Review of Warrior

Title : Warrior

Author : Olivier Lafont

Book Blurb :

Join Saam, last son of the Destroyer, on his epic quest to save all existence.

In Mumbai, driven to its knees by a merciless blizzard, Saam the watchmender is cornered into an intolerable position. As Shiva's only earthly demigod child, it falls upon him to stop his indomitable father.

Bred to war, son of destruction, Saam rides with six extraordinary companions into the horror of a crumbling world to face Shiva. He is forced to join hands with Ara, his half-brother he can never fully trust and take with him his own mortal beloved, Maya, on this desperate attempt to stop the End of Days. But his path is littered with death, danger and betrayal.

Interweaving mythology, epic adventure and vintage heroism, this enthralling novel will change the way you see gods, heroes and demons.

About the author :

Olivier Lafont is a French author, screenplay writer, and actor. His novel 'Warrior' was published by Penguin Random House, and was shortlisted for the Tibor Jones South Asia Prize. He has just released his new contemporary romance novel 'Sweet Revenge' exclusively on Kindle. 'Purgatory: The Gun of God' is a fantasy novelette published in South Africa. 

Lafont has written a number of feature film scripts before. The first film he wrote opened at the Toronto Film Festival and went on to win seven awards at film festivals worldwide. 

As an actor Lafont has acted in Hollywood and Indian films, in TV serials, and in over 80 television commercials. He acted in '3 Idiots', one of India's all-time blockbuster hits, the critically-acclaimed 'Guzaarish', and the Lifetime film 'Baby Sellers', amongst other films. 

Lafont graduated with two degrees in acting and writing from Colgate University, USA, with academic distinction.

My View :

External Elements – The cover of the book looks attractive ; a captivating cover. The simple title of the book gives a blur hint about the insights of the book. Then there comes an intriguing blurb which will make the reader curious. I was in a tizzy when I completed reading the blurb.

Internal Elements – The book contains a story based on mythology. The story is locked with adventurous episodes having excellent illustrations. The story is sketched around Saam’s efforts in saving the earth. The protagonist Saam is the son of Lord Shiva. He along with his beloved Maya, six companions and his half-brother Ara travels around India to complete the quest.  The story is very interesting and I must say that author has done a commendable job in his debut novel. But the thick book cannot be completed forthwith and thus readers need to give some time to discover the various peaks and valleys submerged in the book.

Plaudits - Author beautifully describes the journey throughout India. I must say that the author has gone over a fine tooth and comb to explore Indian culture thus making the reading journey engaging. On one side some of the chapters are interesting and engaging and on the other side some of them are laced with bromidic phases. But I really enjoyed reading the book.  The book will entertain all its readers and there is no doubt in it.

Downfalls – The beginning of the book is filled with boredom and thus lacks to capture reader’s mind.  But as soon as the story drives its journey to the third chapter the story becomes interesting. I was latched to the book after completing a few chapters and was excited to detangle the very next episode. The story is little bit complicated so readers need to focus while reading.

Writing style – The writing style of the author is simple and it will be easy for a neophyte to complete the reading journey without any deviations. The events in the book are described very deeply by the author that the reader can feel the events when they process the words and sense the episodes in their mind which are whelming in the book.

Narration – A very neat narration is done in the book providing a smooth flow in the reading  journey. But the smooth narration becomes edgy sometimes. Some parts of the book are unnecessarily stretched which may ignite the feeling of incense. If these unnecessary events were cut off then the book would be more compelling. Although the story holds captivating episodes but the pace of the story is slow at times.

Testimonial – Wondrous Read! Author has done a very good work in his debut novel; looking forward to read more from him.

Reviewer : Megha Biloniya

Ratings : 4/5

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