Dharmayoddha - Kalki - Avatar of Vishnu by Kevin Missal

Mythological books are my weakness I cannot resist them no matter how many books in that genre I collect. All credit goes to Amish Tripathi. But a few authors were able to match his work of Shiva Trilogy. Dharmayoddha - Kalki by Kevin Missal is one of those works, which I can say I loved it as much as Meluha. As the title suggested it is the fictional story of Kalki avatar.

Book Blurb

Whenever there is a decline in righteousness and an upsurge in unrighteousness, at that time, I take birth again.

- LORD GOVIND.

Born in the quiet village of Shambala, Kalki Hari, son of Vishnuyath and Sumati, has no idea about his heritage until he is pitted against tragedies and battles.

Whisked into the province of Keekatpur, which is under the fist of Lord Kali, Kalki sees the ignominy of death trumping life all around him. He learns that he has been born to cleanse the world he lives in, for which he must journey to the North and learn the ways of Lord Vishnu’s Avatar; from an immortal who wields an axe.

But trapped in the midst of betrayals, political intrigue and forces that seek to decimate him, will he be able to follow his destiny before the Kaliyug begins?

The main characters of our stories are Kalki, Kali, Arjun, Kripacharya, Padma. Kalki was having steady and happy life in his village Shambhala. He has immense physical power and he didn’t know the reason for such power or reason for his existence. When his father was killed by mlecchas, he came to know from Kripa, a strange drunkard, about the secret of his power. The kingdom of Kiratpur in which Shambhala lies was recently taken over by tribals under the leadership of Kali. Deteriorating health of Kali, led his sister to Shambhala where the sacred caves of Soma existed. Durukti wanted to give miraculous Soma to her brother to cure him. But Kripa asked Kalki to make sure no one should take soma as it can give birth to Adharma. Kalki was set on a mission to stop Durukti. But things took an interesting turn. Check out the copy to know more.

Some books require just story part, other description bore out readers. But series like Klaki need a proprer story and characters building. Author has created not just a main character but supporting characters as well. A book with 478 pages is not at all slowing down in between. You will keep turning pages one after another. Though the book is about Kalki, the author has taken the liberty of changing the time of Klaki and even mythological timeline and names of great wars. The author has mentioned the same thing in the preface.

Things I liked about

• Characterization
• Role of Kripa and Durukti
• Fights and wars 
• Tribal politics

Well, the map of world and name of kingdom gave a feeling of fantasy book than myth fiction but that’s okay considering all positive point. Taking about rating

1. Cover – 5/5
2. Concept – 4/5
3. Characters – 4.5/5
4. Title – 4/5
5. Overall – 4.5/5

Book can be found at Amazon & Flipkart

Review from other readers can be found at GoodReads