Author : Ashwin Sanghi
Publisher : Westland
ISBN : 978-93-81626-68-9
Number of Pages : 475
Price [INR] : 250
Genre: Thriller
Synopsis : Five thousand years ago, there came to earth a magical being called Krishna, who brought about innumerable miracles for the good of mankind. Humanity despaired of its fate if the Blue God were to die but was reassured that he would return in a fresh avatar when needed in the eventual Dark Age—the Kaliyug.In modern times, a poor little rich boy grows up believing that he is that final avatar. Only, he is a serial killer.
In this heart-stopping tale, the arrival of a murderer who executes his gruesome and brilliantly thought-out schemes in the name of God is the first clue to a sinister conspiracy to expose an ancient secret—Krishna’s priceless legacy to mankind.
Review : I have read Ashwin Sanghi’s second book, The Chanakya’s Chant and had loved it. So, the expectations from this books were high. Similar to The Chanakya’s Chant, The Krishna Key too has 2 stories running in parallel… one is dated five thousand years ago and second one is set in today’s time. The 2 stories blend with each other with great ease. The beginning of each chapter is the story of Krishna, narrated by Krishna himself which is followed by the present day story of Historian Ravi Mohan Saini and his quest to unravel the Krishna Key. His journey in search of Krishna’s most prized possession abounds with a lot of murders and mysteries which are very captivating and engrossing.
A LOT of research has been done by the author to bring out the various facts and concepts and their explanations, using history, mythology, symbology, chemistry, nuclear technology which was very enlightening and fascinating. For example, I liked the significance of number 7 and 9, the one-eight pattern in the magic square and the mystical importance of the number 108 and Swastika too. Also the similarity of the present day characters of the book, Varshney, Bhojaraj, Kurkude, Saini and Chhedi to the 5 clans of the past who helped Krishna build the magnificent city of Dwarka, Vrishni, Bhoja, Kukura, Shainya and Chedi was simply amazing. And the anagrams of Sir Khan as KRISHNA and Taarak Vakil as KALKI AVATAR were impressive too. However, there were sections that had TOO much of explanation and details which was a bit too much to handle at times!
Whenever, I was reading the conversation between Ravi Mohan Saini & Priya, and between Mataji & Taarak, it was a sense of deja vu! It was so very similar to The Chanakya’s Chant. The 2 lead characters, Ravi Mohan Saini and Mataji are shown to be very intelligent and possessed vast knowledge and expertise but their protégés Priya and Taarak Vakil respectively would only be asking “Why? or How? or And?”, which would result in Saini and Mataji giving very detailed explanations. Interestingly, at one point Priya mentioned that she is relieved that “I dont have to listen to your boring lectures anymore.” Know what I mean?
Despite being a ‘big fat book’ The Krishna Key is surely a page turner as it is very fast paced. The fascinating plots and mysteries keep you glued till the last puzzle piece is in its place!
Rating : 4/5
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34 Responses
This is what am reading now! But page turner.. realyy!
Great! Look forward to your review! 🙂
Had won this book as part of a Twitter contest and had mailed it to my daughter. Now wondering if she read it.
And that was a well-balanced review, Shilpa.
That’s cool… wining the contest I mean! Congratulations! 🙂
Thanks, Purba, glad you liked it! 🙂
We have similar views on this 🙂
Tell me is Chanakya’s Chant similar to this? I mean same pattern?
Great minds think alike! 😀
If, you ask me to compare the two…I would say, TCC is better than TKK! And yes exactly the same pattern! 🙂
For some reason i would not give it a rating of 4/5. Did not enjoy it as much and I felt many times the conversation is made deliberately and is not going with the flow.
The conversations look that way because, there is so much of explanation that is being done to explain the science, mythology etc behind everything. And all the gyaan is part of conversations and not as an appendix!
Nice review Shilpa.
@ Shilpa @ Siddhesh: This is how I saw it: http://notapennyformythoughts.blogspot.in/2012/09/the-krishna-key-by-ashwin-sanghi.html
Thanks Roshmi! Will check your review ASAP!
I generally follow your reviews.Lets see this one too.
Thanks for the confidence, Mr. Chowla! Yes, you must read this one!! 🙂
The one -eight pattern in the magic square a matrix of 3×3 for some reason reminded me more of sudoku. Maybe that too originated in India, though the author makes no reference of the grid to sudoku.
your review is balanced and this book deserves a pat for the exhaustive research The author has undertaken.
Yes, you are right, it looked like sudoku!
I quite liked the detailed explanation of many things, though it could have been toned down a bit!
Seems interesting. Let me see when I can read it.
Yes, check it out! Have you read The Chanakya’s Chant from the same author?
Absolutely!! though the information was extensive, it sometimes gets on the nerves especially when it interferes with the screenplay itself!
I’ve been reading your blog here and there today morni… lovely stuff!! 🙂 me following u right away!!! 😉
Do stop by my blog! I’d love your comments & visits!!
Agree completely with that! Read somewhere that it seems that the author has presented ALL his research data in the book! 😛
Thanks Kappu and welcome at this space!! 🙂
history books re-opened in front of me when i was reading the book! even then for all the mistakes that dont make a good piece of literature, again because i am an eternal grammar nazi, i cut down two points in my review for the book!
Yeah, many things about the history… the Taj Mahal, Mount Kailsash, Somnath Temple… mughal rulers etc was fascinating! Yeah, errors let you down but overall it was entertaining and engrossing!
Hi,
I have not read Chankya ‘s… This one i want to read. The name has me hooked 😀
Hi Ghazala! You must read The Chanakya’s Chant! I believe, its better than TKK 🙂
Nice review. I am reading so many good reviews. How do I find the time to read all these books? :)>
Thanks Rachna! Yes, it is a good one!
Time… well, there are days when every free minute is spent reading, and there are days when that’s just not possible and then there are days when you HAVE to read, just like this one… read it despite terribly busy schedule! 🙂
Nice review.
Thanks Kavita!! So good to see you back! How have you been? 🙂
Well I guess you have made me make up my mind to buy this book 🙂
Bikram’s
That’s cool! Go for it!! 🙂
In TCC, gangasagar is shown to be a reincarnation of the great man himself….his manupulative mechanisms and cold calculating moves are a thrill to read! whereas in TKK the protagonist believes he is the avatar of krishna and kills in the name of god…both books run on parallel lines, however TCC is a notch better…but like u described so aptly, the mystic behind so many things, like symbol-ogy, mythology etc are brought out beautifully here…
Yes, I also found TCC way better than TKK 🙂
Mixed reviews for this book… Some rated it 5 out of 5, and some others rated 1 out of 5.. This gives me more expectation… Waiting for my turn to read…
By the way, a good review without big spoilers. All of your book reviews are pretty good..
To each his own, as they say! I quite liked the book and hope you enjoy it too.
Thanks a lot, Shareef, glad you like the reviews here 🙂
great book