Prince of Ayodhya

Rating:
Summary: One of the BEST epic fantasies ever!!!
Review: This is surely one of the best epic fantasies I have ever read.I have read many of them but none came close to the masterpiece Lord of the Rings. But finally I can say that I have found the book which stands up to the LOTR. This book starts out slowly , drawing you into its meticulously detailed world of Ayodhya and then when the action and magic begins its really hard to put down. The pace is rocketfast. You hardly get time to breathe as the talented Ashok Banker takes you through the pages in a whirl of magic and colour laced with dramatic confrontations and loads of cool magic and also scenes of lush and epic beauty and grandeur much in the tradition of Tolkien.This is surely my favourite book and I am hoping to devour the rest of the volumes.

Rating:
Summary: An Instant Classic
Review: "In a masterwork as imaginative as the greatest creations of J. R. R. Tolkien..." Oh, how many times have we heard that one before? Our bookstore shelves are clogged with would-be epics churned out by talentless hacks who can barely assemble a sentence, much less a novel. Given this profusion of overhyped, underwhelming crap, it's understandable that many readers might be skeptical of a newcomer fantasy author touted as a grandmaster. This time, however, there's no need. The claims are true, the talent is real, the result is stunning.

"Prince of Ayodhya" is, of course, an epic fantasy set in ancient India. It follows Maharaja Dasaratha, ruler of the mighty Kingdom of Ayodhya, and his three wives and four sons as they receive disturbing news from the seer Vishwamitra: the Demon Lord Ravana has been gathering an army of hellish beings in preparation for an assault on the mortal plain. The cast here is huge, but Ashok Banker juggles his characters well. Virtually all of them take on the larger-than-life personalities of epic heroes and villains, leaving an unforgettable stamp on the story rather than just going through the motions. One reviewer complained that the characters were too simplistic. It may seem that way at the start, but new layers of complexity unfold as the story progresses.

The best way to describe this book is to say that Banker gives his tale the scope of an epic. This is a story not just about big characters, but about big cities, big journeys, big armies, big battles, and a promise of even bigger events to come. Here we actually see not just a few people, but instead an entire nation being drawn into an expanding battle. This author has also mastered the little details of writing. His ability to evoke setting and mood through little details of sight, sound, and smell matches the best in the genre. His handling of pacing matches his talent at writing. There's never a slow moment in this book, and character development scenes are woven into the narrative so well that they fit perfectly.

Is this book perfect? No. Banker does have a few problems, such as an obsession with putting somewhat cheesy cliffhangers at the end of every single chapter and some chapters that are too short and choppy. But these are minor mistakes that barely put a dent in such a tremendous accomplishment. Overall, I give "Prince of Ayodhya" a hearty recommendation, and I can't wait for "Siege of Mithila".

Rating:
Summary: A re-telling of one of the oldest stories
Review: "In a masterwork as imaginative as the greatest creations of J. R. R. Tolkien..." Oh, how many times have we heard that one before? Our bookstore shelves are clogged with would-be epics churned out by talentless hacks who can barely assemble a sentence, much less a novel. Given this profusion of overhyped, underwhelming crap, it's understandable that many readers might be skeptical of a newcomer fantasy author touted as a grandmaster. This time, however, there's no need. The claims are true, the talent is real, the result is stunning.

"Prince of Ayodhya" is, of course, an epic fantasy set in ancient India. It follows Maharaja Dasaratha, ruler of the mighty Kingdom of Ayodhya, and his three wives and four sons as they receive disturbing news from the seer Vishwamitra: the Demon Lord Ravana has been gathering an army of hellish beings in preparation for an assault on the mortal plain. The cast here is huge, but Ashok Banker juggles his characters well. Virtually all of them take on the larger-than-life personalities of epic heroes and villains, leaving an unforgettable stamp on the story rather than just going through the motions. One reviewer complained that the characters were too simplistic. It may seem that way at the start, but new layers of complexity unfold as the story progresses.

The best way to describe this book is to say that Banker gives his tale the scope of an epic. This is a story not just about big characters, but about big cities, big journeys, big armies, big battles, and a promise of even bigger events to come. Here we actually see not just a few people, but instead an entire nation being drawn into an expanding battle. This author has also mastered the little details of writing. His ability to evoke setting and mood through little details of sight, sound, and smell matches the best in the genre. His handling of pacing matches his talent at writing. There's never a slow moment in this book, and character development scenes are woven into the narrative so well that they fit perfectly.

Is this book perfect? No. Banker does have a few problems, such as an obsession with putting somewhat cheesy cliffhangers at the end of every single chapter and some chapters that are too short and choppy. But these are minor mistakes that barely put a dent in such a tremendous accomplishment. Overall, I give "Prince of Ayodhya" a hearty recommendation, and I can't wait for "Siege of Mithila".

