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allthatissim 's review for:
PRALAY: The Great Deluge
by Vineet Bajpai
Full review on: FLIPPING THROUGH THE PAGES
I loved the first book of the series, Harappa, last year and since then I was waiting for its sequel. I loved Harappa so I had high expectation for [b:PRALAY: The Great Deluge|37925572|PRALAY The Great Deluge|Vineet Bajpai|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1516000892s/37925572.jpg|59641800] and I am glad that this book didn’t disappoint me. It was a great read.
+ Perfect sequel
This sequel was equally interesting and gripping as the first book. The book starts with a recap of the first book and pretty much summarises everything in just 3-4 pages. I don’t want to give spoilers for the first book, but the second book starts right off from where we left Vivasvan Pujari and Vidyut.
Similar to the first book, the plot goes in various timelines. Actually, I felt that there are more timelines going on simultaneously than the first book. The story starts from Harappa civilization of 1700 BCE and stretches to present day Banaras. In Harappa, Vivasvan Pujari is fighting through his last moments while his son Manu is on the journey of finding the Black temple. In the present day, Vidyut is still getting all the knowledge about his past and future from his great-grandfather, Dwarka Shashtri, and simultaneously fighting the demons.
Each of the timelines is connected so well, that you won’t find any disruptions while reading. You would automatically turn up the pages to see the references and how the storyline is folding and is connected all together. Though I have to admit here that the book does get a little boring in the middle for a few pages when there was a lot of history, but soon it regains the twist and turns.
Along with the heavy plot, Vineet Bajpai has successfully incorporated other themes like love, betrayal, politics, science, Indian mythology and other facts.
+ Characters stood out
We saw Vivasvan Pujari at his highest glory in the first book. It shows how he changed after the betrayal and his whole transformation from Devta to Demon was something to look out for. I really liked those dark moments of his characters. In the first book, we saw only a little part of Vivasvan’s son Manu and I am glad that he was in the center of the story in the second book. His journey to the Black temple and meeting to the new people to save the humanity and all of those gory details were really interesting. We saw how much he was influenced by Matsya and this indirectly refers that what a devotion to God can do to a man.
Vidyut, same as the last book, was enchanting and smart. I really hated his moment with Naina though. I don’t know why it was important to incorporate into the story. Vidyut is now more ready and confident to fight with the present day demons and is willing to fight every fight by the side of his great-grandfather. The other side characters like Balvanta, Sonu etc. were written well as per their parts.
+ A large amount of research
I love how Vineet Bajpai does all this research. That was the main thing that stood out for me in the first book and it was in equally appealing in this part too. All those things about Harappa, Constantine, law, and order and other stuff just amazed me. It was often hard for me to distinguish between the fact and the fiction. The way in which all of those things have been written, make you believe that those facts are actually real. This series definitely intrigues me read more about the lost Harappan civilization.
I loved all the details about the dark magic and Tantric vidya which was later used in the story. In India, we have heard these stories about Aghoris and dark magic from our childhood, but to actually read about them was really terrifying. I don’t know if in reality the dark magic exists or not, but for even a little time, [a:Vineet Bajpai|4570096|Vineet Bajpai|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1496735675p2/4570096.jpg]’s writing will make you believe it.
Though I loved a lot of these descriptions, I do feel that a few of the context were really not necessary. As I mentioned earlier, the book gets little slow and boring in the middle. This is because of the whole extra information. The things like the history of BHU (Banaras Hindu University) and other places were not at all needed. Then there were so many pages explaining how the current world technologies and devices were already present in our mythology all those thousands of years back and are written in our scriptures, way before the western world discovered it. I don’t think that the mention of Indian mythology Gods was required here. That extra information only extended the length of the book.
+ The ending is full of surprises
That final scene of the book was definitely a surprise for me. I didn’t see it coming and I loved it. All that stuff that Vidyut and Dwarka Shastri fell into was something unbelievable. I hadn’t seen it coming. But the final scene from Vivasvan Pujari’s timeline felt somewhat disrupt. It could have been better.
Vineet Bajpai left me hanged for the second book after that fantastic ending in the first book and now he has left me hanging again for the third book, with that end.
+ Final Thoughts
Pralay is definitely darker and more intense than Harappa. I really enjoyed reading it overall, but there was definitely too much going on and sometimes it was hard to wrap up my mind around all those events. But still, it is a gripping sequel. [a:Vineet Bajpai|4570096|Vineet Bajpai|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1496735675p2/4570096.jpg] has done an incredible job of world building and writing. And that end was something to look out for. It was really a surprising end.
I can’t wait to see how this story concludes in the final book of the series Kashi: Secret of the Black Temple. This series is definitely a must-read for all the lovers of historical fiction. It is full of drama, action, and adventure and you won’t regret reading it.
