CHAPTERS CONSIDERED FOR REVIEW : TILL "AFTER THE WAR"
Author : KhaliqahAzima
The blurb and the introduction chapter sets the tone for the story and sums it up with a poetic touch that I might not be able to emulate, but we are promised a tale of treachery, ambition and competition between people of royal descent vying for the throne of Matangpur and throughout the chapters, that is exactly what we get. The opportune characters, size up their opposition through coercion and underhanded ways to suit their narrative and set themselves up for glory, sometimes with calculated apathy and clinical precision.
When it comes to the characters, Ojaswini is the protagonist so far, and is the character who gets defined the most. Brave, cunning and tactical, this character is shown to have a good grasp of what she is doing. She is the brains of the regime's brawn. She suggests a pre-emptive strike on Pratapnagar due to the enemy's perceived military might while attempting a stealthy kill in another situation to avoid combat, showing the versatility in her decision making. She is shown to have a network of spies in neighboring kingdoms, a power broker from within the shadows. She's badass to the point where you feel so sure that she has it under control no matter what. But this is a good problem to have.
The crown prince Rudradev and Ojaswini's step brother Vinayak share an interesting dynamic, with Ojaswini for some mysterious reason pinning her efforts on the camp of the crown prince, her cousin, undermining and plotting against her brother. This could be connected to their origins fueled by jealousy and rivalry between their mothers competing for their father's love, but this is the set-up that impressed me the most about this book. Tension mounts as the chapters go on. The political maneuvering provides intrigue and adds mystery to the story. These characters themselves haven't had an opportunity to stand out so far. Rudradev appearing intermittently in conversations with the other two, often giving out laughters of foreshadowing, while Vinayak and his brothel escapades and the subsequent love track, takes up more time than I expected. His heartthrob Menka might become relevant to the plot later, but till then, it is what it is.
Ojaswini's maid Parnalekha is her confidante, a fierce and ardent follower of hers. Parnalekha means business. The amount of decapitations she does with her sword is quite impressive, if I might add. She is sent out on a vague quest by Ojaswini and she along with the character Takshak, an enigmatic spy, provide the story with action and adventure. And as one would expect, the growing relationship between the two provides the tenderness that other characters are not afforded. I particularly enjoyed the segment with the wine seller, Yamdoot where a spooky effect is achieved by incorporating folklore even if it ends in an anticlimatic manner.
Action is detailed, the war portions have impressive details regarding various battle formations and as a reader, the focus is on how the war is a proxy for succession rather than the actual events themselves. The victors in this clash are generous winners, all things considered. This was not the way I envisioned the war would end up in, and I like that.
Writing wise, the grammar falters here and there, nothing that would distract from the reading experience, but what does a little bit, is some awkward phrasing, which I have pointed out in the comments and can be easily fixed. The sentences are sometimes simplistic and read like translated to English, particularly the poems in between, gets missed in translation, where the English version seem to miss the poetic elements. The images used are a hit or miss for me, sometimes augmenting while sometimes subtracting from the flow of the story. The writing also has its quirks, with some scenes just has the character name, colon and the dialogue, like a play and appears randomly at some point which I found amusing, I don't know how to feel about that. While this may be personal preference and not the fault of the story, the narration is overpowering, again feels like a stage play at some points. If that is the vibe that the author is going for, it's fine by me. Characters related to Ojaswini behave in one way, resembling modern day normal interactions but set in the past in terms of dialogues, but some of the other characters in Ajaynagar react with exaggerated sentimentality that sticks out.
These are all the takeaways that I had, in my opinion, again which may or may not be valid. Please take it with a grain of salt. I've tried to represents all facets of my reading experience with this book. Thanks for choosing this book for reviewing your work.
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Random[PERMANENTLY CLOSED] A honest take on Wattpad books that I read. Review is from a reader's perspective. My reviews are my opinion and not objective truth.