Rating:
Summary: An Instant Classic
Review: "In a masterwork as imaginative as the greatest creations of J. R. R. Tolkien..." Oh, how many times have we heard that one before? Our bookstore shelves are clogged with would-be epics churned out by talentless hacks who can barely assemble a sentence, much less a novel. Given this profusion of overhyped, underwhelming crap, it's understandable that many readers might be skeptical of a newcomer fantasy author touted as a grandmaster. This time, however, there's no need. The claims are true, the talent is real, the result is stunning.

"Prince of Ayodhya" is, of course, an epic fantasy set in ancient India. It follows Maharaja Dasaratha, ruler of the mighty Kingdom of Ayodhya, and his three wives and four sons as they receive disturbing news from the seer Vishwamitra: the Demon Lord Ravana has been gathering an army of hellish beings in preparation for an assault on the mortal plain. The cast here is huge, but Ashok Banker juggles his characters well. Virtually all of them take on the larger-than-life personalities of epic heroes and villains, leaving an unforgettable stamp on the story rather than just going through the motions. One reviewer complained that the characters were too simplistic. It may seem that way at the start, but new layers of complexity unfold as the story progresses.

The best way to describe this book is to say that Banker gives his tale the scope of an epic. This is a story not just about big characters, but about big cities, big journeys, big armies, big battles, and a promise of even bigger events to come. Here we actually see not just a few people, but instead an entire nation being drawn into an expanding battle. This author has also mastered the little details of writing. His ability to evoke setting and mood through little details of sight, sound, and smell matches the best in the genre. His handling of pacing matches his talent at writing. There's never a slow moment in this book, and character development scenes are woven into the narrative so well that they fit perfectly.

Is this book perfect? No. Banker does have a few problems, such as an obsession with putting somewhat cheesy cliffhangers at the end of every single chapter and some chapters that are too short and choppy. But these are minor mistakes that barely put a dent in such a tremendous accomplishment. Overall, I give "Prince of Ayodhya" a hearty recommendation, and I can't wait for "Siege of Mithila".

Rating:
Summary: Engaging and well written but a few obscure words....
Review: A great and simple adaptation of a volumeous text, this book is the first part of a multi-volume project. It's a very well written story that takes place at the end of a war between the humans and the demons. The only problem I had with this book was that there were perhaps too many obscure Indian words which tended to slow down the reading. All in all, a definite must for lovers of short stories and myths. Now, if you're looking for a few other amazing titles, look no further than these, Buckland's Hot List: most creative, The Butterfly: A Fable (Singh); most engaging, The Alchemist (Coelho); most interesting, Life of Pi (Martel); most enlightening, 9-11 (Chomsky); most thrilling, The Lovely Bones: A Novel (Sebold); and finally, the most creative, engaging, interesting, enlightening and thrilling book of all, The Little Prince (Saint-Exupery). These are the books I'd recommend to my family, friends, students, and wife. There are many more, trust me, but these are the first that come to mind (for having left an impact slight or proud as it may be). If you have any questions, queries, or comments, or maybe even a title you think I should add to my list, please feel free to e-mail me. I'm always open to a good recommendation. Thanks for reading my brief but hopefully helpful review. Happy reading. Donald S. Buckland.

Rating:
Summary: Indian writers take epics global
Review: Adam and Ulysses are people that many of us grew up with as are the fairies and elves from British folklore thanks to Western writers and film-makers dabbling in Greek and Roman mythology, Biblical stories and myths and folklore to capture the imagination of modern readers and audiences. And in India, too, vernacular writers have turned to our very own epics, history and mythology to recreate them as popular writing. Now, it's the turn of Indian writers writing in English, who have already made their presence felt in world literature, to take our epics global to readers of fiction.

Ashok K Banker's Prince of Ayodhya, Book One of the Ramayana, which was recently released in India by Penguin is a journey in that direction. "The original Ramayana was written three thousand years ago by a reformed thief-turned-sage named Valmiki. Now, with breathtaking imagination and brilliant storytelling, Banker has recreated this epic tale for modern readers everywhere," says the book's cover. And the author himself is upbeat about this mammoth exercise that he has embarked on. "After I finish the seven books of the Ramayana, I intend to write the Mahabharata, the Book of Krishna and finally the book of Kalki and Ganesha, which in a sense will be coming back to the beginning of creation,'' he says. In fact, he has fin-ished writing the first four books of the Ramayana over the last four years and has sold the rights for all the seven books to Orbit publishers in UK.

