Author– Vishwas Mudagal
Book– The Last Avatar : Age of Kalki I
Previous Works– Losing My Religion
Publishers– HarperCollins India
Number of Pages– 314
Format– Paperback
Blurb-
In the not-so-distant future, India has fallen, and the world is on the brink of an apocalyptic war. An attack by the terrorist group Invisible Hand has brutally eliminated the Indian Prime Minister and the union cabinet. As a national emergency is declared, chaos, destruction and terror reign supreme. From the ashes of this falling world, rises an unconventional hero – a vigilante known only as Kalki. Backed by a secret society called The Rudras, Kalki, along with Nushen, the Chinese superhuman spy, must do the impossible to save his country, and the world. But who is Kalki? A flesh and blood crusader with a mysterious past? Or the Messiah the world has been waiting for? The future of human survival depends on a single man. Will he become the living God prophesied as the last avatar of Lord Vishnu, or will he fade away as an outlaw?
Review-
The Last Avatar by Vishwas Mudagal is the first installment of the Age of Kalki trilogy.
Dealing with the fantasy fiction genre, the plot is about a future where the evil minds have joined hands to bring the world under dictatorship, thus capturing the freedom of its people. The presiding offices of the world’s most powerful countries have been usurped and the threat is real. When the world needs a hero, rises Kalki, out from the shadows where he used to work, ready to reveal his identity.
The Last Avatar was one hell of a book, and I enjoyed every bit of it. The narration is simple, sophisticated, elaborate and everything else that a reader craves for. It is engaging to the extent of giving you sleepless nights. The detailed description is what raises the adrenaline.
Most of the readers are blessed with an imagination that works wonders and this book feeds that sort of imagination. It was almost like watching a movie, with every reaction, every movement, being mentioned in the book and yet not being overdone.
Also Read-Review Pen: Coffee and Mocha by Alaknanda Goutham
The most important factor while writing fantasy fiction is to provide each character with a back story that does not raise questions, rather gives the answers. The author needs to provide a feasible explanation for everything and that deduces the entire reading experience. The Last Avatar excelled at it, providing not only a detailed but also reasonable explanations that did not seem like being pitched out of the blue. The story behind the Rudras, the Scripture of Gods and the power they manifested, were fictionally acceptable. The theory behind the Vanaroids, the futuristic drones, the martial arts, etc, were scientifically satisfying as well. The author, Vishwas Mudagal had managed to take fiction, technology and mythology and present it as a perfect blend. The plot is written in a distant future setting and the situations that lead to the rise of Kalki are realistic enough to give them the benefit of doubt.
The Last Avatar serves as the perfect title for the plot as it revolves around Kalki. The cover sports a picture of a modernized Lord Hanuman, designed to fit the description of the one mentioned in the book. It’s a good example of a book that can be judged by its cover. The blurb is of the right amount, with spoiler free reveals and important characters.
We get the villain who wishes to rule the world, the hero who is ready to bleed for the nation, a potential love story and a plot that is on fire. This book rightfully deserves to be a movie.
Cover- 5 stars
Title- 5 stars
Blurb- 5 stars
Plot- 4.5 star
Writing and Presentation- 4.5 star
Overall- 4.8 stars out of 5
The only time I felt that I needed to know something which was not already mentioned was how Neel needed to be the faceless Kalki while he was working for Astras. Any achievement in their technology could be treated publicly as a work of the company, they never needed a sole person to take the credit.
The author, Vishwas Mudagal mentions in the acknowledgment that he spent eight years in writing the book and we can see the years of the hard work being put to good use in this book.
Reviewed by- Banaja Prakashini
Buy the book-
About Vishwas Mudagal-
Vishwas Mudagal is a serial entrepreneur, CEO and motivational speaker. He is also the author of the bestselling novel, Losing My Religion.
Currently Trending-
