Siege of Mithila (Ramayana #2) by Ashok K. Banker

Siege of Mithila (Ramayana #2) Reviews

• 
  Phyl

  The only possible flaw in this book is not a problem with the book itself, or the writer. The problem is that characters who are perfect are inherently boring. (My mind leaps to those movies with Jesus gazing piously into heaven, benevolently healing everyone, gently smoothing away discord among the disciples -- never frowning, never raising his voice, never doing anything INTERESTING, dammit!)
  
  Rama, the hero of this epic, is always pious, always obedient to his guru, and fulfills the dharma of his caste flawlessly and without hesitation, with no thought for self. He doesn't even feel the stirrings of more-than-brotherly feeling toward Sita his bride until AFTER he's won her hand.
  
  But it's not really as bad as it sounds; Banker does a good job creating moments of questioning and decision, where Rama must test himself. Of course, most of those moments are undone when the sage Vishwamitra casually mentions, "Of course, I knew before the test began that the outcome was inevitable." Still, Rama is much more interesting in this book than he was in the first one.
  
  I really liked the first book (Prince of Ayodhya), but enjoyed Siege of Mithila even more. There was a lot of action, and by now we know all the major players so well that we care about them a great deal. Can Third Queen Sumitra possibly get out of her predicament? Is Captain Bejoo making his last stand, riding out against the Asura army before the gates of Mithila? Did Rama, with his final act, truly do the horrible and devastating thing to his own people that it sounds like he did, and how can he possibly justify it??
  
  I am really, really looking forward to getting my hands on Demons of Chitrakut, to find out what happens next!
• 
  Smita Jha

  I really enjoyed reading both the Prince of Ayodhya and the Siege of Mithila if only because I like hero-quest type books if they are well-written.
  
  
  
  I was surprised to find that the Ramayan, which is a story that I thought I already knew, made a good base for storytelling. I'm not sure why I was so surprised, but perhaps I thought that there wasn't much left to the imagination in the Ramayan story after so many retellings and movies and TV series. Obviously, I was wrong. I devoured both books in two days and now am keeping myself hungry before I start the next in the series. Obviously the expectations have risen. Sita, hopefully has more of a role in the next book. I'll let you know. :)
  
  
  
  And thanks to Shailja and Sridhar who recommended the series to me again...and thanks to my mother who had already bought the first two for us!
• 
  Mridupawan Podder

  What a continuation. I am loving this retelling. The author's note in the beginning was indeed an eye opener. There have been so many retellings of Ramayan that nobody quite remembers how many things were changed. The latest Ramayan on TV shows Sita to be meek. She isn't in this book. She is a proud Kshatriya warrior.
  
  Siege of Mithila continues where the last book ended. The brothers Ram and Laxman make their way to Mithila to prevent its imminent destruction. Although Raavan did win Sita' s swayamvar fair and square, he got screwed over by the rishis and then by Ram. I almost felt sorry for him until I remembered what he plans for Ayodhya and Mithila. Mithila, a kingdom where women could move freely without wearing blouse. Where women were equals and learned and respected and today's modern India is so drastically different.
  
  Meanwhile Kaikeyi is still at Ayodhya reveling in debauchery while her maidservant is plotting against the nation. I like this version more. I hope this is close to original
• 
  Prabhat sharma

