The Treasure of Kafur by Aroon Raman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am surprised I didn't post my review sooner considering I was long done with the book and I must say I was surprised! Yes, surprised is the word for it because I have never approached Historical thrillers without a certain level of doubt. Being a student of history has always, always made me skeptic about historical fiction but like I said, "Surprised, and pleasantly!" is the phrase I would use for The Treasure of Kafur .

Here's why?

1. Writing historical fiction, especially one which is closely linked with real people can be a daunting task.

2. If you're not very authentic with your facts, you end up misleading the readers.

3. The more you indulge in historical fiction, the more you risk criticism from one source or another.

Breaking News: India finally has an author who braves all these things and delivers an amazing thriller and is our own contemporary to Hilary Mantel and Ken Follett.

A perfect blend of fantasy and fiction, the story is like a fairytale, a historical tale and a thrilling plot all wrapped into one. As a reader, you're never this person who is watching the whole thing going on but a character inside the novel, burying treasures, witnessing murders, discovering secrets and involved in a cat and mouse chase between life and death.

What I found personally agreeable is how elements of fantasy in a historical fiction (which can be really unpalatable) fit in so effortlessly. In fact, I would have given it a higher rating had I not felt a certain something missing-like there's more to the story.

However, despite being a seemingly unfinished business towards the end, here's a book the likes of me have craved for from an Indian author. Definitely worth a read!



View all my reviews