The Gods Are Not Dead by Author Abhaidev | Book Review

The post COVID-19 time (can we call it so? Yet?) seem getting enrich by some fantastic books releasing one after the other. We’ve often mentioned that we, ThinkerViews Team Members, are really fortunate for having book-reading as one of our primary hobbies and getting along together on this platform. In this journey we met many talents, some popular and some yet to be popular, whom we admire for their writing skills.

Communication is an art, of course. Everyone of us has some stories running in our mind, but taking backseat due to many reasons. And, one of them, often, is not being able to write them down the very clearly and meticulously on the paper(s); in a way that the reader find it interesting.

Author Abhaidev, is one such talent, we came to be in touch with.

To know more about him, and his journey in the literary world, so far, please follow the links given below:

• The Infuencer | Boo Review
• That Thing About You | Book Review
• An Interesting Author Interview With Mayank Chandna (Abhaidev)

Today we are going to talk about his latest book – The Gods Are Not Dead.

Book Cover:

Let us take a look at the cover page of this book, the gateway to the fictional story explored within.

Designed by Rishikumar Thakur, the cover page of this book is quite attractive. It makes the book look like an international one. And, that is a positive sign.

You see two people, representation of the protagonists looking in the opposite direction standing in a position where their backs are facing each other. While both the representations are accurate as per their ethnicity, their colors are different. The female protagonist – megha – is shown in blue – the color of Sky, and the male protagonist who is restless yet in control is shown in the green color, referring growth and fulfilment.

The illustration of a crowd holding banners is significant in terms of its role in the book.

An impressive cover page.

Storyline:

Let us take a bird’s eye view of the story.

It all starts when a fisherman, Shibu, decide to go fishing despite harsh environment and a strict warning by the weather department. He already had a bad day, and he could let it be the worst, by having nothing to sell in the market and getting no money for the day.

He was sailing his boat like a mad man, already pre-occupied by the thoughts of his fight with his wife. His manliness was questioned and to answer it he decided to go for this suicidal task.

Upon realising that he came too far, he tried collecting the fishes he can, and tried to come back to the shore at the earliest, and in one-piece, if possible. Did he survive?

This incident, however, started a chain of actions, no one could have thought. Not even Gods! Yes, not even Gods!

The mysterious body armour of Karna, left deliberately on the earth by Lord Krishna, was left on the earth, after his demise. And, is now got break free. It has its own brain, and it will chose someone.

A simple middle-class fellow, Shaurya Kumar, working in an IT company was not very happy with the job. His visit to the doctor resulted into something unusually. Especially, the incident followed by then. And, he eventually discovered that he is unbreakable – from outside. And, hence, no one can harm him physically.

He decided to leave his job and do greater good, and become a superhero, a vigilante.

Is he really in-destructible? Is is hallucinating? Will he become a good vigilante? Is there a place for such vigilante in the real world? Won’t he be booked from breaking laws? What is going to happen to his personal life? Well, to get answers to all these questions, you need to read this thrilling book that weaves together elements of mystery, mythology, science, fiction and other genres.

While reading this story spread over in 26 chapter, you meet or get references about; Shibu – the fisherman, Muna, Bela, Sanjeev Kumar- the head of the Department of Archaeology (Pune), Shreya and Arvind (Lab assistants), Sumitra, Varuna, Bhadraksh, Shaurya Kumar, Jatin, Yogesh, Zeeshan, Daksh, Ravi, Megha Bhave, Anurag Gautam, Aakriti Garg, Sankalp, Mathew Penrose, Dr Andrew Hayden, Dr Natalie Gilbert, Mr Karthik Kandaswamy, Dr Vinay Kundra, Aparajitha, Ayn Rand, and others.

Views and Reviews:

Reading this book reminded me of Aavishkar Baba and and his sermons from:

• A Man from Mandu by author Manoj V Jain

Some parts of the book has reminded me of Ashram – web series also.

Here I am referring the content zoner and contemporariness of the book.

Of course, it is a thriller where crime happens, even police procedural initiated, mythology and history referred, science explored, human psychology and HR is elaborated, and human psyche is dealt with altogether. However, I consider this book a journey of self-discovery.

Self-discovery is always a central theme in all of Abhaidev’s books, and this book continues the trend.

There are times when you have choices and those choices reflects your persona and thought process. Those choices shows who you were and make who you are. And sometimes, those choices lead to a place where you have no choice. A point of no return. What you can do then? Well, going with the flow and do what you think is right in respect of the situation is the only thing you can do.

Of course, you can read this book for all the aspects mentioned earlier, but for a serious reader it is a thought-provoking book where elements of entertainment and thrills are embeded like a masala movie conveying important messages.

Strong characters is one of the most prominent positive aspect of this book. Rather than preaching about “feminism”, the author has made the characters really strong, irrespective of their gender. In fact, in some aspects, the female protagonist works as a motivational factor, shows the path to the male protagonist as a guide and even holds him like an anchor. And she has her vulnerabilities too. And, the male protagonist has his strengths and weaknesses both. Of course, he is pure at heart and want to really do good for the society, the world, and has quick learning abilities. He is not the chosen one for nothing.

