Review
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this book is not about some tales jotted from singing
bards,... this is a true perspective, of how a battle is fought
between 2 and only the conqueror seems to tell the stories...
Asura is definitely something you must read just to find out what
the other side seems to offer. But surely its again no Whining of
the loser...neither a repentance call... but a pure Journey of
the greatest Villains of all time ... his reputation precedes him
upto dat magnitude dat mankind wishes to eliminate him every
year... "Raavan" ... no doubt we were told he was so many things
we ought not be...… --Sumit Pandey Dec 31, 2012
I started reading this heavy book with little hesitancy as it was
written by a debut writer. However, once I started the book, it
didn't look like a book written by a new author. It is very
fascinating book with good narration and correct usage of words.
Mythology might not interest the current generation; however, the
way this story was presented would definitely attract people of
all generations. In the past a lot of people have attempted to
write stories on Ravana, the villain of Ramayana, the great epic
of Hindus. However, all of them have attempted to portray Ravana
as a real hero … --Krishnakumar T K Jun 3, 2012
I find it surprising that the reviews before this have not been
positive about this book. Maybe it is because it challenges the
accepted norms about Rama and Ravana, which is difficult for
someone who has heard one version of the story from childhood to
accept. Some complained that the character of Ravana did not have
a consistent characterization. I think this is deliberate and
what makes the book more real. Everyone is a shade of grey....and
every human is a mixture of inconsistencies. A true
characterization of Ravana cannot paint him consistently evil but
it has to be more an internal conflict between noble intentions
and wrong choices which the author has portrayed successfully.
Having said that, here is my review. "Asura" is a very unique
take on the Indian epic "Ramayana". While Ramayana is the story
of Lord Rama's triumph over the evil demon Ravana, this book is
the story from Ravana's perspective; the king who lost the war.
Like every legend that grows over thousands of years, Ramayana is
full of fantastic events and unrealistic occurrences (Ravana's
ten heads, Hanuman's jump over the ocean etc.). However, it is
obvious that these exaggerations must have had some real and
fundamental truth to them which then evolved into the fantastic
story that we now know as Ramayana. Anand Neelakantan does an
excellent job of weaving together a very realistic picture of
what might have been the actual events which now have turned into
legends and myths. Ravana was a great ruler; flawed but great.
Even the Ramayana acknowledges the fact that Ravana was a very
learned and able ruler. The empire eventually crumbled due to
infighting, betrayal and Ravana's ego, culminating in a great war
precipitated by Ravana's abduction of Rama's wife, Sita --By Siby
Mathew
About the Author
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Anand Neelakantan was born in a picturesque small
village Thripoonithura, on the peripheries of Cochin, Kerala. He
did his Engineering and joined the Indian Oil Corporation besides
moving to Bangalore. Anand Neelakantan is a famous Indian author,
who rose to glory with Asura: Tale of the Vanquished, which was
his debut novel. Apart from this, he also authored Ajaya: Epic of
the Kaurava Clan: Roll of the Dice. ranked him as one among
the 6 most remarkable writers of the year 2012.