Book Review: The Divine Duel

Book Name: The Divine Duel
Author: Pratik Sahay
Publication: Bookleaf Publishing
Genre: Science Fiction


“Over time, the scars of the tragedy become less visible, but they remain etched in the hearts and minds of those affected forever.”    

The truth of living a life: “Once broken, forever aware.” With this thought and similar philosophical undertones, The Divine Duel by Pratik Sahay is a fusion of science fiction and many sub-genres including drama, family dynamics, and mythology.

Review

The plot follows the story of three friends, Anugrah, Lokesh, and Ahsan, and how their lives changed, bringing Anugrah as the central character who was navigating through his life between struggles, relationships, grief, and betrayals, not just from friends but also being disowned by his father, who killed himself by jumping into the fire that Anugrah set to take revenge on his stepmother, who was mistreating his father. But the story is not about this; it is way beyond the present scenario. It is about how good and bad come face to face as Anugrah turns every stone to take revenge on his friend in the guise of a new identity, “GOD,” in rage because of his anger for his loss and unanswered questions. It shows how the cycle completes when he starts from a small house at Khari Baouli and concludes the revenge at the same place.

The characters are flawed and relatable. Anugrah is a passionate guy driven by love for his loved ones and a hunger to be a part of ATF (Alpha Task Force) to contribute to technological development and potential advancements in the future. He turns to anger and is on a roll to destroy everyone who once betrayed him and killed his girlfriend. A man with no one behind him is like a fireball on the road. Ahsan represents that selfish friend who needed just one opportunity to let the friendship break and never returned to answer his friend’s agony and pain. Lokesh represents that one guy in the group who is mostly unaware of the darkness settling in their friend circle and would mind his own business and do anything to protect his buddies. There are other characters as well, each playing a smart role in setting the whole thrill and action when “The Divine Duel” comes face to face. The use of quotes makes it more powerful to read.

The writing style is a little uneven. In the beginning, the pacing is quite slow, while the last few pages are fast-paced, leaving room for readers to crave more. After all, just like Anugrah, readers will find a lot of unanswered questions as they finish reading this book, but do not worry, the author will take care of all the readers’ questions in the second book of the series. The character development is done very well. The writing is simple and easy to grasp, which makes it an accessible read.

If you are someone who loves exploring paths where good and evil intertwine, give this book a read.

Buy From Here: The Divine Duel 


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