The Hammer of Thor

Author : Rick Riordan

Review

The second in line in Norse Mythology- Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. I am a loyal fan of Rick Riordan, and have read each of his books in the past decade. He has a knack to create a beautiful plot in the "current day mortal world" focussing on demiGods (these are mortals with one of the parents as Gods)- he presents mythology in such a light and witty tone , that one gets glued to the plot and also in the process learn a lot about mythological facts.The Percy Jackson series and the Olympus series is based on Greek Mythology. One gets to know so much trivia about the Gods, the belief systems, and also the eccentricities in which they have been projected by the bards. There is the Kane Chronicles on Egyptian Mythology and now the recent one on Norse Gods.

Coming to the book itself, the positive side - The book covers it, a detailed description about all the nine worlds, the valkyrie, the valhalla, the elves, the runes, the dwarves , the giants - you get a fair idea of the Norse Gods and their counterparts. The book is very witty, humor is prevalent through out. On the flip side- the plot is sloppy, and lot of unnecessary twists, and also, imagination was over-done. He does mention in one of the chapters where the protoganist says "We need to do something Out-of-the-box", The "Out-of-the-box" quotient reflects in every page-which is not needed. Rick Riordan, is in his own league already, I dont think he needs to prove more.

The book is a decent read, only if you have finished the Percy Jackson series. Otherwise that's the place to start with. And if you like it, you will not leave the author anyways !!! And here's hoping the next book will have a much better plot.

Recommended : 👍

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Movie : Dear Zindagi

Plot Review:

Dear Zindagi - Shahrukh Khan is super cool when he plays subtle roles . Alia Bhatt is too good . plot is intense and complicated, so check out the plot and go watch the movie !! We liked it.

Recommended : 👍👍

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Movie: Doctor.Strange

Plot Review:
Marvel just upped their style quotient with their new time turning Wizard Dr. Strange. The movie is stylish, sleak, witty - Dr Strange has some overlaps with Iron Man- but we all love his witty dialogues don't we . If u follow Marvel and have not watched it ,do not miss this movie . The biggest reason- why comes post credits . The sequel has Dr.Strange with Thor and Loki( my two favorites ) , that's going to be one visual treat to watch. Am going to book for the first day first show !!!

Recommended : 👍👍

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BBC miniseries- Death Comes to Pemberley

Plot Review:

Came across the BBC Adaptation "Death comes to Pemberley" last week. It is an adaptation of one of the many sequels written on Pride and Prejudice by another author. I did not read the book, but the adaptation is delightful. It's a murder mystery, a murder which happens on Pemberley grounds and Wickham is caught squarely into it. It's about how Darcy and Elizabeth deal with the whole episode, and finally how the mystery gets unvieled. It's a 3 hour series, I loved it . Especially the subtle differences between Darcy and Elizabeth because of their social backgrounds, how Darcy is still a man of honour, always on the threshold- between the social status and the voices of his heart, how Elizabeth is still the explorer by nature. The characters are intact, the whole series is like a Agatha christie mystery with Pride and Prejudice characters in it, and no Poirot. If u r a fan of Pride and Prejudice, do not miss this one !!!! A word of caution - Darcy and Elizabeth are'nt dashing in this one, they r a middle aged couple trying to sort out a murder!!!

Recommended : 👍👍

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Movie : Inferno

Plot Review:

Watched Inferno over the weekend . The movie has not got good reviews but I thought it was a decent attempt considering the book on which it is made. I had slammed the book in my review . It was full of Jargons. The movie has a simplified story line and the visuals make the script far less complicated . This movie is not for all but for those who are acquainted with Dan Brown's style of writing, the anagrams , the cryptics and the ciphers, the movie is a decent watch. You would'nt be disappointed, atleast I was'nt.

Recommended : 👍

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Rendition on The Battle of Lanka

Jai Shri Ram!!

Ram Lakhan sang chale hai Lanka
Vanar Sena chale unke saath,
Sab ko pata hai Sangram sameep,
Asur sena khadi Samundar ke paar.

Prashn hai mann mein, shatru hai kaun,
kisse pooche, sagar hai maun,
paana hai vijay, yeh hai Dridh nishchay,
Kintu Asur sena ki koi do parichay.

Kaun hai durbal, kaun balwaan,
Kiska Adbhut Vaan Sandan,
Kaun chatur ,Kaun Mayaavi,
Kiska Vaar padega Bhaari,
Door karo koi hamaari Shankaa,
Kaun khada hai tat par Lanka?

Vibhishan kahe "he suno Raghunandan,
Sab se Uttam Dashmukh Ravan,
Shresht Woh Yodha, Adbhut Vidwaan,
Mahadev ki kripa hai usko Pradhan.

Prahasth Durmukh Kumbh Nikumbh,
Indrajit chatur Aparampaar,
Bade ghamandi Shaktimaan sab,
Prahaar karne khade tayyaar.