  Siege of Mithila (Ramayana #2) By Ashok K Banker hindi translation by Mahendra Narayan Singh Yadav and cover design by Namrata Mishra- Part II Introduction- Recapitualate the incidents of the prvious book where Rishi Vishwamitra brings Ram and Laksman from Ayodhya to Sidda Ashram where he starts yagna. Sons of Tadaka - Subahu and Marich attack and the first is killed while the second thrown away towards the sea beach by an arrow of Ram. They slepp in the night and plan to visit Mithila. Chaptre 1- Ram wakes up early is chzrmed towards the forest. Lakshman also wakes up early, does not find Ram sleeping next to him and moves out of the hut to search for him. Lakshman is sees a musk deer and tries to befriend her. Just then a lepord attacks them. The musk deer runs away and Vishwamitra appears on the scene. The lepord recognieses Vishwamittra and controls himself. Vishwamitra rebukes Lakshman that he had asked them both not to move out of the Ashram without informing him. They find Ram also standing near the edge of the forest. All of them return back to the Ashram and perform their daily routine- bath, puja and get ready for the jurney to Mithila.
  The musk deer is Shurpanakha, she is not able to talk to Lakshman. Her brother Ravana appears and rebukes her about why she killed the Ayodhya Vajra army man who was returning to Ayodhya with the news of death of Tadaka. Ravana puts life in the Vajra second in command and enlivens him with a soul. The second in command commander is now an agent of Ravana who goes to Ayodhya with a message to king Dashrath to be delivered personally to the king.
  Rishi Vishwamitra and his group moves towards Mithila. Ashram residents sit in the bullock cart while Vishwamitra, Ram and Lakshman walk in the road. Vishwamitra walks fast as they plan to reach the river side before evening. On the way they hear a sound of men and animals fighting. Vishwamitra does not react . Ram seeks permission to go and interfere. Vishwamitra informs that it if possible that dacoits are fighting with wild animals- then why interfere. Still Ram persists and permission is granted to them. The two brothers run to the place of incident. On reaching there, they find that two persons with their faces coverd with black wrap are fighting a group of dacoits. This group is the same which Ram had encountered on Holi festival at Ayodhya. The dacoits haves been fighting with wolves with old and rusted arms. The dacoits challenge Ram and Lakshman to fight with them, claiming that now they are in their own area. In the name of King Dasratha, Ram asks them to drop their arms and talk in peace but the group is in no mood to listen and threaten Ram and Lakshman. The army commander from Ayodhya is also witnessing the event and the incidents happen at such a pace that he is not able to participate or interfere. A group of two army men residents of Mithila also witness the event. Ram accepts challenge and starts killing the dacoits with his sword. Lakshman joins him. Soon some of the dacoits are killed and the rest of the dacoits run towards the hills where they can hide and take shelter on the caves. Mithila army men also come near and ask why the Ayodhya army men did not participate in the attack. Army commander is not able to give a satisfactory reply. Ram orders the army men to chase the running dacoits and kill them. The army men run after them but they find that the dacoits have entered a cave. Ram asks them to return as there might be more dacoits in the unknown territory. Ram befriends the inmates of Mithila and requests them to join them on their journey towards Mithila. Later in the night during dinner, Vishwamitra informs that the first covered person is Sita and the second person is Nakhuri, her body guard. They travel together to Janakpur.
  Manthara who an agent of Ravana. She is able to change on maid servant in to a look alike to visit ailing Dasratha, kiss him and try of poison him. The look alike returns back to the palace of Queen Kekeyi. Manthara has put Kekeyi to sleep by Mantras.
  Here the Second in command Ayodhya army commander reaches Ayodhya and informs the army commander that he has a message for King Dasratha. The army men informs that according to discipline he must pass the message to the Minister and to the sons of Dasratha. He disagrees. Ultimately, Dasratha meets him alone. The army man turns into Ravana who tries to pin Dasrath to the ground and makes an effort to kill Dasratha. Though ill, Dasrath jumps and hits his head to the gong where by informing the minister and his sons waiting on the gate to break the door and save him.
  Chapter 2- Sumantra, other Ministers, bodyguards and the army men hear the sound and are sure that the King is in danger. They break open the door of the Durbar. They find that the hall is dark and there is no light. They order to bring oil lamps. When the lights arrive they find the seocond army commander is dead, his head was stuck to the gong. King Dasratha is lying on his throne. Dasratha recovers and order that his 2nd in command army commander has informed him that Ravana with a large army will attack the kingdom of his queen Sumitra and Kekeyi in one day. His orders that half his army should move with Bharat and half with Shatrughan to protect these kingdoms and orders them to move out soon. Guru Vashistha comes and orders that he should be left alone with the king. Witih the help of chanting of Mantra, Vashistha makes the demon within King Dasratha to inform what incorrect information has been fed by Ravana to Dasratha. He finds that a small army of Ravana will attack the Kingdom of Sumitra and Kekeyi. The main attack with an army of one crore will take place on Mithila because this kingdom does not maintain an strong army. Vashistha orders that the Kosal army should return back of Ayodhya.
