A book can be read in a few days, but it can take years to build a story that can be engaging and entertaining for the readers over four books
The journey that started in 2015 has come to an epic conclusion in 2020. That gives me one reason to love 2020 and one more reason to hate 2020! But jokes aside, the fourth and final installment of the Vikramaditya Veergatha is exceptionally written with a well rounded conclusion to the entire series.
Almost all the characters arcs are ingeniously written from Samrat to Urvashi to Brichcha. I loved Urvashi’s arc better than others. Kalidasa’s arc was enigmatically beautiful with little twists. Dhanvantri’s arc was very subtle yet powerful. To top it all, Betaal’s arc was wonderful! I cannot imagine the efforts that have gone into developing these characters and I can only take a bow!
All the battles that take place have been crafted with a painstaking attention to detail that made me feel right like I am right in the middle of all the action! Kudos to the author for his writing that bring vivid imagery in the mind of the readers. The battle on the streets of Avanti, in the palace, the way Kubera’s character was introduced – all these scenes will forever remain etched in my memory.
The other thing that I like about this series is that, the subplots have also been done justice. One cannot completely ignore the fact that subplots are needed in a story of this scale. And what baffles me is the care with which the author handled those plots. Magadha, Odra, Kalinga and Vanga – these kingdoms, though didn’t get involved with the Hunas, Sakas, and the Halala itself, are very important to the overall progression of the story and I am very happy that Acharya Vedala Bhatta was able to what he does the best!
I believe given the depth of the story, some characters are underutilized – Kshapanaka, Amarasimha, Ghatakarpara from the nine gems, Gandharvasena and Brihaspati from the devas, the asura trinity of Hiranyakashipu, Hiranyaksha and Holika from the asuras. Shukracharya’s character has been given extreme importance in the story while I feel this could have been achieved with a lot of help from the asura trinity themselves. I was expecting a mythological reference to Hiranyakashipu and Amarasimha’s power, Hiranyaksha and Varahamihira which could have added more flavor to the plot and more trust on the nine gems to help Vikramaditya protect the dagger.
As a reader, I am extremely happy with the four book series! I would recommend this any day to any of my friends. As a matter of fact, I have gifted the first book of this series several of my friends and they have picked this series up! Thank you Shatrujeet Nath for a wonderful and satisfying series on our beloved Vikramaditya and his nine gems!
A highly recommended read! My rating – 5/5
Sriram Radhakrishnan 