AGNIPUTR (When Agni First spoke) by Vadhan - A Book Review

   
        In the 1940's, close to Eluru which is the headquarters of West Godavari in Andhra Pradesh, in Gudem village an almost irrevocable energy is created by a maleficent Aghora tantrik. He achieves this by invoking an uprising at the Samadhi of Rajah Raghuram Surya, who was murdered by his brother with the help of the treacherous tantrik. Rajah Raghuram Surya  belonged to the royal zamindar family and was the eldest son. Royal blood mixed with gore and the story stirs up vile details to be regarded in the initial setting admixed with the dark art that leads to something of an apocalypse. The tantrik does not know of his fate but as ill fated as his experiment was, he too, gets gobbled up by the invoked powerhouse known in present day events as the Sutram. It looms privately below the memorial hall where the main events of the story are to take place, growing quietly but viciously turning the memorial hall into it's own hunting ground.
            

AGNIPUTR by Vadhan Book Review

   Rajah Raghuram's son, Surya, was only 7 years of age when his father passed away. Surya was afflicted by muscular dystrophy since birth. He, too, disappears mysteriously in the 1970's. Right after his disappearance, all the evil in the village of Gudem ceased, for the time being till present day when it starts again.The day he disappeared he was accompanied by two other people, of which only Rathaya came out alive, burnt to a grill.

  Satyanarayana Raghava Kasavari aka SRK, a young scientist, commissioned by the CSIR and working for the paranormal activity division finds himself not too far from the village of Gudem for his betrothal to the love of his life. Hearing the story of Sutram from friends at the bar, he could not contain his excitement to discover what he might unearth if he happened to visit the forsaken place. Despite warnings from his father and village elders, he decides to visit once. He informs his boss- Sheila Pitambar- and sets off. Here the plot starts to thicken and the book takes on a vibe of it's own.

  Sheila sets out to Gudem after getting the backing of the Home minister to find out how to contain and what is generating thousands of tetra bytes of electrical power out of nowhere. Babu Garu is summoned to his village and the 100 year old haveli, after several years, by a government notice. Walking through the rooms of the castle brings back memories as he explores the places and things left behind by his ancestors. It also brings back what he was running away from all these years. He refused to meet Rathaya who had something only for Babu Garu's ears and has been waiting for him for a very long time. What is it?

    With a tightly knit plot, the author weaves very well a science fiction and fantasy thriller dexterously before the reader's eyes. His words weave a very picturesque plot which is fast paced and racy. One can feel their pulse racing at certain times throughout the story. It's hard to put down this book once you get reading and you just want to know how Agniputr is wielded and if the Sutram can really be contained by a mere man who does not have an inkling of quantum physics. He has to travel the breadth of the country and try to unravel what his father was trying to tell him from beyond the grave. Does he make it in time or does the Sutram begin to release itself from it's containment after 60 years of entrapment?

I enjoyed reading this fast-paced thriller and it did spook me at certain times well into the night. Author Vadhan has churned out a magnificent thriller in his second book. He writes vividly and he is a master in his craft. His pen will hold you in a vice-like grip till the end grappling for more. Read more about him here



ps- I did find a very small mistake in one of the pages but that can be easily overlooked.