  One maid serving with Manthra is tranced and dresses like Kekeyi , visits the ailiing King Dasratha and lies over him and tries to poison the King through lip kiss. But the poison does not enter the lips of the King instead it spills on the pillow. This is the duty hour of Queen Sumitra. Later it is found that some one has made an effort of regicide. The blame falls squarely on Sumitra and Queen Kaushalya doubts Queen Sumitra. Sumitra plans to uncover the deeds of Manthra so that she could prove that she is not guilty of attempt to regicide. She moves to the quarter of Manthra. Manthra finds her and her maid together and traps them in one room where she has been doing Bali (sacrifice) of brahmin young children to appease Ravana. The maid is drunk. They both plan to excape whenever the door is opened. Sumitra pucks a Trihsool (weapon), smears her face with remains of burnt wood and readies herself and the maid to face Manthra. The moment the door opened, they posed as Goddess in anger with Trishul in hand. Manthra was awe struck. Sumitra struck her with the Trushul and both ran out of her quarters and returned to their part of the palace where she lived. She reported the matter to Queen Kaushalya who called the army chief, the palace guards and her body guards. All went to the quarter of Manthra and started a searh but during the time available Manthara had removed all evidence from the room where she had performed sacrifice of brahmin boys and the quarter was clean. They could not frame Manthara for her misdeeds.
  Here Rishi Vishwamitra informed Ram that they had to move tonight to the place in Mithila where Ahalya was living as a stone in the Ashram of Rishi Gautam who had cursed her after witnessing her seduced by Indra Kind of Devatas and having sex with him. The team was divided in two parts- first, the Brahmins and other Rishis from his Ashramits. On the next day, this team would cross the river and travel by road to Mithila. The second party consisting of Vishwamitra, Ram, Lakshman, Sita, her aide Nakhudi, Ayodhya Army chief and his army would move to Ahilya Ashram. They all moved out and reached the lonely place where Ahalya was living in a Vasuki pond. Ram was disarmed and was asked to dive in the water and God would help him fetch Ahalya while the team would wait at the bank of the Vasuki Talab. Ram dived and found that power of BAl and Atibal helped to stay without feeling need of oxygen. Soon he discovered that the pond opened in an upturned area where oxygen was available he breathed and searched for Ahlaya. While swinning towards a hut, he kicked the mud, and lo the mud from his feet touched a statue which was Ahalya herself. The statue turned into a woman- Ahalya. They came out and Vishwamitra informed Ahalya that they were moving to the new Ashram of Rishi Gautam. Rishi Gautam was also living tranced for many many years. Vishwamitra woke him up with the help of mantras. He woke up and was informed of the story that Ahalya was seduced by Indra. Gautam pardoned his wife and both left for heaven.
  The team continued its journey to Mithila. King Janak was informed about their arrival. They were received and lodged in King's palace. Next day Swayamwar of Sita had been organised. The challenge was that a heavy Bow belonging to Lord Shiva should be lifted, stringed and arrow to pierce the target in the shield. Ravana dressed up as a young aspirant attend the swayamwar. He lifted the bow, stringed it and without aiming to the target shot it towards Vishwamitra. King Janak informed him that shooting an arrow towards the Rishi is disrepectful. Ravana showed disrespect towards Janak caught him by his neck and tried to strangle him. Visihwamitra interfered and inforemd Ravana to leave King Janak and also that he had not hit the target with his arrow according to the challenge. He asked Ram to try the challenge. Ram raised the Bow, stringed it, took out an arrow and hit the target. Thus, he was declared winner and Sita would be his wedded wife. Ravana went away informing that his army of about one crore in number will attack his kingdom by evening. King Janak was awe struck. He called his army men, organised a war committee, called back war veterans, organised bows and arrows at the walls of the boundary of Mitila. He prayed Vishwamitra for help. Ayodhya army men who had come with Ram, decided to take part in the war. Five persons, Vishwamitra, King Janak, Ram, Lakshman, Sita, Nakhuri went to a high tower from where they could watch the Ravana army movements. True by evening Ravana;s army was moving in straight line towards the city of Mithila. Vishwamitra informed that while moving to heaven, Rishi Gautam gave him the celestial weapon named Brahmastra. This weapon could destroy the whole army. Vishwamitra informed Janak that who ever uses the celestial weapon will loose all his Godly power and remain a normal human being. King Janak refused to use the Brahmastra for fear of loosing his tapasya. Ram agreed to use the celestial weapon. Lakshman sprang up and said tbat both brothers will use it, knowing well that the power of Bal and Atibal provided by Vishwamitra will also go away. Both brothers use the Brahmastra. Ravana army and the Ayodhya army fight were immediately killed.
  Modern Indian writing by Amish and Ashok K Banker have stressed that celestial weapons should generally not be used. If in emergency, any celestial weapon is used, the user has to pay a penalty- in this book, it is loos of all power while in Amish's book it is that the user has to live in the forest away from the people for 12 years.
  Such books show new Indian epics in new light and are welcome by the reading community. The publishers are smart. These books bring incidents in speed and keep the reader bound to the script. The script also shows love, war, spirtuality, palaces, Kings, Queens, army, thus making the book attractive for the movie screenplay to be written easily. It is a good read book and a must read for all.
• 
  Ian