Banker, however, stresses that it was not really a motivation to create popular fiction and take Indian epics global that has driven him. "For me there was no external motivation of money, social context or political circumstances. I was writing from personal obsession and a childhood love of epic story-telling. I wanted to take all the great leg-ends of Indian history and retell them. In the West history and my-thology has been told and retold millions of times. Even today popular fiction and films and even science fiction, TV are recreating them,'' he says.

Efforts to recreate history and mythology are obviously well re-ceived by historians and teachers of history in India. Feels Dr Samita Sen, Reader, Department of History, Calcutta University, a recipient of the prize fellowship at Trinity College (Cambridge University) in 1990-94: "Both mythology and history are cultural resources available to us for creative re-engagement. It is not only possible but even desirable that we draw on these resources and involve ourselves in a 'modern' engagement. The absence of such engagements have resulted in a near-monopoly of obscurantist and crassly commercial approaches. There is, of course, a long tradition of literary engagements with my-thology, rather more than history. Expectedly, however, these have been more in regional languages than in English. It is to be remem-bered that 'Indian writing in English' may have a long history but it is only very recently that it has leapt to prominence. This means that there is now a market and a relevance for such enterprises.''

But apart from the urge to retell the stories, it has also been a personal journey of discovery for Banker and a search for his roots. "My parents came from different religious backgrounds and split up when I was very young. My search for an identity has been very intense and I have often wondered whether I was really Scots, Goan, Gujarati, Dutch or Sri Lankan,'' he says.

And again from a historian's point of view, such a journey though personal, is viewed as a step in the right direction. "The issue here is not about knowing more mythology/epics as much as establishing an emotional relationship with our cultural past/present. In the latter sense, fictionalized accounts of myths/epics are a step in the right di-rection,'' says Dr Sen. And while Banker has borrowed heavily from all the available ver-sions of the Ramayana including Valmiki and Kamban to retell the story in today's idiom, he has also tried to explore more intensely and thoroughly than ever before the nuances of character.

Though the story so far has action as a central theme the author is not really looking at selling rights for a film script. "There's a story at the heart of it all. I'm not interested in film rights at all. And neither am I interested in creating a brand. I love writing and the book is cen-tral for me,'' says Banker. The book is already being distributed in 55 countries and 7 languages. "It is very exciting for me that 1000s of readers around the world are getting familiarised with the Ramayana for the first time through my book. I've got letters from readers in places like Cambria, UK, and Irvington, USA. saying they've never read an Indian tale before. Interestingly, apart from non-Indians there are many readers of Indian origin too who are buying the book,'' he says.

The book which was published first in UK earlier this year has already has two reprints and 30,000-40,000 copies have been sold.

Rating:
Summary: This is not Ramayana
Review: Ashok K Banker's idea of retelling Ramayana may seem very blasphemous at the first glance, what with his one page description of what Rama has dreamt the night before.

However, you have got to be a little patient with Banker. The fact is that he delivers what he has promised. The book is an absorbing read. It engulfs you completely, takes you into Treta yugam and lets you watch the proceedings as they unfold. Before you know it, you will have finished reading the book... and bought the second part: "The Siege of Mithila"

What is expected of you, the reader, to enjoy the book is very simple. Forget that it is Ramayana. Forget what Valmiki had written. Read it as Banker's story of a medieval king called Dasaratha and his prince-heir Rama.

Banker's version of Ramayana has seven parts. The first part "Prince of Ayodhya" starts slowly with a grand introduction of Rama and then takes the reader on an Ayodhya tour introducing the great empire, its people, its security personnel, its law and order and its rulers. The book ends with Rama killing Tataka to save Brahmarshi Viswamitra's yagna.

The book's USP is its ability to let the readers visualize the proceedings. It is like watching another Lord of The Ring. If anyone tries to take this book to the celluloid, I am sure it will give LOTR a run for its money.

While the original Ramayana is slow, methodical and does not have any treacherous "villain" (Ravana himself is an ardent Siva devotee. The only sin he commits is the abduction of Sita.), the new Ramayana moves at break-neck speed, is not linear and does not shy away from introducing Ravana as the Father of all Evil things. I will not divulge more details about the story as it would spoil your experience.

In a way, it is more enjoyable because we all know what the Original Epic is all about. So this is totally new to us. And so it generates interest and curiosity.

It is well worth it's price tag.

However, if you are deeply religious and cannot accept changes to the Epic, I advise you to stay away from this book.

Have fun reading The Ramayana once again.

Rating:
Summary: I am already hooked to Banker's Ramayana Series ...
Review: Banker's book fills a void in English fiction. His retelling of Ayodhyakand from The Ramayana ranks up there with great works of modern fiction, from the likes of Frank Herbert, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Jean Auel. The pace is gripping; the sequencing of events from the great epic, creative; and the character development, eye opening.

