‘There is no God,’ he told his shocked family. ‘There is no Allah, no Shiva, no Buddha. There are only humans. Humans and more evolved humans. Those of us who are evolved.. Well, we have all the power.’ Often he made little sense.
And so did the book. There was a constant struggle throughout the story. Historical fiction, thriller and some science fiction, the book intended to be a good mixture of everything but failed epically. It’s worse because a book named ‘The Curse of Mohenjodaro’ does not deserve to be pushed away like this. I was expecting more. Sadly it did not deliver.
Cover page
Mohenjodaro is an ancient civilisation which has been mapped. It is not understood much and the lines are often confusing. There is a lot to be found out and a lot to be learnt.
The cover page depicts just that. The maroon background of the layout portrays the hazy picture. The golden font compliments the background and shaky lettering gives out the mystery. It is an intelligent design.
Characters
The story is about two sisters. Nadia is a paranormal writer who is quite famous in the field. She is an independent person, mostly due to the circumstances imposed on her rather than by choice. But if there is someone she cares about more, then it is her sister Layla.
Layla is studying archaeology. She is just the opposite of Nadia. She loves company and life has given her more chances. Layla is chasing her dream to be an archaeologist unlike Nadia who is doing what she is best at.
There is not much said about the characters in the story. Maybe because it is plot driven. But I would have liked to know them personally rather than the outside view that was given in the book.
Content
There are two parallel stories in the book. One taking place in the current time and another in 3800 BC. Nadia in ‘today’ is having some dreams or visions. These visions are trying to reach out to her but she is not able to decipher it until one day her sister goes missing in Mohenjodaro after what could be a radioactive emission. Nadia while tracing her sister down draws the significance of the visions in which she was seeing a woman from an ancient period.
In 3800 BC, in Meluha, Jaya is chosen as the ‘Goddess Blessed’. It is meant to be an position of prime importance but she slowly discovers the ugly truth. She is being used for shellfish motives and the power to read the future is slowly destroying her.
The stories run parallel with each era taking turns to depict the monstrosity that selfish motives befall on the mankind.
Unfortunately, the intention of the book was not clear right from the beginning. The supposed historical fiction slowly turned into a thriller ended into a science fiction and philosophy. It was a bit confusing throughout. The story flowed with ease but there was no direction there either. Parts could have been cut short and it wouldn’t have made any difference to the story. Only after page 233 is the intention clear.
Ultimately the book leaves more questions than it gives answers. Such as why was the story in past based in 3800 BC when the Mohenjodaro period is dated at least ten centuries after that, what was the intention? How did bloodstone show visions to some but not others? And several more.
Language
The narration did not help the content at all. It was quite dry. There was nothing to look forward to and nothing that created any suspense.
Good points
The cover page is a work of art. It definitely piques one’s interest in the book.
Bad points
Everything else. The characters lacked depth. The content was unconvincing. The narration was dry.
Overall
The book is nothing that I expected it to be. I shut the book thinking ‘what was the point’!
Whom do I recommend this to
I frankly cannot categorize this book. I would rather recommend everyone to stay away from it.
I received the book from the publishers for review. The opinions are my own, completely uninfluenced.
Go ahead, grab yourself a copy of The Curse of Mohenjodaro and tell us what you think about the book! If you are a Kindle person, ensure to select the Kindle edition of the book.
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