Title : The Princess in Black!
Author : Upendra Dharmadhikari and Changali Anand
History itself has beautiful and energetic stories in store. What if history comes to shake hands with the stories of today?”The Princess in Black: An unheard story of Mughals”, co-authored by Upendra Dharmadhikari (a history lover) and Changali Anand (a cinema lover), is a fiction book that uses history to make a story exciting and adventurous.
As it says on the back cover, ‘The Taj Mahal will be blown up and with it the visiting ex-president of the USA. This is the impeccable plan of Major Salim Khan, an undercover ISI agent. The only clue the intelligence agencies have is the enigmatic Object No. 27, a rare Mughal relic about which they don’t know much. History professor Narayan Shastri and the best men in Indian intelligence are trying to crack the code. And then there is Saima, the mysterious beauty who found Object No. 27 in the first place. She and Professor Shastri travel through the annals of a history steeped in deceit – the bloody battles of conquest, the satin veils of treachery, and even the elegant, imperious walls of red sandstone and white marble – to learn more about the impending attack and each other. Can they stop Major Khan from unleashing his terror on the marble monument to love? The precious hands of time are ticking: Tick. Tick. Tick.
A simple and revealing cover design welcomes the reader at first.The title of course is attentive and to some extent does favour with the story.Also,the subtitle hints at the presence of history in the story.About the blurb of the book,well knitted and inviting and very well shows the glimpse of the story.
A very elegant ambience has been created from the very beginning of the story and the aroma of suspense and mystery was in the air. The author Upendra’s love for history resulted in the form of this book and Changali’s love for film helps to give it a proper texture.
The writing style is close to classy, which works very well with the story. The blend of history and witty imagination pulls this book in the category of an interesting and thrilling read. The way the facets of the story reveal their colour hooks the reader completely into it. The sentence articulation has been done in such an efficient manner that it never hinders in the reading journey.
Interesting characters are a part of this story, which helps to make it more charming and enticing. The nature of the characters has been portrayed in a beautiful way, I very much like the way it has been done as it is not done by the mere words but by the actions and roles.
About the drawbacks of the book, the storyline is quite common and to some extent similar to other stories that are available in the market. Also, some events are predictable to a certain extent.
Combination of thriller, history, suspense and a little bit sprinkled with love. Worth a read!
Rating : 4.5/5
Reviewer : Shweta Kesari
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