The Mahabharata Quest - The Alexander Secret

From the book blurb

In 334 B.C., the young Alexander has already conquered most of the known world. He turns his gaze towards Hindustan, the land of the Indus. There, he seeks a secret buried in the Mahabharata, one that will grant him the powers of a god. In the present day, a tomb is uncovered in Greece, one that has been buried in secrets for over 2000 years. It hides the body of a queen. In New Delhi, the discovery of strange and unexplained corpses in a hidden lab leads Vijay Singh and his team, members of an elite task force, in a hunt for a deadly adversary. Their only clues lie hidden in the Mahabharata, and when they decipher them, they will discover the truth many people have sought for eons. In this journey, they face an ancient enemy who will yet hold the world for ransom with his diabolical plan for total domination.

Author

Cristopher C. Doyle is an author who transports the reader into a fascinating world where ancient secrets buried in legends blend with science and history to create a gripping story.

Along the way to publishing his debut novel, The Mahabharata Secret, Christopher pursued a career in the corporate world after graduating from St. Stephens College, Delhi with a degree in Economics and studying business management at IIM Calcutta. Over the course of his corporate career, he has worked with leading multinational organizations as a senior executive and CEO before setting up a strategic consultancy in India in partnership with a US based consulting firm.

Over the course of his corporate career, Christopher has written articles on management and business for Indian and international publications and is also a regular invited speaker for international conventions and conferences. He is a certified Executive Coach and now works with senior executives to help them achieve success and better results in their organisations. Work aside, Christopher is a musician and lives his passion for music through his band called Mid Life Crisis, which plays classic rock. Christopher lives in Gurgaon with his wife Sharmila, daughter Shaynaya, and two dogs, Zach and Cody.

What I think

The cover page comes with a crown dropped in a ground, presumably a battlefield. Then, we see the book’s title - The Mahabharata Quest - The Alexander Secret. Soon, we make the connection. The book blurb is crisp and at the same time arouses reader’s interest. The font and paragraph spacing are soothing to the eyes.

As I started reading the book I was worried that I have not read the author’s earlier book: The Mahabharata – Secret. Although I had the book which was lent by my cousin, I didn’t have enough time to finish it first. However, as I started reading, the story flowed with ease.

The narrative is simple although it discusses several complicated aspects like Mahabharatha, bio-technology and so on. The story takes us back to the era of Alexander - The Great. It talks about Alexander’s belief that he is God himself and his journey towards India with the hope of finding a secret. Then, it brings us back to the present which is filled with scientific experiments and technological advancements. The author skillfully lets us travel across Greece and India through his descriptive words. An element of what-next is maintained throughout. Several references to Mahabharatha and use of Sanskrit sloka challenges our knowledge of the same. It lets us look at the epic with a different perspective.

There are plenty of characters – some good and some bad. They are so much like you and me that they strike a chord with us.

As always, I appreciate any author who goes that extra mile and do ample research to produce a book which is believable. So, hats off to you!

These days several books are published around Indian mythology. All of them carry a different perspective or angle for the story that we are familiar with. So what makes this book a different one?

I would say that the effective synchronization of science, history and mythology makes this different. Find it out yourself by grabbing the book for a weekend read. I can assure you that it will take to back to a bygone era!

Rating

3/5

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