The Destiny of Shaitan

The Destiny of Shaitan - Laxmi Hariharan 3.5Stars

Welcome to a post-apocalyptic India… Yes that’s right! In India!! All the post-apocalyptic books that I have read are based in the west, often making me wonder why no other country, or continent for that matter, ever survive an apocalypse? I mean doesn’t ‘end of the world’ actually mean end of the rest of the world but the west? It seems, Ms.Hariharan heard my musings and wrote a book on it!
Yep, so for a change, welcome to a post-apocalyptic India where instead of zombies, we have really angry Gods & Goddesses going on a rampage.

Set in a futuristic dystopian Bombay (present day Mumbai), the storyline follows the lives of three individuals – Yudi, Rai and Tiina (nope, that’s not a typo – her name is actually spelt with double ‘I’).
They are all from different places, I will not disclose their original locations, destined to come together to save not only the Earth but the universe from the power hungry Shaitan. The protagonists soon realize that they are not only fighting against the Shaitan but also against the darkness within themselves. Will they be able to do what it takes in order to defeat this ‘devil’ who is hell bent on destroying anything or anyone in his path to ruling the universe?

The character development is amazing. Each primary character has their own background that they come with and then grow as a person throughout the book. Maybe Rai got a bit neglected on that front, but that’s okay. I liked Yudi and didn’t like Tiina so much. The author has mixed in Indian Mythology quite well specially the ‘curse’ parts. In Indian Mythology, Gods are well known for granting boons with loopholes and cursing – with loopholes too! The plot is interesting and fast paced. The author has managed to create a story that will probably keep you stuck to its pages right until the end. At no point did it seem to be dragging, in fact my only complaint is that the ending came a bit too soon.

Overall this book covers a lot of topics – from mythology to space-travel to teenage drama to family issues. It’s a great YA-post-apocalyptic-dystopian novel that has something to offer to a lot of people.