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 really liked the straight-forward, conversational writing style. It is devoid of all religious propaganda; Sharath treats the Mahabharata and its characters as literary treasures. The respect he has for the epic and its people is evident in his writing. I'd heard of Sharath before with his Murder in Amaravati, but this was the first time I took a chance on his work. Initially I was skeptical about the eBooks because I am a print-book reader, the books are compatible with just about any app that opens any document. What's more, you can also print out the PDF if you want. I appreciated that flexibility. Get it without any hesitation!
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.
As you can see from my attachments below. I have paid for the books on ladies of Mahabharata. However when I tried to download the website it shutdown.
Pls help me get my books.
Hi Ratnamala! I've just sent you the download links on the email you used to place the order. Sometimes, when the strength of the internet connection is not great (and with 'yahoo' email addresses especially), we're noticing that we're getting these technical issues. Sorry about that.
No question of you losing your money - we also have a watertight 30 Day Money Back Guarantee. So there is no question of me keeping any reader's money unless he / she is completely satisfied with their purchase.
Thank you for giving my work a chance. I hope you enjoy the books :-)
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!
I'd heard of Sharath before but had never read his work. His earlier books were quite popular I guess. I vaguely remember seeing his books in bookstores in the past. Anyway, I am not a nonfiction reader generally, but thought of giving this a go because I like the subject matter. Not disappointed! Once in a while the writer goes into analysis mode and dwells on a single point at great length... but overall, you come away with plenty of knowledge that you didn't have. I certainly did!
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 books! If you're interested in the Mahabharata, go for it. If you're not, you can skip. Author goes into a lot of detail that a casual reader might find boring. I gave it to a friend and she gave it right back!
Definitely worth your time! It is a travesty that authors like these don't get much recognition while other writers who cannot string a sentence together become celebrities. I'd read some of Sharath Komarraju's earlier work, but mostly his mysteries. I hadn't tried his Hastinapur books until now. My favourite of the three is the second section of Winds of Hastinapur. Satyavati's story. So well written!
The four main characters are sketched out very thoroughly - Krishna, Draupadi, Arjuna and Karna. Among the others, Bhishma and Drona are okay. Kurukshetra is good too. Among the others, some of the guides are slim volumes. Still, definitely worth the price.
Having never heard of Sharath Komarraju before, I thought a couple of times about trying out this bundle. But the 30 Day Money Back Guarantee convinced me. I am glad I did! I found these books better written and deeper than much of the dreck out there. This author shows how mythological fantasy could be handled - instead of the same old point of view retellings that come out these days. Try it!
I was initially skeptical about the whole printable PDF thing, but I am surprised how readable and well-formatted it is. It of course is not formatted like a real book, but it's ready to print without any change of settings etc. I've just been printing out a few pages at a time on my home printer for some bedtime reading. The font, design etc is more readable than many 'actua' books!
Most of all I enjoyed Queens of Hastinapur. Was interesting to see the dynamics between Kunti and Gandhari, and how they navigate the perils of palace life. Action is a little slow in this third book - especially compared to the second book - but I found the character study fascinating.
Hadn't heard of Sharath Komarraju before, but saw an ad for this set, and I had been going through a reading lull. So I thought why not! I did not enjoy these as much as some of the others, but they were not bad either. Definitely more interesting than some of the more dense / academic books out there. This author knows how to make his stuff readable. Worth a try.
Loved the character guides omnibus! I am not usually for analysis of this kind but the way Sharath Komarraju does it without prejudice or judgement is a revelation. You follow multiple trains of thought and build hypothetical scenarios for each character. Thought-provoking!
I came to the Hastinapur series after reading some of Sharath Komarraju's Mahabharata nonfiction. After reading the logical, analytical discussions, it was a treat to sit back and be swept away into a land of imagination. The Mahabharata gets a high fantasy treatment here, with the first part of Winds of Hastinapur being particularly evocative. Subsequent stories bring the action back to ground a little bit, but you can see the author is having fun with the material. Four stars.
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!
Four murder mysteries in a bundle is a wonderful gift for someone like me, who is an avid crime fiction reader. I liked three of these puzzles more than the fourth. Banquet on the Dead did not appeal to me... I could guess the solution from a few pages away, and once that happened, I could spot all the red herrings too. Your mileage may vary. The other three books are great. Especially Tree Bears Witness - ingenious plotting!