Sharath Komarraju

I didn't know much about the Mahabharata before I picked up these books. Now I feel like an expert. Definitely going to recommend these to one and all. In our current modern life, I feel it is important to get in touch with your roots.

I've always liked myth retellings like Amish Tripathi's books, so I am probably biased. I enjoyed the new and fresh take on the Mahabharata that these books provide. I feel that the author has enough talent in him to create something new and original, and not just work in the Mahabharata universe. Well done!

I'm not usually a fan of myth retellings - I think if you want to read about our myths, why not read the originals instead of fanfiction? But with these books, I see that there is a legitimate place for myth retellings. Sharath Komarraju's approach is to write stories into the silences of the Mahabharata. The main narrative is left untouched, but he writes about what Vyasa has missed: the childhood of Bhishma, the early years of Kunti and Gandhari, the trials of Amba in the forest etc. I found that these add to the epic rather than retell it or change it. Very refreshing.

My favourite among the three books is the second - Rise of Hastinapur. It seems it's the longest of three as well, so the author takes enough time to develop each of the three characters. Each story is different to the others in tone and style, and in atmosphere. It almost felt like I got three novels for the price of one within that one book. I especially enjoyed the final Epilogue that brings the three strands of story together. Ganga is awesome!

If you're a fan of the Mahabharata, this is a no-brainer. If you don't like them, you always have the 30 Day Money Back Guarantee. As far as I know, no other writer is offering a money back guarantee on any of his books, so that alone makes this worth trying. Go for it!

Been wanting to read these for a long time, but they're not available anywhere else it looks like. Glad to have finally gotten my hands on them. I appreciated the app compatibility and the printable option.

Murder in Amaravati was the only one of Sharath Komarraju's books I'd read before I picked up this one. I can see that his fiction writing skills help him in writing nonfiction too. He brings a fiction writer's curiosity and imagination to this set. The feeling is infectious!

Not award-winning novels by any means, but they do a good enough job entertaining you. If you're a Mahabharata / mythology nut (like me), you will enjoy them even more.

I generally look for tight plotting in my stories, so I picked up Sharath's Birbal Mysteries first. These seemed like esoteric character studies. But when I read Winds of Hastinapur, I realized how wrong I was. There is tight plotting here too, albeit not surrounding a murder. The language is lovely, so that's always a treat.

Good

Of all the characters in the omnibus, I like the care and empathy that Sharath lends to the Bhishma and Drona characters. These are usually on the fringes, and very rarely do you see their characters and motivations explored. The leaps of logic that Sharath makes are always well thought out. The hypotheticals and thought experiments are lovely. Can see myself getting lost in these.

Great value for money. 58 proper-sized books at this price is a steal. Add to it that you have so much flexibility: you can read on any app or any device you want, and you can even convert these files into different file formats. You can even print out the pages / books you want. All of this of course would be of no use if the books themselves are no good. But the content itself is first-rate. I can see that it will take me a full year to get through them all. Even the bonuses are so well put together. I'd not heard of Sharath Komarraju before, so I was hesitant about placing this order, but I am glad I did. You will be too!

Good

Excellent reads! I'm a long-time crime fiction reader, and I am impressed by the variety on offer in these four books. Even the two Birbal books are dissimilar enough from each other to keep the reader's interest. One of the big challenges of writing in the crime fiction genre is that after a while, your stories begin to sound like one another. Sharath Komarraju avoids that pitfall here. Murder in Amaravati is a slow-burn, Banquet on the Dead is urban and fast-paced, Crows of Agra is a historical, and Tree Bears Witness is an impossible murder. Something for everyone.

Yudhishthir's character guide was great. Many other writers show him as a weak person but the author has a soft spot for him it looks like. Sympathetic portrayal of Yudhishthir. Interesting.