Title : Embers of Light and The Sacred Secret
Author : Abhi
Publisher : Konark Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
ISBN : 978-93-220-0837-6
Blurb:
They could have heaven but they did not take it.
The demons were against them and so were angels but that did not scare them.
Destiny had already ruled against them but they chose to rebel.
It is the story of five ordinary humans who chose the path of light over and above everything else… even God
A strange Y shaped symbol in the sky, terrified a mysterious alien race living secretly on this planet for centuries, and changed forever the fate of five humans; a Brazilian street fighter, an American cop, a Chinese karate instructor, a Russian environmentalist, and an Indian ad maker. Meanwhile a geek in NYC is amazed to see his dreams growing more and more bizarre each day and met an angel who isn’t conventional in any way. It is best when some secrets remain hidden and some stories remain untold. But is destiny too kind to respect this fact?
Review:
This book grabbed my attention from the very first chapters as five people from all over the world are given an invitation to be in New Delhi at the same day, time and place. My mind started asking questions right after that and didn’t stop throughout the book. Embers of Light and The Sacred Secret is a captivating read to say the least, blending fantasy seamlessly with reality.
The plot of the book is wildly imaginative and even though there is a main plot that will bind all the three books of the trilogy together, there are sub-plots in this book that captured my interest and kept springing surprises at me from every nook and cranny. There are so many twists and turns that even while writing this review I am careful of not giving away any information that might count as a spoiler. Kudos to the author for meticulous plotting!
The story has many characters and the credit goes to the author for sketching them out in detail and giving all of them an important role to play. The five main characters of the story have all been dealt with love, not just the main protagonist. Here, however, the author has faltered a little bit. All the characters are from different parts of the world and they have been given different characteristics and mannerisms however they all speak the same kind of English! I would expect a Brazilian street-fighter to speak little differently than an American cop or a Chinese Karate Instructor and so on but it doesn’t happen. In fact, language is the part where this novel doesn’t meet my expectations as a reader. I would say that poor editing is at fault here. Sometimes the novel tends to be a bit wordy and we see MTI throughout the book. Also, I wish the cover of the book had been bit more classy. It certainly doesn’t do justice to the brilliance of this book! But maybe these ‘not so good’ things can be taken care of in upcoming editions.
The sacred secret is a brilliant read and I’m looking forward to the other two books. I highly recommend this book to fantasy lovers throughout the world and especially to Indian readers who are overwhelmed by all the mythological fiction shoved down their throats! The Sacred Secret is a wonderful respite! I would rate it 4 stars!