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I loved the first book of the series, Harappa, last year and since then I was waiting for its sequel. I loved Harappa so I had high expectation for [b:PRALAY: The Great Deluge|37925572|PRALAY The Great Deluge|Vineet Bajpai|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1516000892s/37925572.jpg|59641800] and I am glad that this book didn’t disappoint me. It was a great read.
+ Perfect sequel
This sequel was equally interesting and gripping as the first book. The book starts with a recap of the first book and pretty much summarises everything in just 3-4 pages. I don’t want to give spoilers for the first book, but the second book starts right off from where we left Vivasvan Pujari and Vidyut.
Similar to the first book, the plot goes in various timelines. Actually, I felt that there are more timelines going on simultaneously than the first book. The story starts from Harappa civilization of 1700 BCE and stretches to present day Banaras. In Harappa, Vivasvan Pujari is fighting through his last moments while his son Manu is on the journey of finding the Black temple. In the present day, Vidyut is still getting all the knowledge about his past and future from his great-grandfather, Dwarka Shashtri, and simultaneously fighting the demons.
Each of the timelines is connected so well, that you won’t find any disruptions while reading. You would automatically turn up the pages to see the references and how the storyline is folding and is connected all together. Though I have to admit here that the book does get a little boring in the middle for a few pages when there was a lot of history, but soon it regains the twist and turns.
Along with the heavy plot, Vineet Bajpai has successfully incorporated other themes like love, betrayal, politics, science, Indian mythology and other facts.
+ Characters stood out
We saw Vivasvan Pujari at his highest glory in the first book. It shows how he changed after the betrayal and his whole transformation from Devta to Demon was something to look out for. I really liked those dark moments of his characters. In the first book, we saw only a little part of Vivasvan’s son Manu and I am glad that he was in the center of the story in the second book. His journey to the Black temple and meeting to the new people to save the humanity and all of those gory details were really interesting. We saw how much he was influenced by Matsya and this indirectly refers that what a devotion to God can do to a man.
Vidyut, same as the last book, was enchanting and smart. I really hated his moment with Naina though. I don’t know why it was important to incorporate into the story. Vidyut is now more ready and confident to fight with the present day demons and is willing to fight every fight by the side of his great-grandfather. The other side characters like Balvanta, Sonu etc. were written well as per their parts.
+ A large amount of research
I love how Vineet Bajpai does all this research. That was the main thing that stood out for me in the first book and it was in equally appealing in this part too. All those things about Harappa, Constantine, law, and order and other stuff just amazed me. It was often hard for me to distinguish between the fact and the fiction. The way in which all of those things have been written, make you believe that those facts are actually real. This series definitely intrigues me read more about the lost Harappan civilization.
I loved all the details about the dark magic and Tantric vidya which was later used in the story. In India, we have heard these stories about Aghoris and dark magic from our childhood, but to actually read about them was really terrifying. I don’t know if in reality the dark magic exists or not, but for even a little time, [a:Vineet Bajpai|4570096|Vineet Bajpai|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1496735675p2/4570096.jpg]’s writing will make you believe it.
Though I loved a lot of these descriptions, I do feel that a few of the context were really not necessary. As I mentioned earlier, the book gets little slow and boring in the middle. This is because of the whole extra information. The things like the history of BHU (Banaras Hindu University) and other places were not at all needed. Then there were so many pages explaining how the current world technologies and devices were already present in our mythology all those thousands of years back and are written in our scriptures, way before the western world discovered it. I don’t think that the mention of Indian mythology Gods was required here. That extra information only extended the length of the book.
+ The ending is full of surprises
That final scene of the book was definitely a surprise for me. I didn’t see it coming and I loved it. All that stuff that Vidyut and Dwarka Shastri fell into was something unbelievable. I hadn’t seen it coming. But the final scene from Vivasvan Pujari’s timeline felt somewhat disrupt. It could have been better.
Vineet Bajpai left me hanged for the second book after that fantastic ending in the first book and now he has left me hanging again for the third book, with that end.
+ Final Thoughts
Pralay is definitely darker and more intense than Harappa. I really enjoyed reading it overall, but there was definitely too much going on and sometimes it was hard to wrap up my mind around all those events. But still, it is a gripping sequel. [a:Vineet Bajpai|4570096|Vineet Bajpai|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1496735675p2/4570096.jpg] has done an incredible job of world building and writing. And that end was something to look out for. It was really a surprising end.
I can’t wait to see how this story concludes in the final book of the series Kashi: Secret of the Black Temple. This series is definitely a must-read for all the lovers of historical fiction. It is full of drama, action, and adventure and you won’t regret reading it.
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