Padithathil pidithathu

Few authors thrill us to read more of their creations. At times its sheer luck that we might end up with the worse of their lot and might give up on them only to find many other good ones which we would've ignored based on first impression. James Rollins is one such author. My friend's sister introduced me to "Map of Bones" and told me that its in the same genre of "Davinci Code" and since i am a sucker for adventure series she recommended this one to me, with a warning that, at times this guy goes over the board like Ludlum in describing situations. With that warning in mind i began the book. I took my own sweet time to finish it but the book kept me interested. However many times i kept it down i always went for it again to know what happened next. In the end, i pretty much liked the story, though it was totally unbelievable.

The story is about the bones of the Three wise men or Magi who visited Jesus when he was a kid. Their bones held a clue to a vast source of power which will bring an end to humanity if it falls on wrong hands. The SIGMA team (hero team) vs the DRAGON team (villain team). Sigma team wins in the end..while destroying many a previously unidentified wonders of the erstwhile world which includes Alexander's tomb. Story kaathula poo kathainaalum..the way the author conjurs up images of some places like hanging gardens, Alexanders tomb etc about which lot has been spoken about but no one would have seen. It keeps an even pace throughout and makes a nice read overall.

Next i went for "Judas Strain" by the same author. This time i was better prepared and the reviews spiked the interest. The theme was based on the "Koormavatar" (YES. Atlast some author found our Indian mythology worthy enough to make a plot out of it) especially the scene where "Vasuki" the snake is used as rope and Mandra mountain is used as the "Mathu" with Lord Vishnu taking the shape of turtle to hold the mountain on the Ocean of Milk. The author got almost all the details correct except that he confused Lord Shiva's role of drinking the Aalahala also into Vishnu. The very mention of this in the review made me so curious that i immediately went for that book. And WOW. The book was such a roller coaster ride from page one that it was a relish. Loved it till the end. The style was a mix of Dan Brown, Robin cook and Robert ludlum :) all my fav authors put together. I can easily say this is one of THE best adventure thrillers in recent times.

The third one and my current read is "Last Oracle" by the same author. This time, i blindly bought the book. No review. Nothing. I had beginning to trust this guy to pay 300 bucks for his book :) And i am more than glad i bought the book. WOW. This one is even more amazing and lightening fast than "Judas strain". It starts with the Oracle at Delhpi (Nothing to do with softwares my friends :D ) and the story shifts to the Russian URAL mountains with kids with special mental powers..and it moves on at lightening fast..again to INDIA :) this time its the Taj mahal. I'vent read it fully but with whatever i've read so far i can safely say this one is even better than the previous one :) Loving every bit of it :)

Next one i am waiting to read is the "Black Order". Again by Rollins. This book i couldnt get in stores or in Net also. Review paatha its related to some Nazi machine called Bell..also related to time travel or something like that. World war 2 saw so many weapons of mass destruction being invented the credit for many being attributed to the Nazi scientists..who were absorbed by US after the war. This book again has some reference to India and Nepal. I think Rollins must've read quite a bit about our mythology and must've travelled well. One main reason why i was so impressed with this author is mainly because of the Indian references he brings in his stories. Semma thrilling to read.

Try one of the four and let me know how u folks feel about it :)

P.S:
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