Yama's Lieutenant by Anuja Chandramouli

Published: June 8th 2016 by Random House India
Read Date: June 15 2017
Stars: 4.5/5

Yama’s Lieutenant is mind-blowing Indian mythology fiction.
First of all, those who doesn’t know Indian mythology, little clarification for them- Yama is ruler of underworlds, Hades in Greek mythology. Seeing that cover above? That’s how he look in Indian mythology.
Let’s get back to story and my review.

Blurb (in my words)–

Twin brother and sister, Agni and Varuna, inseparable in childhood are now separated by death. Agni is having a hard time after his sister’s death. When he is appointed as Yama’s lieutenant, his already grief struck life become difficult with great responsibility.
Prisoners of Yama’s kingdom, hell, are escaping Yama’s stronghold, wreaking havoc all across the three realms. And a powerful necromancer is releasing the dark forces, Narakyamayas, to destroy the world.
Agni is assigned a mission by a goddess to find a person who can help in saving the world. And then there is book written by his sister on the mythical world, about Yama.
How his sister knew so much about Yama? Will Agni be able to stop the destruction in the world? Who is that person destined to be salvation of the three realm?

My view:

Where the hell I was when Anuja wrote “Arjuna: Saga of a Pandava Warrior-Prince”!! Why haven’t I read it till date?? Hell, I’m in love with her writing.  She is going to be first Indian writer who made a place in my favorite author list. Hell, I’m using too much “HELL” word right? Well, that’s what this book is all about.
My favorite lines from the book:

“A cherished memory is better than the empty regret which will be all we have if we are forced thus to remain virtuous.”

This is multiple POV book.
Characters– Protagonist, Agni. Yes, book revolves around this character but there are other many important characters in this book and author has given all of them equal importance. None was given too much or too less attention. Agni was handsome, soft, grumpy, and sarcastic character. Weird combination! I liked him. I so love it when story is about twins. Agni and Varuna, Yama and Yami. They were amazing throughout the book. Antagonist needless to say, he was horrendous and terrifying creature. You can shortlist this necromancer as best villain of the year.
What I liked? I loved cover of the book. I like it when from the cover only I get the idea what I’m expecting in the book without even reading the blurb.
 “…That’s why I picked them, in case you were wondering, and not because mythology is selling like sex nowadays…” Lol! I liked this line. Though written by Varuna in the book, it felt like it’s actually coming from author.
Most important thing in the books was characters and their life with touch of mythology which was nicely written. As always when it comes to mythical stories, I love it by default. Here the description and story was just amazing. Story of Yama and Yami was touching and told by manuscript of Varuna along with the ongoing story was really different way and concept. Each character has a story in this book and I liked it.
First 50 or something pages was all about familiarity with characters and situations. The descriptions of punishments in the hell, mayhem on earth, occult activity, and black magic of necromancer.. It was messy and gory. Heart-wrenching tragedy in characters life was amazingly narrated. Writing of these details was so effective that sent chills up my spine. Yet among this messy descriptions, many debatable facts and morals were amazingly displayed in this book.
The book was all about what is happening and why it is happening. It was descriptive and not chatty type. There was conversation between characters but all about the getting to know about situation. I liked it, it was different experience.
Another thing, the action scenes in the book was so natural and felt plausible. I liked author has not overdone it here.
End- It could be stretched but I’m glad author decide to end it this way. All I can say is, it was bittersweet. And there is hint for the next book of this saga too.
Why 4.5? A small thing. I felt conversation between characters was little confusing, because of quotation style. If one character is speaking, it was not mentioned where he started and where ended. On re-reading, I realized whether it was a continuation or end of speech. Otherwise book was just perfect.
Alert! As I said there is lot of blood and mess in the book. So, prepare yourself before you start reading it.
Note: This book requires lot of attention, so many things are going on in this book. So, to enjoy it fully read in a corner where no one can distract you.
Who should read it? This book is all in Indian mythology. So, those who love to read Indian mythology fiction, this one is for you.

Overall, I loved this epic saga.

Buy Here: Amazon.in

Author: Anuja Chandramouli
Anuja Chandramouli is a bestselling Indian author and New Age Indian Classicist. Her highly acclaimed debut novel, Arjuna: Saga of a Pandava Warrior-Prince, was named by Amazon India as one of the top 5 books in the Indian Writing category for the year 2013.  Kamadeva: The God of Desire, Shakti: The Divine Feminine and Yama’s Lieutenant are her other bestsellers.
Her articles, short stories and book reviews have appeared in various publications like Femina, Women’s Era, Lonely Planet, The Hindu and The New Indian Express. An accomplished orator, she regularly conducts Story Telling sessions and workshops on Creative Writing, Empowerment and Mythology in schools, colleges and various other platforms.
This happily married, mother of two little girls, lives in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu. She is a student of classical dance. Currently, she is hard at work on her new book with her two trusty aides – caffeine and yoga.
Email: anujamouli@gmail.com
Twitter: @anujamouli | Facebook
Website: www.anujachandramouli.comYama’s Lieutenant
*** Note: I received book from the author, in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to author. I’m glad I got a chance to read this book. ***

What do you think about book and my review? Have you read this book or any of the book by Anuja? Do you like mythology? Have ever read Indian mythology before? Share your thoughts in the comment-box below.
Happy Reading! 🙂

–BT&R