King of Ayodhya (Ramayana #6) by Ashok K. Banker

King of Ayodhya (Ramayana #6) Reviews

• 
  Arka

  Disappointing.
  
  Leaving a lot of questions unanswered, loopholes unplugged and mighty characters looking dumb, this is not the ending the series deserved. Banker left most of his promises unfulfilled. Hinting at a mind-numbing finale and hidden undercurrent of epic causality throughout all the parts of the series, the reader should (and does) expect a fitting denouement waiting in warm welcome at the end. Instead, he is greeted by an inconclusive, forced storyline, stale and repetitive action sequences, endless pages of descriptions to fatten the volume and an absolute disregard of the author for the sentiments and expectations of the reader.
  
  Banker has embarked on a mighty battle of epic proportions few have the guts to imagine - that of retelling ALL the major epics. Admirable. His pen churns out novels and epic series at a rate rivalling Lord Ganesha's legendary quill. Hats-off. He provides page after page of disclaimer highlighting the simple, long-forgotten fact that Banker is not Valmiki, Ganesha or anyone similar. Accepted.
  
  And then, the reader sits around blinking in confusion after having finished reading, comes out of his stupor, goes back and tries to find what MAJOR links he missed, which sections he needs to mug up to retain the sense of fulfilment and satisfaction he was expecting. And the single lucid line of causality that binds all the characters together in one coherent flow of events, no matter how complex. Why does the reader need to ponder whether the publisher missed some vital sections while taking the proof-copy to print?
  
  As Banker explains to us repeatedly, he is out to retell ALL epics. An awe-inspiring undertaking. It requires time. We'll wait. And that the author wishes to weave ALL into a single string of an alternate history of India. Impressive.
  
  Now, that makes the author GOD. The reader has no idea what is going on at the end of the series. Only the author does, since he wishes to keep a few strings loose to bind the future storylines, and also to build the foundations of the next edifice. That foundation has to merge into the flow of the present plot. Which, however, does not mean that the present storyline becomes obsolete and no more interesting for the author. The 7th part of the series, the part which was never meant to be, is an indication of Banker having second thoughts and slowly losing control over his epic journey.
  
  I have a question. If a plot as simple as the Ramayana meets such a fate at the hands of our now highly venerated author, what triumph/mishap awaits the Mahabharata, an immensely complex eventflow?
  
  As we've promised the author, we'll wait for him to get his bearings. Please don't hurry, Sir.
  
  Yet, Banker's efforts are laudable, his undertaking remarkable. Still a fan. (With the hope that he'll deliver.)
• 
  Soumya

  The sixth book of the series follows the climactic battle and is a huge journey full of fantastic action and astounding battle scenes. Banker's great 3D effect is again in play. Every sorcerous spell, every battle maneuver and every gory individual fight is intricately depicted for the reader to marvel at. Moreover every character at the heat of the battle is brought into focus. Banker refuses to get bound by only the protagonist or the antagonist and depicts the thoughts and emotions of multiple warriors on both sides for the reader. The admirably enigmatic Jambavan and the intensely loyal Hanuman are also here to entertain us. However where Banker really goes deep is in the depiction of the antagonist. It is thoroughly intriguing. Ravana's unusual behaviour towards Sita, his provocation of Rama to unleash his full power and in the end his mysterious death at the hands of Rama with cryptic words in his mouth speak of a greater design beyond the war, yet to be revealed. Banker was being dishonest when at the end of this book he expressed his desire of not extending the story beyond this book. Writers don't build up a mystery when they have no intention of solving it before the eyes of the readers(and Banker did solve it, as he wrote two more books for this series).
  However I gave this book two stars for a reason. A single unnecessary chapter has been added to this book which belies its claim to be a Ramayana for the modern readers. Banker claimed his work was based on many other older versions of the Ramayana and this was, as I have already said, for modern readers. But Banker moves away from the modern ideals by including the misogynistic Agni Pariksha episode, which is not included in many versions of the Ramayana. His otherwise strong and honourable protagonist Rama can only issue feeble protests during this episode and what is worse is that Sita herself declares that she will take the test. It is like writer and hero are both hiding, saying "It was her decision !" Banker also puts twisted arguments in favour of this test within the story.
  As a whole this book bears both signs of an excellent author as well as an artist surrendering to his ingrained prejudice, which is a real shame, because otherwise this is a masterpiece of the fantasy genre. At least in this case the first law of story-telling propounded by Mrs. Ward has been violated !
• 
  Pradeep Mohandas

  In the Afterword, Ashok Banker tells us that he wished to end the Ramayana series here since he could not stand to separate Rama and Sita as is shown in some versions of the Ramayana. I wish he had stopped here too. Reading now, rather than in 2006, when this book was written I know that he would write two more books - the Vengeance of Ravana and the Sons of Sita. Reading these 6 books in the series was a lot of effort and loads of fun.
  