If there is a flaw in this book, it is in Mr. Banker's fuzzy translation of slokas but the essence of the text is not lost in translation.

I bought the book at an airport bookshop to read on a plane ride from Mumbai to Delhi during a recent family trip to India. Having finished the book only a couple of days ago, I feel lucky I picked up this book and not another. For one, it added to the whole India experience. My 9-year old daughter, who can't seem to ever finish re-reading the Harry Potter books, is going to enjoy this one when she gets to be a teenager!

Rating:
Summary: A valiant effort, but with shortcomings
Review: First off, let me be quite clear: I'm reviewing this as a novel in its own right, and not as a re-telling of the Ramayana, and I also read only two-thirds of the book, since at that point I was just too bored and had to stop. Since I haven't read the Indian epic in its original form (or as close to 'original' as an English translation can be), the entire story is new to me.

Also, this review contains minor spoilers (no mind-blowing plot twists or anything, just little details).

As a novel, Prince of Ayodhya has several shortcomings. First off is the characterization. Rama's lack of faults may make for great mythology, and great legends, and I understand that, but it makes for an awfully flat character. The similar one-sidedness of the queens and of Dasaratha is more excusable, but the flatness of Rama's character is rather disconcerting, and the reading loses a lot of suspense because of this. If this had been an original novel, not knowingly based on any type of epic, the characterization would have been inexcusable, but I can give it some slack because of its origin.

Plotwise, Prince of Ayodhya moves rather slowly in the beginning. It's only until you read two-thirds into the book (where I stopped) and you realize that those entire two-thirds of the book have been a very, very short period, more or less a day. Some of the events, such as the scene with the guru Vishwamitra and Dasaratha when he enters Ayodhya are well-written, but some of the others are not. There is one excruciating chapter where two characters speak simply to provide information about the parade that is passing by, all the way down to the numbers of specific battalions. It gets rather obvious here that Banker is simply trying to throw a lot of information.

The use of Sanskrit words creates a mixed effect. On one hand, as a professional review says somewhere on the Web, it does create a lot of atmosphere the novel (which is one of its strong points, which is mentioned below). You don't see a lot of fantasy with 'paan' and 'yojana' in it. On the other hand, the use of these words is a bit excessive. Personally, I find it a little disconcerting when I have to keep flipping back to the glossary to discover what a word means. Perhaps this is simply my own problem. Lastly, sometimes it seems as if some of the Sanskrit words aren't really needed: 'naked', for example. I can understand 'yojana' (a measure of distance), but a Sanskrit words for 'naked' seems a bit superfluous.

Prince of Ayodhya is not without benefits, however. The lush setting and atmosphere probably make its strong points. I have only passing familiarity with Hindu mythology and religion (i.e., before I read this, I knew that there was a pantheon of gods and something about the caste system), but Banker makes it easy to understand the rakshasas, the complex interplay between the brahman and the kshatriya, etc. This is probably what I enjoyed the most about the book.

It is possible that Prince of Ayodhya works very well as a modernized myth. I don't feel qualified to say if it is, since I haven't read the Ramayana. However, as a pure fantasy epic novel, Prince of Ayodhya is short. As a reader, I personally welcome all types of multiculturally based fantasy aside from the stock Northern European epic, but Prince of Ayodhya simply is short in some essential qualities as a novel.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: i am an ABCD (ha, ha - indians will get it) but i am very familiar with the Ramayana, having read it in various editions that are true to the original sanskrit. i also watched the tv series as well (yuk, too histrionic).

all i have to say is this. the Ramayana was first spoken. i'm sure when the Ramayana was written down in Sanskrit, it was a sacrilege. when Tulsidas wrote the Ramayana in Hindi, that was considered a sacrilege. Then at some point it was translated into English. When it was made into a comic book, it was considered a sacrilege. When they made it into a tv show, egads! it was a mortifying sacrilege.

here's what a lot of the naysayers don't get. People aren't even reading the Ramayana anymore! so many of my friends here in the US are CLUELESS about it. they know nothing about it. they are real american-born-confused-desis.

Mr. Banker's retelling of this story does not hurt it. it is an excellent job and it will get more of our kids to read again. hopefully, creative artists will also create a video game for it and a movie, a la Harry Potter.

what people don't realize is that the Ramayana is a mixture of religion, mythology, and history. we have to get past the mythology, which can't be proven. we have to get past the history, which was 1000s of years ago. we have to aspire to the divinity. Let's understand that Rama had to make some incredibly difficult choices in his life. He is the most heroic, virtuous man who may have ever lived. Let's keep his glory alive.

People, get over it. Please! this is a great book.

Thank you, Mr. Banker