Kevin Misal

Details:

Author: Kevin Missal
Year of publish: 2017
Publisher: FingerPrint
No. of pages: 464
Genre: Fantasy, Mythological Fiction, Adventure

In the recent years the Indian literary landscape has been flooded with mythological fictions. Don't get me wrong, I love this genre. I think India has a huge depository of mythological stories which are urging to come out through the pen of authors with new take on those stories.

With the success of books like the Ajaya duology by Anand Neelkantan, the Shiva trilogy by Amish Tripathi, etc this genre has seen a boom in Indian market. This has also inspired many other authors to write mythology with their own take and interpretation. And one such author is Kevin Missal.

Kevin wrote his debut novel at the age of 14, it was fantasy fiction based on Greek mythology called Damien Black: The Battle of Lost Ages. After Greek mythology he returned to his roots and wrote a trilogy on the last avatar of Lord Vishnu called the Kalki Trilogy. And today I am going to review the first book in the series named Dharmayoddha Kalki: Avatar Of Vishnu.

Although many recent mythological fictions are re-telling and adaptations, Kevin Missal makes it very clear on the very first page of the book in a “Note to Reader” that this series is not a retelling of Kalki Purana. It is a completely fictional tale that takes “inspiration from the life of Kalki". Now let us take a closer look into the book...

The Plot:

The book is divided into two sections: The Battle of Shambala and The Rise of Kali.

The story begins with Kali, who had worked hard to bring all the major Tribal leader under one shed and is waiting to face the Manav King Vendanta in a battlefield. The Tribals include socially stuctured tribes like Yakshas, Rakshasas and Nagas nad few nomadic tribes like Mlecchas.

Eons ago, there was a Mahayudh and the Breaking after the Hindu Trinity restored order in the world. In this world Manavs were considered superior and Tribals were looked down upon due to their barbaric nature and physical deformities and this led to an ever-going war between Manavs and the Tribals and even amongst the Tribals themselves. But it was until Kali, with his political intelligence, forged an alliance of these Tribals and with his manipulative war strategies was able to defeat the Manav King - Vendanta. Instead of overthrowing Vendanta from his throne and taking over Illavarti he made everyone sign a treaty which state that Vendanta will retain the title of the King, as this prevent any civil war amongst the people of Illavarti. But the state will be actually ruled by a council including Kali, Kuvera (Yakshan Chief), Vasuki (Leader of Naga) and Raktapa (Leader of Rakshasas). They were each given a fort in Indragarh, the capital of Illavarti to reside and a specific department to handle.

The Tribals leaders do not like each other, there was a constant conspiring to murder one another. When Kali was attacked by a Naga assassin and was in his death-bed, his sister Durukti came to know about a magical substance — Somas, which was found in a cave in the village of Shambala. In order to get the substance and save his brother's life, Durukti has to go into a war against the villager of Shambala. And it was the first time Durukti and Kalki crossed path as Kalki was fighting for his village and his people.

In the earlier chapters, we have already met Kalki, the careless village boy. The only unusual thing about him has his superhuman power he possesses, but again he himself was not clear about his powers. In an unfortunate event his father Vishnuyatha was kidnapped, and his brother Arjan was tortured and in spite of Kalki's effort Vishnuyatha dies. But before he died he pointed his finger toward a drunkard old man trying to say something to about him, but he couldn't. This man was Kripa.

In the battle of Shambala Kalki losses many of his friends and he himself was captured by Durukti as prisoner of war.

Somas which Durukti gave to his brother Kali saved his life — but with a cost, Somas side effects turned him bald, black and mad. From the peace loving man he turned into a murderous dictator. He totally destroyed the council and became king himself. He even arranges a public execution for Kalki simply because of his insecurity and jealousy. Furthermore, he also tried killing everyone who supported Kalki.

So where is Kalki’s path going to take him now? Is he really alone and friendless or will he find allies – namely Kripa, Padma and a parrot called Shuko – that shift like sand at times?

Although the prophecy says of the Adharma rising and all the fingers point toward Kali, the encounter between him and Kalki doesn't give Kalki the feeling that Kali is the main vice. So, who is the real Adharma?

Is all incidents in Kalki's life, till now, has happened by chance, or it is someone pulling the string of his life and playing with his life like a puppet master?
My Views:

Kevin Missal has done a commendable job in world building. He has created a living and breathing world with a huge variety of different cultures, though in this book we get to see a fraction of it.

But the thing which I don't like is his character creation, his character comes out to be flat. There is no dynamic in them. Certain relationships, which the author has tried to portray, appear to be forced rather being smooth in their execution.

The biggest problem with the book is its grammatical mistakes. There are several instances when he and she has been used interchangeably. But this can be rectified with proper proofreading and I hope in the subsequent editions these errors will be removed.

The pace of the book is a bit slow for my taste, at least for the first half of the book, but again this a common phenomenon with all fantasy book. Despite the slow pace, it succeeds to end with a cliffhanger.
My Rating:

Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Character: ⭐️⭐️

Pacing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Climax: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Final Verdict:

Overall I liked the book and looking forward to reading the next installment of the series...… (mer)

One of the best mythological fictional book. This book is about Kalki a super human in making that is Dharam to destroy the evil Kali who is adharm. This book shows how Kalki having a happy family ends with he being alone. There are many secrets in the first book hoping that would be revealed in the second book. Author has created his own story rather than taking anything from our mythology. This book is based on the latest Vishnu Avtar Kalki after the mahayudh that is Mahabharat. Never felt boring while reading the whole plot revolves around kripa and Kalki. Kripa tries to take Kalki to North to become a warrior to kill the adharm. Waiting for the second book to read. Overall a very good Goodread... 😊… (mer)

This strong epic fictional fantasy novel efficiently connects its many threads of bravery and ,betrayal , it turns to be powerful write from page to page,involving character to character with conflicts and comprmises. . Kevin has skill to weave a great stroy of great wariors and battles, and this very good job suggests the potential for many more books in the same line of this genre.

A messily majestic narrative with many turns and twists and with too much details about political and social events to make the reading rollercoaster ride for the readers. . Fans of puzzling, epic sagas will enjoy the layered language , with pacy fiction suitablefor all.

Kevin displays a real knack for keeping lifelike, original characters from the Hindu mythiologiies at the backdrop of anceiet period where Gods live along with humans and the MCs are having supernarural powers.Readers who enjoy getting quite literally lost in interconnected stories and drilled-down character studies will happily buckle up for the ride.

Dharmayoddha KALKI is everything you could want in a epic novel - an universal saga, a mystery that spans history, a scalpel cut through . funny, heartbreaking, tremendous happenings in the life of Kalkihari the protoganist belongs to the village of Shaambala and others . Kevins intelligence and writer in him radiates off every page.

This thrilling literary novel will resonate, long after the final page is turned.


Kevin Missal is a writer of deeply impressive imagination and brilliant execution who takes such an ambitious and convincing bite of the realm of a Hindu God.

"I adore this book for all its greatness and awe it creates in our mind.
I recommend to all epic fans.and have a great time full of fun and wonder.

… (mer)