  An immense feat of the imagination - makes me wonder how much Tolkien was influenced by these tales (one of the sections of this book is even called The Two Towers). I enjoyed the book and read it quickly. Like all stories of good v evil you know the ending but the journey there is fun and the twists are well-conceived.
  
  But it is dissatisfying in that our heroes are somewhat two - dimensional - beautiful, pure and valorous, whilst the evil ones are hunchbacked and/or ugly. No doubt in the minds of the pure or of the evil. No inner conflict - that would make it more interesting.
  
  So, an entertaining story with ancient roots. I liked it and will carry on reading the series to see where it goes.
• 
  Sharang Limaye

  There is something puerile about Banker's Ramayana. He has taken a very rich source material and thought it fit to play around with the narrative the way a child may come up with bizarre structures made from toy blocks. There's no attempt at modernizing the tale ala Amish Tripathi. On the contrary, Banker goes a step further by introducing hitherto absent elements of magic and sorcery in the epic, making it seem even more of a children's bed-time story. And was there an undercurrent of casteism that I detected throughout this 500-0dd page tome? Very out of step of contemporary social sensitivities, if you ask me.
• 
  Nitin Thapliyal

  I am more mesmerised by the character of Sita in every book which retells Ramayana. To have her portrayed as a fearless warrior than a damsel in distress is always a pleasure to read because I have never ever succumbed to the idea that hers is a lesser important character than Lord Rama. The book is nautch better than the predecessor if I am to review.
• 
  Shilpa

  More of Lord of the Rings in this second of the Ramayana series; this time the oncoming battle bears a strong resemblance to the battle of Helm's Deep!
• 
  Jayakrishna

  Good read
• 
  Somanxo

  Gets better on rereading. Lovely imagination of the events came to be. Ram and Ravana have a minor face off in this setting up the stage for the big conflict
• 
  Aman Kaur

  The pace of book 2 is a little slower, but the details about Sita and Ram are better than any I have come across before.
• 
  Pradeep Mohandas

  Like many people in India, my encounter with Ramayana began with stories of Rama that my grandmother told me as a kid. While I had a rough sketch of the stories and how they went, I did not know the story in full. During my teenage years, I went towards atheism and thus refrained from reading mythology as well. Quite contrary to logical reasoning, it was my engineering education in Mumbai University that made me a theist again. I refrained from rituals, though. Recently, I have found a beauty in these rituals as well. Not to stray from my path, I had known of Ashok Banker and his version of Ramayana since browsing the books in the then newly opened Crossword store close to home. It is only now, close to five years later, that I have found the opportunity to read the epic again.
  
  I finished the first book of the series, the Prince of Ayodhya in three days. I did the same with its sequel, the Siege of Mithila. I had hoped to start writing a book review of all the books I read after I finished the first book, but the deadline slipped by. A busy work week did not help things. Rather than think about and revisit the first book, I thought that I should write my review of the second book onwards.
  
  I like Ashok Banker���s writing style. It is neither simplistic nor straightforward as Rajagopalachari���s version of Ramayana nor very weighty like the several other translations of Ramayana that I have browsed through in the library. I don���t even come close to reading the Sanskrit original and after reading the series in English, I���d love to read a few written in Malayalam. The one word for it would be contemporary. The characters in the book talk like people would talk now-a-days, a nice mixture of English and Hindi. He explains some of the Hindi phraseology but misses many of them. His writing makes Rama and the various characters seem like a contemporary.
  
