Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Review: Chakra: Chronicles of the Witch Way by Ritu Lalit

Fantasy Fiction has caught the eye of many off late in the writing industry. Sometimes it's mingled with reality and sometimes its sheer imagination. Author Ritu Lalit in her latest offering "Chakra: Chronicles of the Witch Way" has chosen the path of fantasy fiction set in modern day to fantasize the readers. So is she successful in her attempt? Let's find out. 

The Japas are a race so secretive that their existence is dismissed as a myth. Tales of them abound in our mythology, telling of these men and women, possessing physical abilities beyond belief, playing with elements, with the power to curse and cure. They exist among us, mingle with us, ride our metros, visit our malls, and even go to the same schools and colleges as us.
Parineeta Mohan is a powerful Japni who has turned her back on The Witch Way. She has even brought up her niece and nephew as ordinary people, unaware of their heritage. 
Their life changes when the kids disappear along with their cousin Roma.
A shocked and desperate Parineeta has to find them before enemies of her family do, and has no one to turn to but Jorawar, a man she is attracted to but can’t trust since he belongs to the sinister organization Pax.
The only way she can fight, win and survive is to embrace her heritage, return to The Witch Way.


First look at the cover and the title and as a reader you'll get the feel of a fantasy being presented to you. The mysterious yet gleaming eyes on the cover does adds up to the curiosity of the readers. The blurb talks about a clan and their ways of living and some untold secrets which is enough to fantasize a story in mind. The blurb does well in terms of what the book has to offer a reader. 

The story revolves around Japas & Japnis and an old feud which has quite a bearing in modern day on some people's lives. Parineeta Mohan a powerful lady of the Mohan clan is responsible for the upbringing of two children who are talented and unique in their own way but they have been kept away from the Japas traditional system altogether. Sami & Deep along with Roma their cousin spark a little incident in the school which catches the eyes of the clans and then an all out war in between various people to protect and kill them breaks out. Their sudden disappearance and a series of events turns around the life of Parineeta taking her back to the old witch ways which in the end helps her in ensuring the safety of Mohan clan. So will she be able to repel the attack of the powerful forces? What will happen to Roma? It's about loyalties, old customs and a clan which is powerful enough to rule the world and their threat causes a uproar among the existing clans. 


For a fantasy fiction to be set in modern day Delhi along with some modern touch and human element to it, makes the plot interesting. The fantasy, the imagination and the plot thrills the readers a lot as it paces along with fluid narration and a lot of old mythical history to go along with in the plot. The characters and the clans have been sketched to perfection. The story is a mix of ups and downs and fair bit of secrets in it to keep the readers hooked till the end. 


The downside of the book is haphazard narration and a lot of characters in the first half which makes it difficult to grasp the exact motive behind the plot. A flowchart to describe the clans and their generations in the start would have done a world of good to the story. There is a page where the character is introduced as Hemant Rawat but twice it has been mentioned as Hemant Ratra. The  non-clarity in the plot is quite evident as Roma takes the centre stage towards the end and the end of the story is not sparkling enough to make it a mesmerizing plot. 


It's a fantasy fiction with fair share of thrills and a vivid imagination of the author to keep the readers excitement up but the time it takes to build the story around the characters and a few of them emerging out of the blues makes it a difficult prospect to grasp in one go. It's not easy to switch from one thing to another in the book which acts as both advantage and disadvantage, but it's fantasized enough to make the readers dance to its tunes. It's not the best fantasy fiction out there but definitely worth reading one time. 


RATINGS: 


3 OUT OF 5 

2 comments:

  1. Nice and honest. Ratra eh? Damn, that slipped my notice. Too many characters, yes, but they are essential, since this is a trilogy and they are necessary for the three book format

    Thanks for the review

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  2. Thanks a lot Mam. :) :).. Yup it's a little slip up. :).. Looking forward to read the second installment. :)

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