The way the characters are explored and the story is weaved, is really interesting. It shows us, how far the author has come from his book, in positive aspects. His skills are really brushed up.

The initial segment of the book has a monologue of God. It contains some hard-hitting lines and it gives you hint about what to expect the point forward.

Here are some lines/phrases from the same:

I am God. But that is not my name. I was there before the beginning. I will be there after the end. In between, I manifest myself into various forms, living or non- living. I am one yet many.

People sacrifice themselves in my name. People hurt others in my name. Neither makes me glad. Nor does it make me sorrowful. Neither do I rejoice nor do I despair.

I am not looking for a messenger, nor do I wish to save humans from anything.

Yet, these saviours spring up from time to time on the timeline of eternity.

The author has enriched his vocabulary and infused some interesting words and wordplays in the book:

I am neither complacent nor complaisant.

You are never wrong unless you are always right.

Shaurya manufactured a smile. “The dinner is on me.” Megha smiled a Mona Lisa smile. “Okay,” she said.

The author is good at exploring human psyche. Here are some lines I found interesting in those aspects.

It is human nature to first ask questions and then search for answers. If they lacked curiosity, they wouldn’t be living in a scientific age.

Even the most stoic and rational people fail to accept reality at times.

People do not undermine your ideas; they undermine you.

…deep inside, people are usually the opposite of what they speak.

“Critical thinkers will always be a minority,”

“He lost his power over you,” asserted Shaurya. “You are no longer under his thumb. When people lose their power over others, they behave in such a way.”

The world will change only when the attitude of the people towards life changes. To change this world, and reduce crime rates, we must change the way people think.

Men are more tractable and willing in the presence of a woman. We ladies, as a species, are naturally persuasive.”

Megha couldn’t be fooled. A woman always knows what the other woman is up to, for she is gifted with the innate faculty to perceive emotions accurately.

no one is as dangerous as a woman, who is forced to live away from a man she desires.

No one is as unpredictable and hostile as an ex-devotee who dares to confront and expose the vices and flaws of the guru who he once revered as God.

At the same time, the book has some line talking about the approach most of us take, during respective situation.

Better be a happy insincere than a troubled righteous, who complains about the unjust world all the time.

And the book suggests:

Not all wars are worth fighting. Sometimes you just have to let it go.

It has some fantastic line about power and leadership, including practical advices that one can and should implement in the real life.

If you are a nobody, you are free. The day you become somebody, attain power, you lose your freedom forever.

Power and fame come at a price, which is accountability and peace of mind.
Highlight (orange) – Page 133

When it comes to leading people, lying is necessary. Honesty leads us nowhere. To survive in this cruel world, we need to be tactful.

A leader needs to be certain and unequivocal.

If you have supporters, you’ll have detractors too. It’s part and parcel of fame. You can’t please everyone.

And who doesn’t have gone through a time when he/she was in dilemma? Even Gods have their own

“What if the best human of today is not as good as the worst man of the Dvapara era? We shouldn’t have left the Ajay Kavach on Earth.

The author also busts myth that we learn from history (we should, but do we?):

None of us remember history with such clarity to make our decisions based on that.

Here are a few more interesting lines from the book:

The woman turned sombre. “Don’t resist,” she said. “Don’t curse. Don’t regret. You are what you are supposed to be and you’ll become what you are supposed to become. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Schopenhauer was right. Free will is an illusion. People will always do what they do, and there is nothing that can change that.

The book has some interesting one-liners like:

Unlike pain, happiness, no matter how big it is, doesn’t last long.

Fear is the strongest deterrent.

The book also highlights that we need some illogical, pointless entertaining stuff as well. To relax our mind, we sometimes needs to escape from being logical, always.

“Humans require pointless, nonsensical stuff and artworks of mediocrity, as much as they require reflective and cerebral material.”

Too much knowledge and success are stifling at times. It doesn’t let the person see what is in plain sight and utterly obvious.

These are the advices that we found seldom in books.

And yes, the author never suggest just to surrender to the circumstances and avoid conflicts at a greater price. He clearly says:

We can’t resign ourselves to fate. We must assume we can change it. That’s the only way to move forward, the only way we can realise our dreams

These quotes and references must have given you a fair idea about the book and its content. I have avoided many incidents and episodes (like the news-channel interview) to avoid as many spoilers as possible.

I liked reading this book.

Summary:

A thrilling tale setup in contemporary time that explores the modern world, as it is. It also has its links to Indian mythology and more importantly spiritual way of like this culture talked about since centuries. If books about self-discovery interest you, you shouldn’t miss it. And, if you are looking just for a contemporary thriller, then also, you can go for it.

ThinkerViews Rating:

Around 8 to 8.5 stars out of 10.

Quick Purchase Links:

• Buy - The Gods Are Not Dead by Abhaidev - Kindle EBook - Amazon IN
• Buy - The Gods Are Not Dead by Abhaidev - Kindle EBook - Amazon US

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