The Tales Pensieve

Indian history. Ancient secrets. Mythological legends. Thriller. Reminds me of Ashwin Sanghi and The Krishna Key. Yes, when I read the blurb of this one it did remind me of The Krishna Key. A book blurb that has ancient Indian history mixed with some treasure hunting always intrigues me and, blurb of The Curse of Surya had these elements in the right quantity. And in I dived…

The Curse of Surya is the story of 24 hours of adventure of Singapore based media professional – Sangeeta Rao and Oxford Archeology professor – Alan Davies – in the midst of ancient ruins, hidden clues, legends, folklore, terrorists and traitors. Sangeeta is sent by her channel to cover the official meet of the Singaporean and Indian Prime Ministers at the Taj Mahal, Agra while Alan is in India to attend The International All Saints’ World Religions Conference in Mathura, 50 kilometers from Agra, where a chief saint will be disclosing the secret location of a gem called Shyamantaka, which was supposedly missing for the past 5000 years. Sangeeta and Alan meet at the Taj Mahal, become friends and end up at Mathura at the conference. And that is where all the action begins!

While at the conference, in the middle of the chief saint’s speech he is shot dead, Sangeeta and Alan are accused of being accompliances of the terrorist who attacked the saint and their run from the law begins. They tumble upon clues that lead to the Shyamantaka and finding it remains the only option available to them to clear their names. While on the run they befriend Anton Blanchard who has come to India from the US on the request of the Indian government to find the Shyamantaka. Thus begins the hunt for the famed jewel. While on the hunt things turn around and Sangeeta is not in a position to believe Alan at times and Anton at others, while being continuously chased by the police at every step.

In one line The Curse of Surya is a well plotted, well researched and well written book. The plot is sprinkled with twists every now and then and these twists keep the reader glued to the book till the end. The character buildup and character reveal is in perfect balance, which is the requirement of the narrative and Dev Prasad delivers well.

Historical facts, mythological legends and folklore are mixed well to form a heady mix and The Curse of Surya is truly un-put-down-able to the last chapter.

If you love Indian history and mystery, go for this!

Title: The Curse of Surya
Author: Dev Prasad
Publisher/ Imprint: Random House India
Pages: 320
Genre/ Sub-Genre: Fiction/ Mystery
Rating: 4.75 of 5
Reviewed for: Personal Copy

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