Sharath Komarraju

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.

I enjoyed all four of these books to varying degrees. I liked the old-world sentimentality of Murder in Amaravati. Banquet on the Dead is a straight-up mystery set in contemporary India. Probably the weakest of the lot, but still very good. Crows of Agra had more atmosphere and immersion than I expected: it read like a work of historical fiction, despite the author's insistence that it is not. The Tree Bears Witness is easily the most tightly plotted, well-executed novel of the four. I'm an avid reader of crime fiction, so I'm not easily impressed. But these proved to be far better than I expected. Why is this author not famous?

Great value for money! I mean, think about it. You get 50+ books (I am guessing it is 58 I haven't really counted!) for this price - and there is a least 200 hours of reading material in here. Good reading material. Material you won't forget a week later. These stories and characters will stay with you. They will hopefully get you wanting to read more deeply into myth and history. But even if it doesn't, where else will you get 50+ books at this price? I will be honest, I'm one of Sharath Komarraju's older readers (discovered him way back with Banquet on the Dead), but even if you aren't, what have you got to lose? Go for it without a second thought.

Great puzzles! Reminded me of my childhood reading Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie books. Only here it's Krishna Shastri and Birbal…

Why didn't anyone think of making Birbal a Mughal-era detective before?! I mean, I did not think of it either until I saw these books, and now it seems such an obvious idea! For my part, I liked the standalone books more. IMO Sharath should write more standalone books; his voice seems more creative and fun in those. Especially enjoyed the very 'Agatha Christie' like setting of Banquet on the Dead. I hope there are more mysteries like that to come.

Retelling of the Mahabharata? Not quite. These are actually original stories that are not part of the canon. I found the approach fascinating - look into the silences of the Mahabharata and tell a story set in the silence. You have full creative freedom as a writer, and you get to tie it back to the original however you want. I am picking up the second volume as soon as I finish this one. Lovely, immersive reads.

I'd been reading Sharath Komarraju's books for a decade now - not all of his books obviously but a few here and there. Really enjoyed the Birbal books. I did not have high expectations going into this: many fiction writers foray into nonfiction and the result is a disaster. But in this case the topic is of interest to me, so I thought of giving it a go. I must say it surpassed all my expectations. I really enjoyed the second volume of the Reader Bundle, which covers the entire Kurukshetra war. Just the amount of detail that has gone into this is astounding. I thought I was fairly well-versed in the Mahabharata, but there was so much I didn't know. And many connections clicked into place that didn't make sense before. Very interesting! I was initially skeptical about the digital version, but given the length of this work, it makes sense. I don't want to be lugging around 5 kg books if I can help it.

Four good mysteries. Fans of Agatha Christie will immediately see the inspiration. Like another reviewer said, 'Tree Bears Witness' seems like a story taken out of its time and place. But otherwise good reads with the occasional poetic turn of phrase.

The relationship between Gandhari and Shakuni in Rise of Hastinapur was well done! Reminded me of me and my brother :)

I really liked the progression between the Essentials, the Character Guides and the Reader Bundle. It actually feels like a course in the Mahabharata. The Essentials give you basic knowledge. The character guides take you a bit deeper. The Reader Bundle has everything in it. Of course, you can pick and choose which you want to read but if you want full value, do it in order. Bonuses can be read at any time of course. I am yet to read the bonuses.

I've always been interested in the Mahabharata, but I've only read Amar Chitra Katha so far. I like the 'Bhishma' and 'Drona' books in ACK. I picked up this bundle because it felt like a deeper dive into the story characters. I found that it's much more than that. Sharath Komarraju explores different facets to each character, their situations, and the context in which their decisions were made. Gave me fresh insights to people I thought I knew well enough. Lot to ponder over and lot to digest! Definitely recommend.