  I know the storyline trudges along rather slowly. I am at the end of reading two 500 page books and we���ve only reached the swayamvar of Sita and Rama using the brahma-astra to wipe out the Rakshasa hoard outside Mithila. Rather slow progress if you ask me. But, remember, the Ramayana was composed, spoken and later written in an era without Internet and Television. They didn���t even have day jobs to worry about. Only survival. They had a lot of time on their hands without these distractions and long nights without electricity. The dark nights under the twinkling stars would be a great stage to recite the Ramayana and hear it being told by grandmothers of various houses in various hamlets and towns across India.
  
  My only misgiving about the series is that the library that I borrowed the book from does not have the third and the next book in this series. I would not like to skip ahead and am looking forward to procuring and reading the third book in the series at the earliest.
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  Dreaming Though Awake

  Not even ok. Like 0.5 stars. The entire series.
  
  This version of Sita is better than the old version , traditional version but I fear she becomes some voiceless creature after a few books seeing that Ram still abandons her on the last book , even after making her go through a Agnipariksha to test her "purity" or whatever. Geez
  
  And the worldbuilding was..... Not that good.
  Although i loved the libertarian and feminist version of Mithila and the unfazed sexual stories told within.
  There's lots of covert casteism with esp Brahmins and Kshatriyas being given lots of importance.
  
  
  Entertainment wise the biggest problem was Ram , I mean dude seriously have some flaws. Like it gets so boring reading about him being perfect and a gentleman and a great warrior and unselfish.
  
  Would have been better if he had a charecter arc , like if he was offended by Sita's feministic views but slowly realized that she was better cause of it and he would be better if he accepted that and if he had qualms about selfishlessly giving up power
  Don't just have him be born the perfect man.
  
  Have him become the perfect man slowly but surely over the entire series ( instead of him becoming a douchebag who abandoned his wife fearing she may be "impure " , make him the opposite. Make him turn from a misogynist into a good boi ).
  
  Geez , he becomes an asshole in the last book after being super perfect for the rest 7 books.
  So yeah my problem is entirely with Ram. The way he's too perfect in almost every way but still bows to misogyny even when claiming to be not misogynistic. The guy makes her go through an agnipariksha to test her " purity " (Who cares if she had forced or consentual sex with someone other than Ram , women aren't freaking food stuff to become umpire or whatever. If Ram waa perfect and not an asshole and really did love her then he would have never had her go through an agnipariksha , much less abandon her , even though she passed. Like wow )
  
  It's the flaw of the entire book series actually , trying to look feminist , egalitarian and completely cool with sexuality but then at the falling into the misogyny pit.
  
  You might be thinking " dude , that's still books away , why are you spoiling it ".
  1). It's no spoiler. It's something everyone knows about the Ramayana.
  2). It ruins the rest of the feminist interactions across the series knowing it's all ultimately hollow. That Videya, Kosala , etc ultimately are just nations full of misogynistic, casteist idiots and Ram's the biggest most hypocritical, asshole ever.
• 
  Jyoti Babel

  Synopsis:
  
  The bestial demon hordes roar towards Ayodhya having swept all before them. Rama cannot return home to defend his family. He must journey to Mithila—a city lying directly in the path of destruction—to join a small band of heroes planning a valiant stand against the armies of darkness. Can Rama unearth a hidden dev-astra to help in his battle against his nemesis, the demon lord Ravana?
  
  Of course, we all know that Rama will be able to defend the city of Mithila. That is the beauty of Banker’s writing, despite knowing (almost) what happens in Ramayana, the reader’s interest in the story doesn’t waver even for a moment. The author’s has used his own imagination in sketching the characters and in describing the events that place during the course of the novel. The story builds on where it was left in ‘The Prince of Ayodhya’, so if you want to read this book, I would suggest you to read it as per the series.
  
  For me that star character of this book was Sita apart of course, apart from Rama and Lakshmana. She is introduced not as a delicate princess but, as a warrior princess who is well versed in the art of archery and swords play. The demon lord Ravana is depicted as pure devil whose only aim it to conquer Ayodhya. There is Manthara who to please Ravana plots one evil plan after another to poison the sisterly relationship between Queen Kausalya and Queen Sumitra. She even schemes to get rid of Rama. There is also the story of Ahalya and how Rama releases her from the curse of husband’s curse. The story seems to pace slowly as by the end of the novel we only reach till the swayamvar of Sita. But, the novel is filled with numerous sub plots and stories that keep the novel interesting and enlightening. All the sub plots culminate toward the bigger picture and a momentous climax.
  