Vishal hai Kaaya, Adbhut hai Maaya,
Kampe dekhke jan uskee saaya,
Nidra se jab woh jaagke aata,
Kumbhakarn ko koi rok na paata.

Yodha hai woh bada Anokha,
Prakat kabhi, kabhi aankh ka dokha,
Shatru ko cheer de uske vaan
Ravan ka putr hai veer mahaan,
Meghnad kaho ya Indrajit,
Naam nimit se sab hue bhayabhit."

Asur Mahaan,sab bade balwaan,
Tap sabne kiye,mil chuke vardaan,
Buddhi viheen ,ab kar rahe paap,
Yeh kab samjhe ek stri ka vilaap.

Fir Aarambh hua woh Maha Sangram,
Parajit Asur, vijayee hue Ram,
Paap ka Anth, Hari ka Avtaar,
Ramayan kaa yahi hai saar.

Harry Potter and the cursed Child

Author : J.K. Rowling

Review:

A long weekend at home.. So had a movie to watch and a book to read to fill in. A little late, finally could lay my hands on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.To start with it's a play script. Am hoping they would sell the recordings online soon. It's a fast read and you are back into the Harry Potter world, into Hogwarts, into the TriWizard Tournament. For Potter fans, what more do we need? I thorougly enjoyed it. What I missed is its not a novel. So the trivia, the flow of plot, the magical world descriptions and the humor do not come out so good. Its more like Part 1 scene 2 setting so and so... But as I said, for a hardcore Potter fan, getting a glimpse back into the Potter World again is more than enough !!

Recommended : 👍

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Movie : The Jungle Book

Plot Review:
Watched The Jungle book today. Very beautifully taken. Aryan cried in the end as his favorite animal is the Tiger and he got killed . The visuals are beautiful!!! Don't miss it !!

Recommended : 👍👍

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Land of the Seven Rivers

Author : Sanjeev Sanyal

Review:

Finally finished the book "Land of the Seven Rivers" By Sanjeev Sanyal. The book cover gives a depiction of ancient
India, but it's much more than that. The author starts India's journey from the Harappan period to the current century.
Two things truely commendable about the author - he is travelled ardently across the country to collect the miniscule details and secondly,he has collected lot of documentation on what the travellers from other lands,who have either visited,stayed or interacted with Indians at different points of time had to say about our country.So we get an entirely different perspective on where India stood and what India did from ages galore.

Till the 11th century , there are more speculations based on the material which was collected. He keeps reminding time and again that ancient Indians did map India from the Himalayas to the Ocean in the south .The golden era of Maurya and Gupta empires, the pinnacle of India's civilization growth is well detailed out.

There are some unique points in this book I loved the most-
1. Tracing the importance of Lion in our country's culture and geography , right from the vedic ages.From a near no mention in the RigVedas to a liberal usage in the epics, then through the statistics of lion hunts by royalties over a period of time to the number of Lions in Gir right now. Its like a Lion graph.

2.The second, he traces the fate of Delhi-from Harappan settlement to Indraprasth to Turks Delhi, Mughal Delhi, Imperial Delhi , Refugee Delhi , old Delhi and then new Delhi.
You really end up feeling sorry for this city.

3. The third, he describes in detail the effort taken to draw the contour map of India and Tibet.How and when did India find it's place in the World Atlas.

4. The fourth- why Indians failed as a country till 18th century despite having everything in different pockets- The Centre
were always strong in defence,thanx to their geographical terrain and guerilla tactics. More especially after the Marathas emerged solid in warfare, highly instrumental in toppling the Mughal rule .Why did they not take over India ?? Why did south stop trade after the glorious Chola era, the only empire which extended even beyond India? Why did North never think of building their defences, even after their central base (Delhi) was being plundered again and again after so many invasions? And the big question -Why did India shut itself from the innovations of the west and start looking inwards despite the fact that Ancient Indians were more forthcoming and there was a diaspora in ancient ages?

The book is a very slow read, lot of information to digest each and every page, and the details get thicker after the Indian
independence. But it is one of the very unique books I have come across, any day I'd go back to refer on data and facts.
If u r interested in learning about our country, please dont miss this book.

Recommended : 👍👍👍

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Magnus Chase and theThe Sword of Summer

Author : Rick Riordan

Review:

Books are a port key to a different world under any situation.As I had time to kill - finished Magnus Chase - the sword of Summer by Rick Riordan. After the dragging Olympus saga, the author is back with this book- it's a breezy, refreshing read based on Norse Gods. A couple of things I did not like though. Thor and Loki ARE Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston. He shud not have messed with their protrayal. It hurts 😊 and when we give unique names to Dwarven furniture we don't borrow the names of the Dwarves liberally from The Hobbit !!! Else book is a v breezy read. Rick Riordan is back !!!

Recommended : 👍

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