Title: Ashok and the Nine Unknown
Author: Anshul Dupare
Publisher: Rupa Publications India
Blurb: You know what, the best revenge will be watching you failing to achieve your dreams. Do what you can, Ashok. The game has just begun!
Ashok wandered amidst the corpses, helplessly, looking like a dead man walking among the dead. The wailing of people who had lost their loved ones on the battlefield cut into his soul and it was then that he heard a cry for help.
As realization of the devastation of war seeped in, Ashok decided to dedicate his life towards the betterment of society and try his best to prevent any destruction of life. Realizing he could not do so single-handedly, Ashok created a secret society comprising nine chosen members, who were known as the ‘Nine Unknown’, to help preserve knowledge that, in the wrong hands, could be used to destroy humanity.
Little did Ashok know that the safekeeping of such knowledge had a high price to it; that shadows walk amidst us and that sometimes our actions unspool unimaginable consequences.
The first of two volumes, this book has the power to transform your idea of reality!
Review: Ashok and the Nine Unknown reminds me of The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. A Secret Society with access to unspeakable knowledge? It does feel like Deja Vu.
However, in reality it is not. Ashok and the Nine Unknown is a gripping tale that can be divided into three distinct parts. The first one being that of war. We have all read the stories of Emperor Ashok and the “change of heart” he underwent after the war of Kalinga. Well, that is where this story begins- discussing the futility of war and the destruction it causes.
The second is the Secret Society. Whether it is the Da Vinci Code, this book or even the Illuminati, we all seem obsessed with the idea of the existence of a secret order of knowledge that rests outside the hands of the normal society. Why? Because if we get access to it, the humankind will wreak havoc on itself, says the book Ashok and the Nine Unknown. Is it true, who knows?
And finally, of course, Indian Mythology. The book touches on a lot of ancient texts, curses of immortality and so on which I personally found very interesting to read. The writing is succinct and crisp. Thus, it keeps you engrossed since it is very fascinating.
Rating: 4/5
Price: 177 INR for a paperback and 168.15 INR for a Kindle edition.
You can buy it from Amazon here.
-Mrinaal Datt
Follow me on Instagram here.
Read more about me here.
Sign up to our newsletter. (Promise we won't spam)