  Ashok K. Banker takes you on an amazing fascinating journey, from Ayodhya to Mithila. It is an enriching experience. You will feel drawn towards the world of Ramayana as you turn pages of this book, that is the magic of Banker’s writing. I am very looking forward to reading rest of the series.
• 
  Sooraj Subramaniam

  Cons
  - long, dragging passages tangential to the narrative of each chapter. Whole conversations, whole chapters could have been culled without losing effect.
  - cheap, soap-opera tactic of cutting from one cliff-hanger scene to a completely unrelated part of the story. I suppose this keeps you in the grip of wanting to know what happens next, still, you feel cheated into it rather than some honest desire to know because the actual writing is compelling.
  - Japan is Nippon, but Greece is not Hellene, and Egypt is not Kemet is Msr, and Norsemen are the same.
  - characters vacillate between being intense, complex and sheer buffoonery. Humans have various aspects to their characters, but these switches are sudden and seem totally out of character. Lakshmanan is sensitive and layered, then suddenly he’s a jerk, turning into some kind of frat boy. Rama introverted then supercool. Ravana all powerful and composed in a courtly kind of way, then a raging melodramatic lunatic who’s unhinged.
  - I have no problems with Ravana attending the swayamvara; but the whole scene falls apart in lunacy. Everyone but feeble Janaka seems to simply forget dharma. Ravana could've easily kidnapped Sita through sorcery, but he stands there debating.
  - Ravana knows of his previous birth and still behaves so atrociously
  - Vishwamitra, who knew of the impending attack of Mithila by the Asuras, allowed stupid Janaks to prattle on about the swayamvara, rather than alerting him and making war preparations. Then after allowing everyone to rant and rave and exhaust their emotional banks, he says they can use the Brahmastra.
  
  Basically, too much implausibility for the story-telling to be convincing.
  
  Pros
  because it’s the Ramayana I want to keep reading
• 
  Soumya

  Still mesmerized by Banker's magic. Beside his ability to infuse new life in an epic through his ability to create a 3-D environment and bringing to the fore the characters' emotions, he brings up new sides of the old story and recreates superbly the parts of the epic which we might not have read as children. For instance I can point out his description of events at Ayodhya when Ram and Lakshman were away with sage Vishwamitra as well as that of the battle with Ravan's army before Mithila. It is like hearing a medieval European tale from a renaissance point of view. However perhaps the retelling is so beautiful, the few lapses are so glaring. Aryabhatta was a Gupta age mathematician, not a Vedic age scholar. Was such a overt mistake necessary? Moreover what is this 'Banglar' stupidity? Bengal have been called 'Banga' from ancient times. If you can use ancient names like 'Ayodhya', 'Mithila', 'Kaikeya' without changing them, why not use the ancient name for Bengal? And for God's sake, 'Sengupta' is a Bengali title, not a young girl's name!
• 
  Gomati

  interesting...looked at the whole sita swayambar in a totally different perspective...made me think twice about blindly accepting the stories told to us..a must read if you want to think beyond the usual..was absolutely impressed with the way ravana has been portrayed..each character has been developed keeping in mind their actual role yet has been shown in an totally new form, with more human-like qualities...yes but the narrative is darker than expected and a little hard to accept..but on the whole - awesome!
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  Apurva Chaudhari

  Ashok K. Banker takes you on an amazing fascinating journey, from Ayodhya to Mithila. It is an enriching experience. You will feel drawn towards the world of Ramayana as you turn pages of this book, that is the magic of Banker’s writing. I am very looking forward to reading rest of the series.
  
  Highly recommended.
• 
  Abhinav Shrivastava

  Second Milestone in the Ramayana Series from Ashok Banker.
  The description of each character is so vivid and lucid.
  By the end of the book you do feel resemblance of your life in the life of characters.
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  Akshay Narayanan

  Did not enjoy the book too much. The style of narration is moderately good. The characters of the protagonists have been well developed, but the associated characters and the antagonists are lacking. Also the story is missing that spark which is usually there in the mythology.
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  Candace

  Still loving the overall story, but pushing one of the side stories offstage kind of hurt. I immediately reached for book three upon finishing, so something must be working here.
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  Ivelina Stoyanova

  beyond compare!...
• 
  Ashok

  Another brilliant effort!
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  Malathi

  loved it ! :)