in Rozabal Line, The Krishna Key is also filled with data about how it all started with Hinduism, only here its packaged better.
Of all the three books I have read by Ashwin Sanghi, The Krishna Key is the best. I may have trashed Rozabal Line but with each book Sanghi is getting better. I'm looking forward to his next book, it definitely looks like it's going to be even better but I'm hoping it won't be a Hinduism promotion again. You don't need to be a mythology or folklore buff to enjoy this book, but if you are, you just might enjoy it a wee bit more :)
About the Author:
Ashwin Sanghi is an entrepreneur by day, novelist by night and has all the usual qualifications of an Indian businessman. ‘The Rozabal Line’ was originally self-published in 2007 under his anagram-pseudonym—Shawn Haigins. In 2008 Westland published the book in India under his own name. Ashwin lives in Mumbai with his wife, Anushika, and his eight-year old son, Raghuvir. His website is www.ashwinsanghi.com.
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[...] for his work. No wonder then that The Rozabal Line, his first book was hugely disappointing and The Krishna Key, his third was a redemption as it looks like Sanghi is getting better with each [...]
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