The Mystery Mountains is the second novel by Aurijit Ganguli. I have just finished reading this one. What should I say? This novel blew my mind, seriously! I couldn’t think about anything other than the story for quite some time. The novelist has created quite a – believe-in-it – world in the novel, and a reader cannot help but believe in it. But, the practical side was pushing me back to reality. The author has written clearly in his declaration that the story was an imagination. However, the author himself admits that the research behind the novel was prolonged and investing. And that adds more weight to the novel’s seriousness.

The Mystery Mountains relies on Arjun and Lisa to take the proceedings ahead, and it is noticeable they feature in consequent novels by Aurijit. The novel poses many questions. It keeps the readers indulged in a beautiful story. It thrills with unimaginable suspense and mystery.

Aurijit’s first book was an accidental read for me. However, to my surprise, it was an awesome read. Since then, I have been waiting for his next book. And after reading this book, I would proudly say that he is one of those authors whose new books I wait for. The Mystery Mountains is a new story with a different setting. And it’s entirely new because no one may have read anything like this before – facts about antediluvian society, the great flood, a little sprinkle of science fiction and mystery, a stroke of the adventurous brush that Aurijit carries with himself… However, the characters, mountain treks, and angle of spirituality and history are the same as in his previous book.

The Mystery Mountains takes you from India to Peru, a country on the central western coast of South America. From the time when the Lord Vishnu took Vaman Avtaar to the present time – the book carries a unique interpretation of some of the most prominent beliefs of the Indians, the Pataal Lok, the punishment of Raja Bali, and so on. From history to reality, spirituality to science, expected to unexpected, excitement to contentment, every turn the story takes presents significant background and historical information about the place and contexts to guide you so that you don’t go off the track or get bored.

The story starts with four botanists going missing while they were on a mission to find new plant species in the Andes Mountains ranges. Chef Lisa and Botanist Arjun are selected for their search operation by Dr Francesca, Head of the Department for Botany at the University of San Marcos in Lima as they had a prior experience in mountaineering and got success in a mission to locate the Sanjeevani in the great Himalayas and find more details about it. Before they start their new mission, accidentally, they meet with Mr Marcos, an archaeologist and anthropologist much older than them. The first half of the story revolves around the missing botanists’ track. However, as this track comes to the culmination, the storyline shifts to a new mystery that has its connection with the Vaman Avtaar of Lord Vishnu, King Bali in our great history and in the present time with the global safety concerns. There are two apparent sides – the side that wants to have a safe world and the side that poses great threats to this ideal condition. The mystery seems to be deep. Will Lisa, Arjun and Marcos be able to solve this? What if they get unsuccessful? Will their defeat bring some big trouble for the world? To relax your mind and get answers to these questions, you need to read this book because I am not going to reveal anything else now.

The writing style of Aurijit Ganguli is somewhat similar to that of Dan Brown and Ashwin Sanghi. For instance, secret society, bizarre connections, a secret buried for centuries and so on. He too believes in investing time in researching the topic. He dives deep into the details of events and moves the plot at a blazing speed with a detailed description. And how he manages to come up with a reference to ancient, historic, mythological and factual (at times) references in his storyline is mesmerizing. Also, how deep he has gone into the history to bring forth many unheard and seldom touched facts for you is apparent in the book. It adds life to the book and makes it vibrant and more engaging.

In the end, The Mystery Mountains is an amazing read for contemporary readers of Indian English fiction. It can also be termed limitless because it takes you to the past, present and future. It is not restricted to one particular dimension in time. It is full of information. And it has many loose ends for further exploration – it almost energises the readers to conduct their personal research to find out more about the things discussed in the novel. Now, who can read this book? Anyone! Yes, anyone can read this book, irrespective of age and gender, as it has something for everyone. I, not only being an admirer of the author but as a good reader as well, surely recommend this book. Get a copy from Amazon India right now and read this novel.

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Review by Alka for Intellectual Reader