Books N Unicorns

Sudha Murty's books have always been a delight to her readers, and The Serpent's Revenge: Unusual Tales from the Mahabharata is no exception. Fascinating, light, and smooth to read, this 200-page short- story collection comprises less-known folk tales from the epic Mahabharata. While some of them are popular in different parts of the country, some of the stories are a pleasant surprise to the readers. I have been a major fan of the Hindu epic Mahabharata since childhood and love reading every story and folk tale related to it. Dozens of titles have been released revolving around the lives of the main characters of the epic, most popularly of those including Draupadi (Princess of Panchal, wife of the five Pandavas), Karna (best friend of Duryodhana and son of Kunti and Lord Surya), and Arjuna (the mighty archer Pandav and Krishna's beloved.) Most of the stories in the book belong majorly to the above characters and some are quite unheard of. My personal favourit

  Moving ahead with his Hindu mythology genre, author Kevin Missal has laid hands on another Hindu deity trilogy, Narasimha. The first book of the trilogy introduces us to the mighty Narasimha, noble yet confused Prahalad, and the smart Asura king, Hiranyakashyap. The side characters including Andhaka, Anuhrada, and Holika have been given justified place in the first book of the Mahaavatar trilogy. The novel is quite gripping; there's just the perfect amount of action, emotion, and drama in the story, no less no more. Missal has made sure no incident or character is dragged too much for the author to get bored off of it. The character build-up and description is admirable. As a child who grew up listening to the tales of Prahlad, Holika, and other characters, it was refreshing to hear yet another story of the Devta versus Asura clans. Quite young in age, Missal has risen up to be a promising author and that reflects in his latest bestseller already. The USP of Narasi