The Magicians of Mazda is the seventh book in the Bharat series. I have also read the first book in the series, The Rozabal Line. I thoroughly enjoyed both the books.
The main characters in this book are a Parsi Scientist Jim Dastoor and his historian wife Linda. Jim gets kidnapped and Linda goes after him. In the process, they travel to many countries, and everybody is after Jim’s research work and an ancient artifact called the Athravan Star.
This plot, while being an engaging mystery, is also a foray into the history of Zoroastrians. The author has beautifully linked up so many historical facts and weaved them into this story.
I knew only about their God Ahura Mazda and their religious text Zend-Avesta, there are so many aspects of the religion that are described so vividly, its origin, its propagation, the threat involved, and migration. It is saddening to read about people who were killed due to religious animosity. It also covers an array of myths, legends, culture, customs, rituals, and doctrines.
Did you know that the Zoroastrian temple is known as the Fire temple? The author has explained in detail its relevance, and its origin and has mentioned a few famous ones too. The story about their special fires is an interesting one.
A very interesting aspect of the book that I enjoyed a lot was the etymological roots of many Zoroastrian words. The author has beautifully shown the links between words.
Ashwin Sanghi offers his readers the most towards the end by solving the mystery that he builds up throughout the novel.
Though it is plot-driven, it digresses into historical and essayistic writing. It is a well-researched novel, which probes into the root of Zoroastrians. People who love historical investigations would love it, moreover who doesn’t love a well-written mystery?
In this era where every other author is spinning a tale about characters or events from the bygone eras, this is another tale recounting a very interesting epoch of history. I recommend this book to everyone.