Prince of Ayodhya

As a big fan of the Ramayana, I have to admit being predisposed to liking this book.

The book does move slowly, as other reviewers have commented, but all for the purpose of becoming acquainted with a large cast of characters at the beginning of a large story and a long series of books. This is epic storytelling, at an epic pace, which is not at all to say that it is a tedious read; you just can't be expecting that the major villain, Ravana, will be defeated, or that he will even make much of an appearance, in this first book.

As a fantasy novel, I like that Prince of Ayodhya has grown out of a different genealogy than the Celtic/Tolkien tradition that still informs so much of the genre, at least for English-speaking markets. This is one show more story that has helped me realize how much our imaginations can be limited by hearing the same kind of tales over and over again. show less

As a big fan of the Ramayana, I have to admit being predisposed to liking this book.

The book does move slowly, as other reviewers have commented, but all for the purpose of becoming acquainted with a large cast of characters at the beginning of a large story and a long series of books. This is epic storytelling, at an epic pace, which is not at all to say that it is a tedious read; you just can't be expecting that the major villain, Ravana, will be defeated, or that he will even make much of an appearance, in this first book.

As a fantasy novel, I like that Prince of Ayodhya has grown out of a different genealogy than the Celtic/Tolkien tradition that still informs so much of the genre, at least for English-speaking markets. This is one show more story that has helped me realize how much our imaginations can be limited by hearing the same kind of tales over and over again. show less

Several years ago we had a new member join ibdof.com and proceed to rave and rave about this series. At some point I saw this first book in a used book store, picked it up and added it to the "to be read" pile, where it proceeded to languish for many years until now.

Overall, I'd have to say that, while I enjoyed getting a bit more perspective on Indian mythology, and the pacing is quick enough that its somewhat high page count passes relatively painlessly, this book was not nearly as good as I expected. Everything is black and white. The characters have no depth whatsoever. Every plot turn serves as an opportunity to invoke bigger and badder-ass magic, which will be trumped in turn.

This book kept on reminding of one of those really bad show more Japanese cartoons that my kids used to watch on cartoon network. And that's not a good thing. show less

There is just enough in the book to suggest that this could have been a great book if written like a pro. However, Very poor writing has spoiled it completely. Specially after having read books like Meluha, this writing seems like secondary school level essay. Huge disappointment.

I was interested in this as I studied Indonesian at school, and the Ramayana formed the basis of some of my study. Unfortunately, this book reads more like standard Western fantasy writing (complete with gratuitous sex scenes). The story takes a bit long to get going, and the author lacks the ability to hold my attention during the opening exposition.

There is just enough in the book to suggest that this could have been a great book if written like a pro. However, Very poor writing has spoiled it completely. Specially after having read books like Meluha, this writing seems like secondary school level essay. Huge disappointment.

Beautifully written story. I found it very gripping, although some may find it boring.