  I am not sure I will read Books 7 and 8 immediately now, but probably will.
  
  While Mr. Banker maintains the narrative at a steady pace, I think he dwelt a bit too long on the battle scenes. I do not think Ramayana is really remembered for its battles other than the few brief ones between the yodhas. It is remembered more for the dilemma that Rama is constantly in and how he uses the principle of dharma to work his way out of these dilemmas. Mr. Banker's concentration of the battlefield made it more like the Mahabharata, which I associate more with the battlefield.
  
  The descriptive battle scenes meant that the ending seemed too abrupt. The open question left in the end about the need for the battle in Lanka could have been more elaborated upon. The open endednss, however, does give much more creative freedom to a reader's imagination. On balance, I would prefer to know Mr. Banker's interpretation of the battle than be happy that he has given room for my creative imagination to take flight.
  
  I have heard most of the versions of Ramayana from my grandmother like several other kids in India. I've not had the opportunity to read any other version of The Ramayana except one by Rajagopalachari and another abridged one by R K Narayan. This is certainly the longest time I dallied with the Ramayana and am happy to finish the book around the time the festival of Diwali ended in India.
• 
  Abhinav Shrivastava

  This brings to an end the saga.
  A perfect end to the entire series, though Mr. Banker has released VoR and SoS also nevertheless it appears to be a perfect end to the series.
  The best thing about the book has been, it has been not overly dramatized and he has not tried to give it a filmy ending with Ravana and Rama fighting for days and with many arsenals.
  The characters in the war are defined so vividly that it gives u a feel of the true war and how and why people fight and die for a cause which doesn't affect them directly.
  Although the end in Rama reaching Ayodhya and being crowned as king did appeared a but hurried and could have been more descriptive as per Mr. banker's standards.
  Nevertheless I am very much satisfied with the entire series.
  It is a true Masterpiece, the best in the world so far in my view.
  
  Jai SiyaRam!
• 
  Sangita

  Finally, the journey ends flawlessly.
  
  One has to read the books to experience the feeling of oneness with the characters - feel them and empathise with them, with what each one chooses to do.
  
  The story is interspersed with the stories and doings of valiant creatures and characters.
  
  The final battle between Ram and Ravana has not been over glamourised - though I did miss on Indrajeet's involvement to certain extent.
  
  Must read for all who loves the mythology - the epic, that transcends our lives.
  
• 
  Vishal Shah

  Reading this edition took the longest to complete as compared to the previous ones. It dwells way too much on the descriptive battle scenes of Lanka. This leaves with a feeling that the end of Ravana & crowning in Ayodhya is rushed like a bullet and one feels kind of disappointed.
  
  The ending of Ravana is not in lines with the common belief.
  
  Overall, happy that the series is over but was put down by the last book.
• 
  Jodi Gernon

  This is the last in a series of books that could be described as the Lord of the Rings for India. From the first book in the series, I was hooked on the stories ingrained in ancient Hindu traditions and was exposed to an a,axing new history of storytelling. If you like fantasy books or even if you don't, you will be enthralled with the tales of Rama. Buy all six in the set as you can't wait for the next when you finish the other.
• 
  Surya

  I love Ramayana. My problem is that I have grown up with it. This series has been written ( my take) with the Western Anime/ Manga influenced audience. Which explains the imagery a bit.
  Overall a very fresh take and complete worthy of reading and re-reading.
  
• 
  Ashok

  It is truly hard for me to review a book that has such a sweep, and is really the first full Ramayana that I have read. All I would say is that if you have an interest in this epic, read this version.
• 
  Devi

  This my favorite of all Ramayana-series! Maybe that is because Ravana is my favorite character from Indian Mythology.
• 
  Monika

  And with this comes to end the greatest ever series... loved it... This is one bool/series I am sure I will go back to often
• 
  Xavier

  Rama becomes the first and only 'Indian' to invade another country, Lanka. After several encounters, Ravana is finally defeated.
• 
  Srinijaa Appalaraju

  A very good read. Ramayana for the modern gen, the lovers of books like Harry Potter, this books fits that genre...
• 
  Anirudh Iyer

  Strange book. After all that hullabaloo, Ravana gifts Rama "twins" and dies? It seems like VoR will fill the gaps but I'm a little skeptical. Read too many books that end badly.
• 
  Yuvaraj

  Nice End!
• 
  Prami{reader and dreamer}

  3 stars
• 
  Anukriti Gulati

  Fell in love with Raavan!
• 
  Elancharan Gunasekaran

  Clearly a fresh form of the classic...
• 
  Aarti

  True