In his widely acknowledged book How To Stop Worrying And Start Living, Dale Carnegie urges you to read something that requires effort, thought and concentration, everyday – making you learn something useful. As with all Ashwin Sanghi books, The Magicians Of Mazda fits the bill perfectly yet again. While asking for your concentration, the book leaves you wholly enriched with something to gain in the form of the abundance of knowledge the book exudes. This latest offering in the Bharat Series has all that you can expect from an Ashwin Sanghi book. It has history, science, mythology, theology, some ancient relics open to various interpretations and puzzles to be solved.
The Magicians Of Mazda is heavily focused on the Zoroastrian history and has a Parsi community backdrop. The book starts with a fascinating setting with a theft in the British Museum where the Cyrus Cylinder gets stolen. At the center of the story is Jim Dastoor, an eminent scientist who is working on a pathbreaking discovery. Dastoor and his wife are taken hostage, in pursuit of the mysterious ‘drug’ he is working on. But as you read along, you find that there are a plethora of people after it – which they believe to be an ancient Zoroastrian relic with magical powers called the Athravan Star. Funny thing is, most of them don’t even know for sure what actually it is. And hence starts a thrilling ride of a run and chase thriller traversing across boundaries through America, Iran, Afghanistan, Israel and India.
The major portion of the book, however, is resplendent with a vast amount of historical details offering thorough lessons in subjects ranging from the history of Bombay to the roots of the Parsi community, the Zoroastrian culture and even touching upon the troubled states of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. But I can assure you, a lesson in history has never been more interesting!
While dealing with history, the book exquisitely showcases the similarities between Zoroastrianism and Vedic religion, between Sanskrit and Avestan, the Vedas and Avesta. These facts astonished me with how similar the different religions and their sacred texts are to one another.
The Magicians Of Mazda is an action packed thriller. Small little exhilarating situations in the exciting chase of the Dastoors act to keep you excited at all times. There is a sequence in particular, when one prominent character Unwala is killed in a most horrifying manner that is so dramatically conceived by Sanghi! No dearth of adrenaline rush there as it has you on the edge of your seat with a nail biting narration!
Towards the end of the book, there are a series of unexpected revelations that add the much needed surprise and suspense elements, making this a complete and rounded thriller! The final discovery of what everyone had been after, it’s decoding and it’s implications – all leave you immensely satisfied and rewarded.
Speaking of Ashwin Sanghi, a mention of Dan Brown is inevitable – and I think justifiable so. They share the same ambit and the unique flavor of their books make either of them irresistibly intriguing & exciting. I personally love this genre of writing and can never have enough of it.
Conclusion:
In The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, Robin Sharma says –
“Some books are meant to be tasted, some books are meant to be chewed and, finally, some books are meant to be swallowed whole”.
In other words, to get the best out of a great book, you must study it, not just read it. Ashwin Sanghi’s books fall into this principle perfectly. The shear amount of detail and facts in this thoroughly researched book make it a quality read. It easily asks to be studied in depth to benefit from all it has to offer. That said, even a simple read of this book leaves you much more informed. Small little facts like why the Marathon run is called so? – they keep adding to your knowledge unintentionally.
The author ends this book on level note. Neither does he endorse the existence of such an elixir, nor does he deny it. While such an elixir – promising agelessness – might as well exist, it cannot work in the absence of the equally important Ahura Mazda which symbolizes a pure soul and mind, a pure body for the elixir to work.
I truly enjoyed this mystical read to the core. Only Ashwin Sanghi can hold your interest for 500 odd pages! But let me add, this is not an easy read. It is very easy to get lost in the surge of details coming your way. That probably is the only down side of this book.
This book is unmissable for fans of history, mythology, theology, mystery and thrillers. An astounding answer to Dan Brown from the master craftsman Sanghi. Let us accept it, this is his domain and he is the king here!
Get your copy here.
More in the Bharat Series – The Vault Of Vishnu (Ashwin Sanghi) | Book Review
Excited about this book – long awaiting a book from an Indian author. Amish Tripathi’s next is also coming – so its a treat!
Loved the book.