Title:
Tantra
Author:Adi
About
the book:
A
vampire slayer travels all the way from New York to New Delhi for vengeance, to
avenge the death of her lover, Brian, who was brutally killed by vampires. The
guardian, Anu Aggarwal, finds the vampire scene in Delhi to be quite different
from the one in New York. The vampires and the vampire hunters are almost
amicable with each other. But behind the façade of peaceful environs, a storm
is brewing in the name of Baba Senaka, a tantric practitioner and a mad priest
drunk with the powers of tantra. And the whole onus of saving the world from
the mad tantric falls on the shoulders of Anu.
Anu,
guided by an eccentric college professor, Dr. Sharma, learns the art of tantra,
to fight fire with fire. Aiding her on this dangerous mission is Amit, her
trusty colleague and co-guardian.
To
add to all the dramatic twists happening in Anu’s life, her aunt is hell bent
on hitching her niece with a well-groomed Indian boy. There are hosts of other
mysterious characters too, Chandra the Panch or the leader of the vampires, Kartha,
the powerful one who despite his powers choses to remain neutral in the war between
the saatvic and tantric.
And
when Anu is not fighting she is busy falling in love with Gaurav, a random guy
she met in a wedding. Even though she is appalled by her own attraction towards
Gaurav, she can hardly resist the temptation.
Can
Anu stop the mad priest in destroying the whole of Delhi? Can she avenge the
death of her lover? Can she stop Baba Senaka from sacrificing the lives of
thousands of children to attain the ultimate power? Can she master the art of
Tantra?
Read
the book to find out :-)
Review:
First
of all, I applaud the author for selecting such an enigmatic and mysterious
backdrop to base his first novel on. And for selecting a female protagonist as
the vampire slayer. Move over Spiderman and Shaktiman, we have our own
vampire-slayer-woman.
On a
serious note though, the book is definitely a worthy read. Although sometimes
it delves deep into fantasy, taking it a bit too far-fetched, it keeps the
reader hooked through the 300-odd pages of the book. The internal battle within
Anu between her duty and her personal life is etched flawlessly. I felt her
character was mulish and headstrong in the initial pages but her warm and
endearing character kind of grows onto you after the first 100 pages. I also
liked the way humor was interspersed in the novel which made the characters
more conceivable.
What
I would have liked is more of interactions between Anu and Brian, because
except for few flashbacks, the bond between the two is not really portrayed,
which in turn makes the reader not really empathize with her loss and her
reason for revenge.
The
book is fast paced which made me turn the pages and finish the book in record
time. And some of the questions left unanswered at the end indicated the
probability of a sequel in the near future.
Verdict:
Thrilling, fast-paced and I would definitely recommend it for a read. I would
rate it 3.5/5.
Oooh, good, your review is tempting me to pick up a copy. Reading the blurb, I wouldn't have. Not into vampires and such :)
ReplyDeleteNice review. The book is so nicely presented that it tempts me to pick it up ASAP.
ReplyDeleteGreat review, will definitely give it a go !
ReplyDeleteYes it is a good book. Nice to know that you share my views, Prasanna:)
ReplyDelete