Nagasravika's Book Reviews Blog

 Dharmayoddha Kalki : Avatar of Vishnu (Kalki Trilogy #1) By Kevin Missal  Published Year: 2017 Page Count: 440 pages Medium Used: Paperback  Genre: Epic Fantasy, Mythology, Hindu Mythology, Indian Authors, Fantasy, Good vs Evil, 2026-read. Rating : 5/5 😎 😎 😎 😎 😎  Highly entertaining. I am damn sure that someone who doesn't have background knowledge of Hindu myths won't be able to make heads or tails of this book. But I am glad that we have some gifted writers like Kevin Missal among us who want to dabble in God stuff, so to speak. Kevin's writing and command over English language felt superior to Amish Tripathi - another Indian taking inspiration from Indian myths to concoct captivating stories. It is impossible to evade comparisons between the two authors I feel. I loved the court intrigues, the politics and even the bloodshed which felt liberating and endearing in this book, for some damn reason I don't know!  This book deals in the shaping out of dharm,...

 The Fires of December  (Hoid's Travails #3) (A Cosmere Universe Novel) By Brandon Sanderson  Published Year: 2026 Page Count: 452 pages  Medium Used: Oneplus Nord Ce6, Moon Reader  Genre: Science fiction, Fantasy, Time Travel, Science Fiction Fantasy, Romance, Demons, Good vs Evil, Alternate Realities, 2026-read. Rating: 4.85/5 😎 😄 😄 😄 😄  This is the third in series but happens to be my first book from the series. It can be read completely 💯 standalone. I didn't feel any lack in my understanding because of not picking this one in the set order. The descriptions of the landscape and layout of the city, with the demon, felt difficult to follow but illustrations presented  alongside the text helped. There seemed to be some incongruencies where December, the main character, was trying to portray herself a mature woman to Flint, her current romantic interest and future husband, but was also flirting using tricks that naive, young girls do. I felt per...

 The Return of the King  (#3 Lord of the Rings series) By J.R.R. Tolkien  Rating : 3.75/5  Genres : Fantasy,  fiction,  classics, 2021-read, magical realism, fairy tales, paranormal, supernatural, good vs evil This book marks the end to the saga started with the formation of the fellowship of ring 💍  in part-1 of the series. Its a culmination to all things - dark and light. In a tale of fight between an overpowering and encroaching darkness against forces of good/light - a ring forged by the dark lord himself becomes key to victory. Since the story must end, it is naturally anticipated that the ring gets where it should - thrown into the pits of fire smoldering in Mount Doom of Mordor - the province where the dark lord and his servants/soldiers reside. And that's what happens. Frodo and Sam through many perils and tribulations take the ring to the precipice of Mount Doom but Frodo becomes unwilling and possessive of the ring at the last mo...

Valis  By Philip k. Dick  Rating: 4.75/5 Genres: Science fiction, suspense, thriller, good vs evil, theology, mental illness, insanity, novel plot, 2021-read, reviewed. Just like living things have an 'aura'  around them with which some could guess their health/well being, books also seem to have a kind of aura around them. If it's a book written by Philip k Dick, one can be assured that it has some element of surprise, novelty, drugs, madness and a promise of a fun ride. Valis is a pleasure to read.I ran through the pages with my eyes glued to my kindle. I couldn't put this book down. Philip Dick is one of the very established authors in the genre of science fiction but for the first 20-30 percent of the book , I wondered if he diverged into a memoir. Yet, his writing is so hilarious that on the one hand I was telling myself  'what a poor fellow this Horselover Fat( an alter ego of Philip, the narrator) is' and on the other hand laughing my head off...